Dotsie and All,

Sorry I haven't been on in a bit - but I don't have the internet where I live yet and have to come to an internet cafe and when I came yesterday I found that I had forgotten my password (thought it was storied in my memory). Then, after I left, I realized I could have just gone to my email...
In any case, for those of you who've read our book (or are going to), you will find that I am "in the middle" of my struggle with anxiety and panic. I don't have a tried and proven technique that works for me every time, and as it turns out, on Saturday, I had pretty much a full blown episode, so it was difficult for me to talk about a time when I'd experienced and recovered form an attack. But here's the thing I FIND MOST USEFUL for now. It's funny and may not seem like a lot, but for me, what I know that is always true about panic attacks is this: THEY WILL PASS, THEY WILL PASS, THEY WILL PASS. So, I find great comfort from TIME and the reliability that TIME MOVES FORWARD and that no attack will last for hours.
I think one of the best tools to keep in your panic pocket is self-knowledge and anticipation. If I do this, I can have a pretty good idea of what might trigger an attack for me. I had this going for me on Saturday - but I didn't do my "warm-ups" and so I got snuck up on. I should have exercised before I went out, and because circumstances made the day particularly difficult for me - I should have "pre-treated" with an ativan. But I did neither and I paid a big fat price. It's Monday afternoon and I'm still...a little cautious, but I'm better (and hopefully wiser).
Another psychological tool is sort of what I've just written - to remind yourself afterwards that you got through it, you made it and you will make it through the next one!

I can think of two women who have struggled with panic and yet achieved remarkable things. The first is a self-proclaimed "freelance monotheist" (fancy term) and her name is Karen Armstrong. She is quite famous in many circles and has written several books on god and Islam and Christianity. She was interviewed on radio and television during the time after 9/11. Jeanne and I had the opportunity to hear her speak last year, and she had described years of struggle and attacks. It turned out for her that the underlying cause of her panic was frontal lobe epilepsy. That's why panic should never be self-diagnosed!
Another women, with whom more of you might be familiar is Carly Simon. Yes, the singer. She suffers horrible panic and horrible stagefright - but she's found a way to sing through her fear. One thing about singing is that it controls your breath, so maybe we need to write ourselves a panic anthem - it would have to be long, like those songs you used to sing on school buses during field trips, in case somebody needed to sing it for 15 or 20 minutes (which is about the maximum that the physiological components to a panic attack can last).
Wynona Ryder, whom we quote in the book, also suffers from panic attacks. She has a great description which we use for the opening of one of the earlier chapters. I'll try to think of more women who suffer and succeed and include them in my next post.
Take care all,
-Julie