FLOW STATE PERFORMANCE SPIRAL for generalized anxiety

[Mike]

Would the information in the FLOW STATE PERFORMANCE SPIRAL tapes be effective for someone like me who suffers from generalized anxiety and panic attacks? I usually suffer from anxiety induced panic at work when the pace quickens and things get busy. AND, I suffer panic when encountering street people/beggars/drug addicts downtown.

I've used medication in the past and I hated it. I've seen numerous therapists and they seemed to do nothing but state the obvious to me, more or less telling me to "deal with it!"

[Connie Brown]

I would say definitely yes, the info on Flow State and Performance Spiral would be helpful.

In addition, there is a nutrition component to anxiety and panic. What's your food like? People report that anxiety and panic either go away or get much less. That is, if they are sugar sensitive, were unknowingly eating foods that make anxiety worse - it can turn around if a sugar sensitive person follows DesMaisons' eating plan.

I know my anxiety went away completely. Also depression went away. Never had panic though. that sounds awful.

[Randell Waddell]

Evening Mike,

I suggested the following for one of our other forum members a couple of weeks back:

Autogenic Breathing
------------------------------------------------------------------------
A breathing technique utilized by police and military world wide in an effort to settle the Sympathetic Nervous System is highlighted below in basic form:

The breathing is done in cycles.

• Breath in through your nose for a count of four;
• Hold your breath for a count of four;
• Exhale through your mouth for a count of four;
• Hold your breath for a count of four, and then restart the cycle.

This simple technique will lower your blood pressure, stress level, and minimize the overwhelming side effects of "adrenaline".

Scott's emphasis on the outbreath makes this technique even more effective.

If you wish to learn more, please consider some of the following:
http://www.dogpile.com/info.dogpl/search/web/%2522tactical%2Bbreathing%2522

Cheers
Randell. :D

[bob_stra]

You mean the audio tape? As a step by step, follow along guide - no. But there is info on there you might find useful.

Not to sound 'cute' but perhaps this panic you are feeling is a reflection of some deeper issues. While change is quick, the work needed to build up to that change can sometimes take time. Like a rocket ship: 10 units of fuel to take off, 1 unit of fuel for the entire rest of the mission. IOW - you might get something useful from tapes and books, but the 'end result' might still take time. (I have a bit of issue with crowds of people myself)

With that said, you might also like to check out Feel the Fear, Do it anyway by Jeffers and Fear: The friend of Exceptional People by Thompson.

There's also another one that speaks to this (indirectly IIRC) called The Potent Self .

No doubt all of these are available at your local libraries :)

As for therapists and the like, TFT (thought field therapy) is all the rage here.

http://www.thoughtfield.com/faqs.htm

http://skepdic.com/thoughtfield.html

Make of that what you will - I have no personal experience with it.

[Mike]

Not to sound 'cute' but perhaps this panic you are feeling is a reflection of some deeper issues. While change is quick, the work needed to build up to that change can sometimes take time. Like a rocket ship: 10 units of fuel to take off, 1 unit of fuel for the entire rest of the mission. IOW - you might get something useful from tapes and books, but the 'end result' might still take time. (I have a bit of issue with crowds of people myself).

I'm pretty sure that it's the result of some deeper issues but I've spent the last 10 or so years trying to uncover it. I'm not giving up but like I said, when you've tried as many types of treatment as I have, it can get a little discouraging at times. Generalized Anxiety I can handle but the panic attacks that disable my body are a whole other story!!! Specifically, street people and the fear of being in physical conflict and/or ambushed triggers severe panic in me!

[rbibbs]

Mike, you may/may not know there's a lot of online research available for Acute Anxiety Disorder. When professionals say "deal with it", that's a place to start. I'm both surprised and not surprised the professionals you consulted said that... there's no clear-cut single short-term solution to AAD, and that's what most people consult doctors expecting. Quite a few MD and PhD authors have addressed the issue, how much of those have you accessed?

