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not a happy place for an addict like me. if i really pondered that state i would also have to state that such a condition would not be a happy place for most of the human population of the world. i am grateful that the whole panic /anxiety attack gig does not happen very often to me, and when they do come on, they are short-lived and quite easily dispelled.
HOWEVER, i have not always been like that. in early recovery, the treatment program i was forced to be in, made me go see a psychiatrist to determine whether the fact that i could not stop using was related to some underlying mental illness. the doctor (and she was an MD) was a member of a twelve step fellowship, and believed as i do that this is a disease. her diagnosis at that time was that i suffered from a moderate case of panic disorder, and the only reason i was still able to leave my house was because i had used drugs to self-medicate my anxiety away and never developed the feedback loop that creates agoraphobia. her answer was a temporary prescription and work the steps with my sponsor and my symptoms would be removed or at least lessened.
she was right, ninety days after seeing her, i did a fifth step with my sponsor and i have not had the obsession to use since that time. even better, i am not subject to frequent panic attacks either.
so back to the the topic at hand -- how do i ease a panic attack when one comes upon me? well first i examine the situation and see if there is anything of danger in my immediate vicinity -- sometimes flight or fright responses are a normal reaction to current situations. THEN i do the mini-inventory suggested in the reading. and finally i just accept that i am anxious and that my HIGHER POWER did not bring me this far just to drop me on my big fat ass, and move forward with my day. i do not ignore the feelings, i do not like the feelings, i just accept what i am feeling and move on. life is far to short and busy for me to obsess on why and what i am feeling, experiencing the feeling through living the feeling is the way this addict lives day-to-day and grows, one feeling at a time!

∞ DT ∞