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Panic Attack!

Symptoms of a Panic Attack

Physical:

You might experience any or all of the following:

Hot or cold flashes
Tingling in fingers or toes; numbness
"Skipped" heartbeats
Racing pulse; palpitations
Inability to focus eyes well
Nervousness; shaking; jittery, easily startled
Headache
Weeping at the drop of a hat
Inability to take a deep breath
Gurgling (churning) stomach
Constipation or urgency to evacuate
Urgency to urinate
Dry mouth
Fatigue or weakness
Sweating; sweaty hands
Sore muscles (especially hands); tics, spasms
Lump in throat; difficulty in swallowing

Emotional (non-physical) symptoms (cause mental fatigue):
Feeling of sadness
Feeling of loss of control
Lack of concentration
Indecision
Suggestability
Loss of confidence
Disintegration of personality
Feelings of unreality
Obsession
Apahy
Depression

No wonder you feel like you're going to die! No wonder you feel like you're having a heart attack, like you have lung or stomach cancer, have kidney disease or diabetes -- but you don't -- a panic attack won't kill you!

What to do:
Understand you're having a panic attack
Accept the symptoms; they'll go away
Patience; time to heal
Be kind to yourself
Stop the brooding
Stop constant introspection
Stop playing Chicken Little (what if...)
Don't just sit there: take a walk, mow the lawn, clean out the closets, do moderate exercise
Are your sholders touching your ears? Relax those muscles!
Float past unwelcomed suggestions

Live in the here and now -- is all okay at the moment -- then enjoy it

Of all these, the bottom line is: accept, accept, accept!

Causes:
Prolonged stress
Sensitization
Bewilderment
Fear
Life situations:
divorce
alcoholic spouse
guilt
disgrace
confinement
Surgery
Anemia
Emotional draining job
Hemorrhage
Too strenuous dieting

Suggested Reading:
Hope and Help for your Nerves and
Pass Through Panic by Claire Weeks (also on audio tape)

Attack on America Panic Attack
There's a major feeling of loss of control involved in the case of a panic attack caused by the events of 9-11 and following. Unless you're a politician or a soldier, there's not much you can do except support them. It's their lives that have been turned upside down. Delegate upward! Us regular folk have to just keep doing whatever pleases us -- and probably should do even more of it!

You can buy products from countries supporting the US (Turkey, Israel), and boycott the rest of the Middle East, especially Egypt and Saudi Arabia, where they decapitate Gays (chop off their heads).

If the events of 9-11 kicked the peacenik out of you, don't feel alone. Instead of attending a peace rally, go to a gun show!

To get your mind off of the horrible images and scary thoughts, turn off your mind. Think of it as turning off the TV (do this, too, if the news scares you). When the thoughts come into your mind, think about it as turning off a radio, a computer; delete it, or shut the door in its face. Maintain these images of turning off the scary thoughts for as long as it takes. Fresh thoughts will take their place.

History shows that Americans don't tolerate anyone saying he's going to destroy America. There's no reason to believe anything has changed. Allah may be great, but so is Uncle Sam's Big Stick!

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