The difference between Generalized Anxiety and Acute Anxiety (panic) is principally one of self-perception. GA folks feel borderline anxious most of the time, and their responses show their focus on how they are perceived by others. AA folks feel 'normal' most of the time, and their responses show they are most upset by the prospect of "losing control" in their trigger situations. It's possible to have both, impacting at different times. When you get it at work, that sounds more like GA and when you get it on the street sounds more like AA.

Yeah, drugs aren't notoriously effective for situational anxiety disorders, and most have quality-of-life side effects. Talk therapy 'might' work, after it's been pursued long enough to clear core issues (if any, and if successful, it isn't always). I'd lean toward a combination of arousal-state management (biofeedback, state-cognizance, breathing protocols) and behavioral innoculation. The latter is used to get people over fear of flying. It's incremental. Example, first day you drive by an airport. Second day you stop and watch a plane takeoff/land from a distance. Third day you walk into and right back out of the airport. Fourth day you spend an hour in the airport. Fifth day you walk to a gate and back. Sixth day you walk on a plane and back off. Seventh day you walk on, sit down, then leave. And so on, the timing and size of the steps depending on the person's reactions.

I don't know your full background, other than extensive weight/strength work, but behavioral innoculation for confrontational AA might be available in a contact martial art like BJJ... Flow-State Performance-Spiral definitely applies to that. Perceptional GA might be a tougher nut to crack, but on the other hand, getting control over the AA might be all the confidence you need to moderate the GA reaction as well.

I'm "not quite a BA" in developmental psychology, never worked in the field, got no magic bullets, but understand the impacts and artifacts of core-issue retention. Discovery/understanding isn't a 'magic bullet' either, it's a tool that helps steer both behavioral therapy and ASM. Anything I can help you with, email's available, free, confidential.

Rick

[bob_stra]

You know Mike, I'm not a psychologist. At the end of the day I don't know very much abt very much. So take it with a pinch of salt.

AFAIK, this kind of disorder is related to self perception, akin to body dismorphism.

For me all the book reading, all the seminars, all the tapes amount to naught. No, that's unfair - they amount to something, but not as much as I would have hoped. Certainly not the 'magical cure' I had hoped for. As a guy who was very much 'in his head,' this has been a big disappointment to me. "Intelligent people tend to overestimate the value of intelligence" and all that.

Books and the like at best are useful study items to ponder, launch from, bring clarity to etc. At worst (often), they are a form of mental masturbation.

The only thing that seems to work is direct experience, raw and ungilded, cycled upwards in (to use CST terms) incrementally ratcheting sophistication. (Sometimes a book will tell you a little abt how to do this. Case in point: Charlotte Joko Beck's Zen books, Thompson's Fear book etc)

I suppose we could discuss how this works - I have my theories - but it the end most folks intuitively know it does work. So maybe the 'how' is not always as important as faith in the 'what' / 'why'? I dunno. I do know there comes a point where you either sh*t or get off the pot.

With regards to your specific question: I have no idea why this is for you. If I were you (and I'm not), I would progress thus:

Place myself in an situation wherein I will be around homeless people in a safe and supervised environment. I want to smell them, I want to see them, I want to talk to them. What is this animal called 'homeless person'?

Given my track record of volunteer work, volunteering at a soup kitchens for a few hours a week would seem a good start. Something familiar.

From here, I would get progressively more and more challenging exposure: going out with community night patrols, ride alongs with paramedics - whatever ugliness my ingenuity came up with.

IOW: I would want to (slowly) see the worst of the worst, in person, shake it's hand and say hello.

The final stage for me would be to place myself in an environment where my worst fear does happen and yet is somewhat controlled. Things like the RMCAT, Blauer's courses, CQC simulations etc. Direct exposure to that adrenaline dump builds would be a level of 'unconcious competence' / belief in oneself. Of course, there would be many smaller, indivisualized steps up the fear pyramid before this.

