Panic Disorder, What You Need to Know

You can't Just Get Over It

When someone has a panic disorder they may be embarrassed to talk about it. A lot of people see a disorder of this type as a weakness in that person. Typically, a person with a panic disorder has survived a life of intense stress, trauma and/or serious injury. Oftentimes, friends and family think they can just “get over it” and be better. Although in some people counseling does work to help the person control the attacks, it does not heal the damage to the brain.

Panic Disorders Can Be Triggered By Violence

Panic disorders can be triggered by a life of being mugged, broken into, raped or living with an abusive person, whether that abuse be emotional or physical. It may be an illness. A person may have suffered an illness that scared them, made them fear for their life. When the brain undergoes such an emotional and/or physical trauma, the brain reacts with a fight or flight reaction. The brain tells the person to run and save themselves or stay and fight. When the brain is doing this a lot, then it gets in the habit, so to speak, of thinking this way. The process that the brain works is changed, sometimes permanently.


Computer Glitch 

It is NOT a sign of weakness but a sign that the brain simply said “enough is enough” The “fight or flight” signal in the brain gets stuck in the ON position, unable to turn off. Think of it as a computer glitch that cannot be overcome.

Treatment

There are medicines but like all medicines, there are side effects. Many people cannot handle these on a long term basis. Many of the drugs are addictive and cannot be taken for a long time, leaving the person without medications during the time needed to prevent addiction. This may leave the person vulnerable, having to cope with fears without the aid of the drugs that set the brain’s computer back on track

Agorophobia

Sometimes a person with a panic disorder can become agoraphobic. They may not feel comfortable leaving their home for many fears. The most common being fear of a panic attack. This fear of triggering a panic attack can cause a person to avoid many situations, especially if their disorder was triggered outside of their home. They may be fearful of getting lost; taking the wrong bus or being stranded somewhere. They may be afraid of car accidents or strangers approaching their car. The panic attack increases the fear.

The person may not realize that it is the actual feeling of panic that they fear, not necessarily the feel of the dirt beneath their feet, for example.

Symptoms of an Attack

• Racing heart
• Feeling of suffocation
• Intense fear
• Visual disturbances such as everything going white
• Feeling like passing out
• Sense of eminent danger
• Trembling
• All over body shaking
• Fight or flight, desire to run and remove oneself from the situation
• Fear of open spaces
• Fear of closed spaces
• Sweaty palms, cold palms
• The Brain Sustains Damage in its Processing

Things That Can Trigger an Attack

• Getting lost on the bus route
• Riding the bus
• Health issues
• Having blood pressure taken
• Being attacked
• Fear of leaving house
• Fear of people
• Being abused by restraint, causing fear of belts, hugs, tight spaces
• Being in a car accident, fear of riding or driving a car
• Not All Inclusive

This is not an all inclusive list of what can cause a panic disorder. The varying triggers are as different as each individual person. As each person has their own personality, the brain reacts differently to stress. Trying to find the trigger, asking yourself or the person in your life what happened, what caused the panic disorder; is not something that is likely to bring to light any one incident. PTSD can be caused by one incident, but a panic disorder takes time and continued stressors.

Good Support is Key

Panic disorders are very real though many people are not believed by family and friends. This lack of support system only adds to the problem, it does not make them tougher or help them learn to cope. It is not about knowledge, it is about how the brain being stuck in the fight or flight setting. People with panic disorders need love and patience as they re-teach their brain to react in a calmer manner. This cannot happen if they are surrounded by stressful people.

If you feel you have a panic disorder, do not be bashful, contact a mental health clinic and get evaluated. There may be a free or low-income clinic in your area if you do not have insurance. It is not something to be ashamed of. It is difficult to leave the house when you have a panic disorder so thanks to the wonders of the internet, there are many groups to join and you may be able to find an online support person. It is worth it to check around and see what your options are and how you can get help comfortably.

© 2014 Cynthianne Neighbors

My First Published Book!

Here you will find a link to my book.

The Casket Upstairs (at CreateSpace)

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Have You Seen a Ghost/Spirit?

Have you ever experienced seeing a ghost? 

I have, but then I am a psychic/medium, I was born seeing ghosts. I believe everyone has the ability to see spirits, at least a little. It may be something darting in the corner of your eye or a strange mist when there is no reason for one. I have seen full body apparitions before and didn't realize they were not among the living until they tried to speak.

When you are talking to someone, and they disappear, not walk away... actually disappear,.. vanish into thin air...you can rest assured were just talking to a ghost. Look around and see if anyone was watching and if they were, act like you have an ear bud in and were talking on the phone, then walk away casually.

Where I am living now, there are some ornery ones, poltergeist, if you will.

For example:

I thought one of my kids had been helpful in taking down some of the holiday decorations, which I appreciated except I could not figure out where they went to. I asked them where they had put the decorations and through deductive reasoning, I realized that the kids were not in the house at the time I saw the decorations missing. 

We still have not found them...

When I was younger it was not uncommon for me to have articles of clothing come up missing, only to find them later out in the woods.

The photo I have shared with this article is one I took of a friend of mine. There was no mist around this person that any of us could see with our eyes, but there it was in the photo. I am not showing who it was because they requested to not be shown, but this is a close-up of the largest part if the mist that was around this person. It was located at their mid-section.

This photo is MINE! Please do not steal it. Copyright 2015 Cynthianne Neighbors All rights reserved. 

Eeyore and Surviving Abuse

I spent a good deal of my life as a daily survivor of abuse. 

I felt if I could make it through the day alive, I had done a good thing.

I would wake up each day happy the sun was up, but like Eeyore, always looking for someone to come up behind me, feeling like a part of me was lost (like Eeyore’s tail) and I would never be happy. The photo is of my two stuffed Eeyores.

