Hello Mouse
So sorry you have been going through a rough time. I wondered why we had not heard from you for a while, but then I have not been posting for a while because I was unwell. Thanks for your good wishes.
We are told that exercise is good for physical fitness and that it also helps in managing our various mental health problems. Which makes it sad when we have difficulty getting regular exercise. Hopefully, as you continue walking with the group, both of these aspects of your life will start to improve. It is disconcerting to run out of breath by walking.
I have battled through that horrible feeling when there seems no way I can stop. It does take time to get away from that awful feeling of panic and distress. I see it like learning to drive. It's hard the first few lessons and we make mistakes not to mention feeling extremely nervous. Practising makes us comfortable until we realise we do not need to concentrate on the individual actions but have put it all together.
Learning ways to move from panic and fear is the same. We need a plan, a coping mechanism to get through these times. This is why I ask if you had learned some coping strategies from the psych. They work when you are talking to the psych but out in the world it's not so easy. We need the ability to automatically switch to our coping processes. This is the hard part.
If you practice remembering a process, going through it in your mind to get the steps right, it does help. Again like learning to drive, the more often we rehearse what to do the better our reaction time becomes. Remembering to stop and take a deep breath before the panic completely sets in is essential and of course is the hardest bit. It seems we get swept away on the full tide of emotion and like a swimmer caught in a rip we find ourselves going under.
Can you practice what to do in these situations? Going through the steps helps you to retain the knowledge which leads to your automatic coping reaction. It does work in the same way as learning to drive. One day you suddenly find you are not overwhelmed by the deluge of emotion and can manage the situation. It does take practice.
Can you stop calling yourself names. It's false to say you are stupid and need to run away from others. This is your fear controlling you. I know you believe nothing helps but you can manage. It takes time to settle a new mechanism inside and constant practice. It does work but you must do the work to get there.
Mary