Concurrently, I would like to explore emotionally what exactly is causing me these fears. I would want to see how this fear lives in my body. I have my ways and means of doing this, which are my own. No doubt there are lots of ways - hypnosis, zazen, counseling, cognitive behavior therapy, body centered somatic therapy, religion etc. I would follow whatever thing attracted me as rational, sensible, supportive and safe.

And if I had a spare minute to scratch myself, then I might read a book or two on the topic :-)

Of course, in this idealized nirvana / fairy world, I would have the time, energy and interest to do all these madcap things. Having worked with people my whole life, I know that when one is in pain, one wants to be 'fixed', here and now. So it helps to have someone to mentor you, meet you as a human being and not as broken machine.

I have no inkling if this course of action is at all sensible/rational/do-able for you. I'm just saying this is what I (ideally) would choose to do. Having bought into the 'self help' craze, I've come away thinking that *I* (with a few nudges) really do have the ability to uncover what's best for *me*.

Folks have followed this kind of logic since time began. Anything that can help you do this (like the "Flow tapes") is a-ok by me but as you can see the 'pointy end of the stick' is in the doing.

I guess it boils down to this: how much does this thing bother you and how much work do you want to put in into addressing it?

*shrugs*

In any case, don't pay too much heed to this. I am often 'bear of little brain'. Especially this early in the AM.

My $0.02. Spend it as you wish: I suggest printing it out and using it as toilet paper :lol:

[rbibbs]

Bob's 'homeless shelter volunteer' might work as behavioral innoculation, if homeless/panhandlers are the only trigger.

Benzodiazepam is sometimes prescribed, but both short- and long-term side effects aren't particularly desirable. Link to side effects> http://www.benzo.org.uk/sidefx.htm. SSRI-class antidepressants (Prozac) are ultimately stimulants and likely to make the problem worse.

Books don't tend to be packaged solutions, just exploratory tools. I'm sure you've acquired some on the topic, as I have on other topics, but the solutions still lie within, and can be elusive, particularly as our ego defends superego intrusions into the id where such things reside. There's some suggestion that there's a genetic predisposition for "hair-trigger adrenal reflex", not that that makes it any more comfortable to live with.

Rick

[Mike]

Thanks for the great responses guys. Rick, I was actually thinking that competetive style martial arts like BJJ might help with my confrontational anxiety! The thing is, I suffer both GA and AA symptoms, I'm always at a heightened state (anxious), but I also have panic triggers!!

[Connie Brown]

Mike, I foud a thread on a similar learned-grooved-panic thing from the brain chemical point of view. Just FYI.

http://www.radiantrecovery.com/cgi-bin/bbs-new/webbbs_config.pl?read=179556


Ok this whole panic thing on the metro trains is getting out of control now. I had my first full blown panic attack on my way to work one morning when we were stuck in a tunnel for half an hour (I work in WAahington, DC). Never had any problems before but ever since then I've been having troubles riding the train. At first it was just whenever we were stopped in a tunnel I'd start to get nervous after a minute, then it was I'd be nervous right away. This week I'm nervous riding the train while it's MOVING and spend the whole time trying not to fret we might stop in a tunnel.

I don't know why this is happening, or what exactly I'm afraid of, but the whole terrorism thing has to be a big part of it. Last week we stopped in a tunnel becuse there was a report of a bomb on the train in front of us. We stopped in the same spot today to let a train in front of us go and I got so worked up my legs barely worked when the train rolled into our station. I'm shaky, I'm fighting off tears and wondering why this is going on. It's gotten to the point that whenever the red line (the one my work is directly on) has
delays I walk from the transer spot, which is 20 minutes. Granted the walk is lovely...but still.

I didn't feel like this after 9/11, why now? I have to wonder if it's biochemical. Seasons are changing, days are shorter, I'm not out in the sun very much, maybe it's a serotonin thing. Only I don't have any of the other low serotonin symptoms.

Heather

--------------------

Tes, it is biochemical. Here is what happens....you have an event...your brain registers DANGER....
and being *trapped* means that the usual release that comes from resoluton cannot clear the flood of epinephrine. So you get a flooding that sloshes around.

