Is "escaping" wrong in this context?

Hi junglemonkey

I don't profess to be a great knowledge on panic attacks but this struck me when i read your post - if your attacks are worse when you are in school (understandably with many eyes on you) then this is a fear which may cause panic, therefore leaving the room/situation is running away from that fear. Maybe explaining to your teachers and close friends exactly what is happening you will be able to shut out those who don't matter and get through the attacks.
i don't know how supportive your school is but being in the industry i can tell you that the more information they have about your situation, the more understanding they will be. it is also a learning curve for them and your extensive knowledge passed on through teachers may well help someone else in your school.

keep smiling

Gill

Hey gill99, thanks for the reply!

I don't think I'm afraid of school. I quite enjoy it really. (:o you'll never hear another teenager say that!) Granted, there can be things in school that trigger me, but when I have an attack in school it's usually over something completely random. The last serious one I had was because I was told I would need to attend a prestigous ceremony in school ("what if I am not well?" was my automatic response) and I was late for class because of this, I had many important choices over my future to make, and my old English teacher was coming back (I won't go into those reasons but they are numerous lol) and it kind of crept up on me by the time I got to class. So it's not really school that is the trigger, but things in school, if you see what I mean? And they don't even have to be related to school. As my panic attacks stem from GAD it tends to not have one specific reason or phobia, it's a bit random. I mean if I think about that one I told you about, I remember having to sit there for 40 minutes, being looked at like I was a freak, having people comment on my shaking etc completely sustained the attack and I don't think theres anyway to block that out other than be emotionless! I've been bullied in school many times in my life and I know how much is at stake these days with kids my age, they can be so nasty. Outsiders opinions mean a lot to me too. If someone in class calls you possessed, it doesn't matter who said it, it still hurts like a bitch when you're constantly trying to remind yourself you're ok and completely sane

Before my preliminary examinations in January I spoke to my year tutor who already had some idea something funny was going on (What she called a "funny turn") just to check out what would happen if I did in fact need to leave or something. As more and more reports came to her I was having these "funny turns" she asked me to see her, one thing led to another, and she asked me if she could inform all my teachers because they were expressing concern. I have to admit there is still a great misunderstanding about my condition (One teacher thought I was in counselling for problems coping with stress) but now that the teachers know there is something going on it has made me a little more secure. I have told my very closest friends and it took a lot to do it, but it still doesn't stop them making worrying comments, and one of my mates thinks it's best to treat me like an invalid after I have an attack. It is very difficult to get it through to a 16 year old what an attack is, and most people even hate saying the words "panic attack" and another of my friends says "when you take one of your thingies" and he's probably my most well-informed friend!

Ok I know that was long and mixed up lol, forgive me! Just got a lot of feeling about this!

Lesley x

i do have a bit of knowledge first hand on panic. i hate to say this but, the way to beat (escapism) is to face it and continue to do so until you can ge through episodes in public situations. it will get easier, i promise.

Hi junglemonkey,

Here's a great example (from the cognitive perspective) of why we should not engage in avoidance behavior (escaping). Source: http://www.habitsmart.com/anx.html

"Anxiety problems are self-perpetuating, mostly by virtue of cognitive distortions and the overuse of flight/avoidance strategies. Consider an example. Joe quit his job due to severe anxiety. He's been out of work for a month. A friend orchestrated a job interview for Joe tomorrow, and the night before, he is catastrophizing and therefore experiencing a considerable amount of anxious mood and physical symptoms. The more anxious Joe gets, the more catastrophic he thinks, until he can't stand it any more and elects to cancel the interview. The canceling of the interview brings about an immediate reduction of anxiety, and therefore, the next time Joe is offered an interview, he will not only be likely to catastrophize and experience considerable anxiety, but he will also be strongly compelled to cancel the interview. With several such scenarios, Joe becomes stuck in an anxiety/avoidance cycle that is very difficult to get out of."

Further,

"Countering avoidance is believed to be the most powerful means of reducing anxiety problems. Avoidance reduces anxiety in the short term, but it actually makes for more anxiety in the long term, as avoidance breeds more avoidance and it becomes increasingly more anxiety provoking to counter avoidance. Using the example of the young fellow returning to work, if he catastrophizes returning to the extent that his anxiety is extreme, he may choose to postpone it. This will decrease his anxiety and make it even harder to return the next day, because not only will he have increased anxiety just considering it, but he will have a strong drive to postpone again, given that the previous postponement resulted in a decrease in anxiety. Exposure involves placing oneself in the avoided situation, despite the anxiety, and staying there until the anxiety ebbs completely. With most forms of anxiety, a hierarchy of exposure is established; i.e. the person gradually exposes himself to what has been avoided, starting with a level that evokes a minimum of anxiety, and increasing the level of exposure as each level is successfully extinguished, while simultaneously utilizing relaxation exercises and decatastrophizing techniques."

You may want to try using a successive approximation method. Try to reduce escaping by exposing yourself to the anxiety provoking situation in small but increasing increments. For instance, if you begin to have an attack at school, try to sit it out for five minutes and then escape. Slowly increase the time that you give yourself to escape.

But what am I really avoiding? I'm not avoiding class, because my panic attacks have nothing to do with class, and I just don't see it.
The only thing I see myself avoiding is snide comments from people in class, and isn't that understandable at all? And it's much easier to feel better without those snide comments, which at the time is my priority, but I'm not "escaping" class. I don't get it

I can stay in class if I want to. I've done it before, and I've done it in loads of other situations where I've panicked. But I just want to leave in class for the reasons I have said.

"Countering avoidance is believed to be the most powerful means of reducing anxiety problems.

I believe relaxation is the most powerful means of countering anxiety. Both methods work by reconditioning the brain / nervous system to respond with less anxiety, but relaxation is the key. In fact, when this behavioural intervention was developed it was paired with relaxation. After a while the behaviourists decided that the relaxation was irrelevant.

What we know now is that it is often enough to pair relaxation with the imagination of the feared situation to recondition the brain / nervous system.

Junglemonkey I think it is academic (!) why you are avoiding class (you seem to have a pretty good understanding of it I reckon). What you want is to be able to relax in class - to be there without experiencing high levels of anxiety. If your therapist has been unable to help you do this, perhaps another therapist is in order?