I faked happy, I forced myself to not think about the things that were going on and actually enjoyed my life outside of home. 

I have many Eeyore stuffed toys, posters and little statuettes. This is not to remind me of what happened, not at all, but to remind me of how strong I was under adversity. That I made it out, that I am a survivor. Now when things go wrong in my life, I think of Eeyore and how he helped me in the worst of times. 

Sometimes it helps to have something to prove to yourself that you are a survivor, something beyond the physical and mental scars. Find something for yourself and remember, you are a survivor. Stay strong, and seek like minded people. It really helps to talk to someone who has or is going through what you are.

After you have gotten away from the abuse and are taking back control of your life, talk to your shadow self, (see post about connecting to your shadow self) when you are ready, to help deal with hidden pain. Do not blame yourself, even if you had a part. Stand back and look at the situation objectively. No one deserves to be bullied or abused. Abuse will be covered more extensively in other posts as it affects our spiritual self and may have ties to past lives. 

Your Shadow Self

The Shadow Self

The shadow self is the part of the person's subconscious mind that harbors the hidden feelings and effects of traumatic situations. This part of the mind also holds repressed feelings and reasons, unbeknownst to the person, that cause them to respond in the manners that they do.

What Lurks in Your Shadows?

Do you know what makes you do what you do? Why do you get upset at seemingly silly things, or why do you insist you put your food away in a certain manner? The shadow self knows, if it relates to something you experienced and not something you inherited. Some personality traits can be inherited, and can be addressed during a shadow self session, but let's look at the traumatic events first.

Reaching Your Shadow Self

How do you delve into your shadow self? First, meditation. Entering a meditative state is a safe way to address repressed feelings. Through meditating, you can reach that part of your brain that holds memories and feelings. Find a quiet place that you can be for about 30 minutes. Concentrate on relaxing your body, starting from the top of your head, down to your toes. Now put yourself into a bubble of bright light. This will give you a sense of protection. If you want, you can put the bubble up before entering meditation. Now that you are relaxed, ask yourself if you are ready to meet the darker parts of your psyche. If you are not ready, you will feel a sense of foreboding. Back out and simply concentrate on what you need to do to get ready. If you are ready, then proceed. You can always back out of the situation if you feel uncomfortable. 

When meditating, concentrate on your shadow self, the part of you that is keeping pain safe away from your daily existence. If you have not had a traumatic event, you may do this to find out why you can't keep a date, for example. Perhaps there is something about you that turns people away and you really want to figure out what it is, searching your shadow self will clear this up.

It may feel silly at first, but once in meditation, talk to yourself silently, ask yourself what you need to know. What is the first thing to come to mind? Work with this first. Let your mind flow free, let it come up with whatever images it wants.

Examine all images that come to mind, let your mind go where it wants to go. You can do this little bits at a time,at first, until you are ready to see the whole picture. Take your time and not push it. Sometimes it takes several sessions of meditating to reach your shadow self.

You Have Contacted Your Shadow Self

Now that you have contacted your shadow self and have selected an area to work on, what do you see? Are you working on why you get mad when a certain subject is brought up? Maybe you do not know why you do that. Ask your shadow self to explain to you what is going on, then allow the information to flow.

If you are reaching a part of yourself that you know is particularly painful, such as abuse or a violent attack, and you are hoping to overcome the nightmares, fears or odd behavior you believe is stemmed from that, be sure you are emotionally ready. Have a friend with you or you therapist nearby. This type of shadow work can be emotionally difficult, but very healing.

Take a Break For the Day

Now that you have had one session with your shadow self, take a break, have some coffee or take a nap. Do what you have to do to clear your mind and heart. It can be very difficult to learn unpleasant things about yourself. Be proud of your efforts to progress emotionally and become a better person.

Addressing Inherited Traits

Have you ever been told that you act “just like Great Grandma or Grandpa”? You have never met them so how could you act like them? Some personality traits, even habits, can be inherited. But what if you do something that defies all logic, that you do not know what causes it or why? You go through the list, no bad break ups that caused it, nothing traumatic,but you have been doing this all your life. Where did it come from?

Go into meditation and try to reach you shadow self. Once there in your mind, ask yourself if you have a relative with those personality traits. Your subconscious can reach areas that you never knew it could sometimes and you may just make contact at a psychic level, with one of your relatives. If you do not, that is fine,just stay in your meditative state and wait to see what comes up. Repressed memories may come floating in, introducing themselves to you as such. You may see that your mother and maternal grandmother have the same trait, but you never noticed before or just never gave it any thought before. You might release a memory of your mother commenting on how her father used to do the same thing. It is possible that you were told at some point, but you felt no need to remember it at the time. Shadow self work can bring all this to light for you.

Keep your mind open and expect anything to come to mind. Nothing is wrong, it is your mind, your memories, your experiences. If when meditating you see purple unicorns on roller skates, do not worry, this is you subconscious memories having some fun. Enjoy.

Why Purple Orb?

I chose Purple Orb Metaphysics for the name of my site because purple is the color of psychic abilities and intelligence. If you see a purple orb floating near you, or in a photo, you can be sure that the spirit was an intelligent one.

At this site my goal is to share my experiences and things that I have learned throughout my educational career and my life. I was born a psychic/medium and have spent my life studying why we exist and who we are. I am open minded and welcome all who want to visit here, no matter gender or species.

Some topics I will cover are past life regression, LGBT spiritual questions, mind, body and soul spirituality (non-denominational. I want everyone to feel welcome). I will cover topics such as Star Children, Indigo and Crystal children as well as meditation to reach your higher self.

If you want to see a topic covered here, feel free to make a suggestion. I do not want bashers. This site is to be a place of comfort and calmness.