When you reexperience the cues for that event, you brain squirts out a bigger squirt of epinephrine and the flooding starts and it is difficult to turn it off rationally.

The problem comes when the expectation happens and then you create a *groove* of the flooding. This is how panic attacks start.

So the task is to start doing things that specifically intervene as easly as possible...basically you use biofeedback to alter the squirting. You learn to *listen*...when you heart starts and t hen you consicously change it. You work on this in all sorts of situations before you are on the train, so that when you are on the train, you can divert the squirt before it starts.

You might also want to go to a hypotherapist who specializes in panic now, before you get worse. it is very easy to treat early on.

hope this helps some.

kathleen

[rbibbs]

Not knowing what all you've tried Mike, this may be too simplistic...

Breath is the one system in the chain of anxiety arousal where you can voluntarily intervene in an otherwise involuntary process. The "calmative" protocol is a little different from Randell's. Since exhalation is the higher tension state, just concentrate there. Smooth, consistent thoracic contraction (NOT like trying to inflate a balloon, induce NO resistance to the outflow of air). Deeper, more thorough exhalation than you'd use by default, for a count of 4. Let inhalation happen on its own, and let it occupy a count of 2. Do not hold your breath at all, ever. Breathing in a calm, controlled manner is a biofeedback tool that's always available to you. It internally confirms that you're 'in control' (opposite of panic state).

Has your weight work inadvertantly taught you to epiglottal-stop breathing near the nominal peak of inhalation? If so, try to unlearn that. The change in thoracic pressure alone can be a systemic arousal-state trigger.

Rick

[Jrichardson]

Example, first day you drive by an airport. Second day you stop and watch a plane takeoff/land from a distance. Third day you walk into and right back out of the airport. Fourth day you spend an hour in the airport. Fifth day you walk to a gate and back. Sixth day you walk on a plane and back off. Seventh day you walk on, sit down, then leave.

And on the eighth day, Homeland Security agents review the airport security tapes, and bring you in for questioning... 8)

(Sorry, I couldn't resist...)

This is a good thread, though -- Rick is right about the breath being key. Exposing yourself to your "fear trigger" in small increments can be the best way to start changing the pattern, because it gives you so many opportunities to somatically break the cycle by controlling your breath. Stopping a full-blown panic attack will get easier and easier as you practice building up to that intensity, so to speak.

[rbibbs]

RE: 'Homeland Security'... didn't Uncle Adolph have a phrase eerily close to that? Close enough to scare me anyhow. :shock:

Thanks Jon, for confirming the 'breath' theory. I don't "know" that it's effective for stress that rises to the level of panic, but for lower levels of stress it is, at least in my experience.

Rick

[Mike]

I've gone through some breathing exercises prescribed by some of my therapists and although they each differ from one another, there is some overlap.

The problem is the adrenaline dump, it's so severe I've come close to passing out!!

[rbibbs]

Understood, Mike. The breathing thing is not a 'cure', it's a potential handle by which to moderate the arousal process. See how you're breathing the next time it arises at work.

Rick

[Larry]

Mike,

In addition to Coach Waddel's suggestion to practice autogenic or "square" breathing, you may want to give the Buteyko Method a try. I've taught this method for years here at the University I work for, especially with students who have panic attacks, test anxiety, or generalized anxiety disorder.

Rather than re-invent the wheel, I copied and pasted some posts I made over on a different discussion board here (with some judicious editing). Please excuse those portions of the quote that repeat themselves, as I've had limited time to edit everything.



Practicing the principles involved in Body Flow will help a lot in the long run, in that you will learn to move vigorously and also learn to move with progressively less fear.

However, in the short run to resolve the panic attacks I suggest you begin practicing the Buteyko Method. I've worked with plenty of students up here at the University who've experienced panic attacks (as well as private practice patients), and they resolve quite quickly using Buteyko's Method. Without going into detail at the moment because of lack of time, I understand panic attacks from the inside out, having experienced them extensively in college after suffering pleurisy for a winter back then.

