4th Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy Session

Today I had my session with Stephanie at Clear Path Solutions. When dealing with panic and anxiety its always good to expose yourself to uncomfortable situations so I like taking the TTC instead of driving to the office downtown. It gives me a chance to be surrounded by people and practice observing how my body progresses through a panic attack and the thoughts that go through my mind. I am becoming more aware of my early warning system and what to focus on the most in order to prevent the panic from progressing any further.

I am finding out that feeling hot around my neck and face as well as the feeling of sweat on my face are the two things that can lead to a panic attack. I begin getting concerned that others will see me either blushing or sweating and think that I am getting nervous about a topic in conversation or a situation that they can then use against me. I also start to think that they will start to believe that I am crazy or weak or not "normal."

Today on the bus I was able to relax into the feelings of heat and not to associate any type of thoughts to fact that I felt some sweat on my brow. I simply took it for what it was, heat became heat and sweat became sweat and nothing else. I focused on my breathing like I have been learning through the mindfulness of breathing exercises and pinpointed irrational thoughts as learned through the cognitive-behavioral therapy. I did feel uncomfortable on the bus for about 10 minutes but once I fully tuned in to the fact that there was no real danger and that sweating and heat are sensations that I shouldn't fear, everything became a lot more manageable.

Something that I became aware of during my session with Stephanie today is how even stepping out of the house can cause anxiety. I experience the majority of my panic attacks outside of the house so it's no wonder that I have been conditioned to fear stepping out of the house to varying degrees. I was advised to be mindful of this and do some breathing exercises and be aware of my thoughts before stepping out in order to condition myself to have positive, relaxed feelings when stepping out of the house. It makes a lot of sense so I'll be practicing that this week.