What you need to practice is holding your breath exhaled in a relaxed fashion.

First off, to conduct what I call the "diagnostic pause," breathe normally for a bit, and then when you're ready, exhale normally through your nose (don't try and squeeze everything out, just exhale normally) and then, plugging your nose, see how long you can comfortably hold your breath exhaled. What you'll normally experience is a slight bump of discomfort when you first begin to hold your breath exhaled, and then the discomfort will plateau for a while. After the plateau, the discomfort will suddenly begin to increase exponentially. Stop holding your breath at the beginning of the exponential rise.

Normally people with panic attacks are able to hold for around 8-10 seconds. People with asthma attacks (the big brother of the panic attack) manage about 3-5 seconds. Normally stressed out people average around 15-20 seconds. What is considered optimally healthy is a full 60 seconds-- which means that if your diagnostic pause is 10 seconds, your "normal" breathing is already six times more than what is optimally healthy. In other words, your "normal" breathing is already exhibiting serious hyperventilation. Any additional stressor and a panic attack is imminent. Someone who's diagnostic pause is 20 seconds is hyperventilating three times more than their body requires. Panic attacks might never happen to them, but they will easily show signs of excessive stress under pressure, and they might be suceptible to migraines, dyssomnia, etc.

Whatever your result, this total time is what is called your diagnostic pause (most Buteyko practictioners call this the "control pause." I prefer the phrase "diagnostic pause" because that's what it's used for).

Now, to begin to resolve panic attacks, what you want to do is first to relax and then hold your breath exhaled for as long as you did for your diagnostic pause, but now hold a little bit into the exponential rise, usually only an additional 2-5 seconds, depending on your discomfort level. Don't let the discomfort rise too much--for reasons I'll expound on later if you want me to.

This diagnostic pause plus 2-5 seconds is what I like to call the "training pause." There isn't any name for it in standard Buteyko.

Now practice the training pause 3-5 times per session, 3-5 sessions per day.

If you're like most people, you'll find your diagnostic pause gradually lengthens, to the point where after around 2 weeks, give or take a few days, you'll find your diagnostic pause increased to around 30 seconds.

At that point, apart from times you're exceptionally stressed, tired or exercising vigorously, you will be essentially immune from panic attacks. Keep practicing the training pause. For some reason, after 30 seconds it takes that average person almost a year to increase their diagnostic pause up to around 60 seconds.

PM me if you have any additional questions. You can also have your therapist contact me if he or she has any cliinical questions about the approach. The approach is premised on the idea that the medulla of the brain for a variety of reasons gets miscalibrated into breathing too much and too quickly, and has to essentially be recalibrated so that it operates according to the original design function of the brain-pulminary system.

But this approach works.

.....most Buteyko websites want to sell you their $500 seminars more than they want to teach you the method. I've taught the method now to at least a couple hundred students and have had no untoward reactions so long as the students follow the guidelines I gave them (pretty much what I outlined above) and didn't try to push themselves too hard. The original Russian method involved what I call the "Maximal Pause" where you essentially hold your breath until your eyes want to pop out of your head. I discourage that approach very much, because it can result in a reactive hyperventilation simply from doing the exercise, along with dull headaches, nausea and essentially the desire never to do the exercise again. Giving the Buteyko entrepreneurs the benefit of the doubt (rather than suspect they simply wanted to scare you away from trying the Method on your own and subsequently not purchasing their $500 seminar), this is probably what they were referring to.

The other thing I mention about doing the exercise is that when you get to the point of the exponential rise, you may notice a variety of very small facial or intercostal muscles beginning to tense up. If you can consciously relax them, you can probably make faster progress. .....

The purpose of the Buteyko Method is to simply recalibrate the medulla so that it regulates the body's breathing back to its original design (and presumably optimal) function.

Konstantin Buteyko by profession is a pulmonary researcher who in the beginning of his career noticed that patients who were critically ill or who were dying breathed heavily and deep, up to the point where they died. He became curious about that, and then proceeded to research the differences in breathing between what he considered to be optimally healthy people versus people in various stages of illness and disorder. That is how he initially reached his conclusions.

He also tried his approach on himself, and discovered as he approached the 60 second "optimal" pause his health dramatically improved.

Buteyko's findings were suppressed under Stalin. His research funds were cut and he was forced to conduct his research in secret and under great risk. Buteyko only received official sanction for his work under Gorbechev. Now his Method is practiced by millions of Russians, according to his senior student. Stalmatski was the first of Buteyko's students to bring the Method out of Russia. He first introduced it to Australia and then New Zealand. About five years ago Buteyko's Method was brought to England, from where it is slowly being brought into this country (along with a lot of hucksters who want to make a lot of money off of teaching the Method. The "dark side" of the American Way, I suppose...)

The basic theory behind the Buteyko Method is that CO2 is not a "waste gas" as is commonly presumed. Buteyko concluded that the lungs require an approximate 7.5% concentration of CO2 in them in order for the body to convert that CO2 to carbonic acid. A certain amount of carbonic acid is needed to circulate in the bloodstream in order for the oxyhemoglobin to release its oxygen molecules through the cell walls.

During hyperventilation (which Buteyko defines as "breathing more than the body requires,") the body blows out too much CO2, which then results in insufficient carbonic acid. At some point the individual hyperventilating feels as though he's "suffocating" or not getting enough oxygen. This is true but not in the way the hyperventilator believes. The hyperventilator attempts to resolve the "I can't breathe" feeling by breathing faster and deeper, which results in even more CO2 being expelled from the lungs.

At some point, the body attempts to resolve the problem by essentially shutting down the breathing process to some extent. The first line of defense is for the nasal passages to clog up with mucus. This slows down breathing if the person is breathing through his nose. Of course, the hyperventilator starts mouth breathing to bypass the body's shutting down the nose.

At a point in mouth breathing, the brachial tubes begin to fill up with mucus as well as the body goes into a second level of defense against the blowing out of CO2. This secondary defense is what we call asthma.

Now if the asthmatic simply stopped breathing for 30 seconds or so, or forced himself to slow down and breathe in little sips rather than big gulps, then as the CO2 levels restored the mucus in the nose and brachial tubes would clear up rather quickly. But these days particularly the asthmatic reaches for the albuterol inhaler and begins to take a variety of steroids to "treat" his asthma.

This forces the brachial tubes open without resolving the underlying hyperventilation. In most cases, as the asthmatic feels "relief," he relaxes, and upon relaxing, outside of his awareness, he automatically slows down his breathing enough to restore a certain degree of CO2 in his lungs and the creation of carbonic acid in his bloodstream. All is well until the next severe hyperventilation episode (but it's important to realize that the asthmatic is still overbreathing--as evidenced by his very low control (or diagnostic) pause. It just takes an episode of strenuous exercise, intense emotion, fatigue, too much coffee or exposure to an "excitant" such as cat dander or what we'd call an "allergin" and the asthmatic is severely hyperventilating again). But for now the asthmatic is "relieved" and "breathing again" after deeply sucking three times on the inhaler.

It was actually the relaxation that provoked the cure, but the albuterol inhaler gets the credit.

However, in a small minority of cases, the hyperventilator continues to seriously overbreathe even after the albuterol has opened up the brachial tubes. In this case, the body has been stripped of its last defense against mortal CO2 deficiency. The CO2 level continues to drop, carbonic acid in the bloodstream goes critically down, and the person is extremely vulnerable to sudden death syndrome.

Other side effects from hyperventilating have to do with the ph differences between O2 and CO2 and the effects on the body of the differences. According to Stalmatski, when the body has too much oxygen, it's ph becomes too acidic and the problem of free radical damage increases. The use of anti-oxidents is, according to Stalmatski, a half-measure so long as the breathing remains excessive. Only by breathing according to the body's design function can the body maintain its homeostasis at a more healthy alkaline level, again according to Stalmatski. It's the hyper-acidity of the body when it is chronically hyperventilating that is at the core of the many illnesses Buteyko suggests can be resolved once the body resumes its design function of normal breathing (with a control pause of 60).

On a mental health level, Buteyko mentions the chronic agitation people experience when they are (what we would call subclinically) hyperventilating. On a personal level, I noticed a significant calming effect in my day to day life as my control pause went past the 45 second mark.

Besides the basic Method, there are alternative ways to "play with" increasing your control pause. One common method is to hold your breath exhaled while you're walking. See how many steps you can walk without needing to breath in. Buteyko teaches his method to little kids by having them hold their breath exhaled while doing deep knee bends. He said this is a way to teach kids the method while accepting their limited attention spans relative to adults. It is also a quick way to resolve a panic attack, as I've had some of my students do it when they began to panic in the course of a counseling or a therapy session. Two things I did while I was increasing my control pause was to do it driving. I'd pick out a landmark in the distance and see if I could hold my breath exhaled until I reached that particular landmark. Then I'd do it again. It was a fun way to pass the time during a long drive. Another thing I would do would be to exhale as I was beginning to climb the stairs to my office as I was going up there from the lobby. At first I could only make about 6 or 7 stairs; eventually I got to where I could climb the full flight of stairs and then walk down the hall to my office, go in and sit in my chair before I had to inhale (it's important to not go so long that one has to "gulp air" when one starts inhaling again. You should be able to begin breathing naturally when you start up, or else you're going too long. The "gulping air" is actually hyperventilating, and defeats the purpose of the Method).

Buteyko discovered many people hyperventilate in their sleep, mainly by mouth breathing and "snoring." This progressively decreased the CO2 levels in vulnerable peoples' lungs to the point where they became victim of 6am heart attacks. On a lesser level, some people have middle-of-the-night panic attacks that are related to nocturnal hyperventilation.

To correct that Buteyko advocated the use of surgical tape placed vertically from the philtrum (the area directly under your nose) to the top of the chin as a "training aid" in learning how to sleep with your mouth closed and nose breathing. 3M makes a "micro-pore" tape that is excellent to that end. I used it for a while just to try it out (I was already a nose-breather). I then tried it on my son who'd had some asthma and had a home albuterol inhaler. The first night my son said he "really liked" the tape because he woke up without a dry and sore throat for the first time he could remember. He'd come up to me at night and say "Dad, could you tape my mouth?" as he was going to sleep. It took him about a month to learn how to sleep with his mouth naturally closed (it's also been about 4 years since he's needed to use any albuterol also. He also doesn't have any allergies to cats anymore--unless he's really tired and then is exposed). Buteyko also recommended people learn to sleep on their left side with their legs curled up. He didn't know why, but this sleeping position seems to minimize nocturnal hyperventilation. He also recommends elevating one's head with a wedge or a big pillow.

Buteyko's senior student Alexandr Stalmatski was the first person to research the connection between the rise in sudden death syndrome in certain industrialized nations, such as England, Australia, New Zealand and the US and the progressive use of albuterol inhalers as a treatment for asthma. Some cultures are more prone to asthma than others, independently of factors such as industrial pollution.

Buteyko himself said that anything beyond a 60 second pause was unnecessary. However, who knows?

But if anybody wants to go for it and try to explore the pulmonry statisphere of the 80+ exhaled pauses, I'd appreciate hearing how you did.

[JasonE]

I usually suffer from anxiety induced panic at work when the pace quickens and things get busy. AND, I suffer panic when encountering street people/beggars/drug addicts downtown.


I've gone through some breathing exercises prescribed by some of my therapists and although they each differ from one another, there is some overlap.

The problem is the adrenaline dump, it's so severe I've come close to passing out!!

Mike -

Earlier this year, someone stole your Bruiser when you took it to the park. Later, you retrieved it from a homeless man that had found it abandoned. Did you have a panic attack at that time?

If not, how long afterwards did you start having these panic attacks?

Do you remember any other potentially scary experiences involving these types of people?

Much like rooting out physical tension chains, the process of evaluating and resolving some forms of mental/emotional stress may follow a similar process of exploration and recovery. But first we need data to help you figure out where to start looking.

If you seek counseling of some sort, it may be useful to print this thread and present them with a copy. You might also print prior threads related to interactions with indigent people.

[ransuru]

Hi to all.

In the armed forces (Israeli infantry) and especially within the snipers/sharp shooters you place a strong emphasis on breathing. Once the frame is set and the apparatus rests on your skeleton, the breathing is crucial to achieve accuracy. The Cadre is selected from the easy going calm people who fit the profile but to shake off and reach a calm state withing a split second you learn several techniques. The one mentioned here with the inhale - hold and -release is done to an eight count per stage with the tongue pressed to the roof of the mouth. (This also has chi implications but the surface modus operandi creates concentration on one spot that allows you to be aware and manipulate latent tension and muscle/tissue ready state (Also, touching brings the mind to the spot and when you touch your face even from within it allows for a lot of awareness and input to surface)) Another way to enhance your natural calmness is to be aware of your breathing while in stressful poses and if you have the means during martial arts randori (practice fight). When you reach a point where your awareness to the respiratory system is a part of your regular consciousness a surprise will have a shallower and shorter effect on you and you will respond rather than react.

Cheers, Sharon Friedman.

[Randell Waddell]

Morning Sharon,

Thanks for your valuable input from this very practical situation - these things have to work for these people.

Cheers
Randell. :D

[Benjiefari]

Dude ,
Whats up , I would love to know what you think about the Frolov Method .

Benjie

Hi, Mike.

First of all try out the breathing to see if it works and if it does you will know you have a tool at your disposal to lessen the effect of a panic attack when it hits.

I have a lot of experience with anxiety and panic attacks as I suffer from a psychotic disorder.

I've done a lot of thinking on the subject and studied my own thought patterns and states of mind.

One thing i've found is I think the mind has a habit of forming memorys of states of mind.

What I mean is you must feel when an attack is coming on, oh dam I remember this happening before, and you I think kind of sub-consciously induce the rest of the attack.

I think thought patterns have a strong effect on neuro-chemistry and the endocrine system.

If i'm right about the memory thing then it makes sense to do things regularly that produce a calm and relaxed state of mind.

It should be done every day so you become familiar with that state of mind and thus form a strong memory of it.

Personally I like doing ww followed by an hours meditation.

The ww makes you feel loose, relaxed and triggers a small release of mind soothing neuro-chemicals.

The meditation teaches you to become a master of your mind and influence and change your thought patterns to produce feeling of complete relaxation, contentment and security.

Do this everyday and you will within two weeks (for me anyway) have found your grrove with the sitting meditation and will know what to expect and aim for.

You will find with the ww that you become more aware of your muscular tension. Then when you meditate you will be aware of this tension and how it affects your thought patterns.

For instance I found when i'm sitting and my traps and neck are tense I can't settle my mind down and I start thinking negatively. As soon as I relax them I settle right down.

Like someone allready said their will be underlying causes and what i've just outlined helped me to gain undertsanding of those causes.

I wish you the best of luck!! :D

[Randell Waddell]

Morning Ed,

Great post - thank you for sharing what you find helpful.

Cheers
Randell. :D

Thanks Randell!! :D

[Scott Sonnon]

Well done, Ed. You're coming a long way from when we first *met* years ago.

Haha thanks Coach, I was hoping you would have forgotten that night when I was drunk.

Funny thing is if I hadn't have been drunk I probably never would have discovered you and your system.

Anyway don't want to take this thread off topic, thanks!!.

Mike, if you want to ask me about meditation then you can send me a private message if it helps.

Cheers!!

[Mike]

Sorry for not replying as much but I just want to thank all of you for your input. Currently I'm working on deep breathing exercises and quiet meditation. My meditation simply involves quiet and a lot of self talk, I feel this is helping with my self confidence and the time away from television, computers, family and friends is nice sometimes.