Meredith, I have the same problem. All the paper to file and act opon and all the writing I need to do along with the housework just overwhelms me. A cleaning lady helps a lot though.
I bet if the congress had more women members, cleaning ladies would be covered by Medicare. Now there's an idea. After all, cleaning ladies are far more medicinal than viagra which I believe is still covered.
Maybe we ought to elect some REAL women to congress!!
smile

[ June 14, 2005, 12:59 AM: Message edited by: smilinize ]

One of the things that we found in writing the book is that the words "panic attack" were often used to describe other episodes. I know I wrote this earlier, but in case some didn't see it, here it is again, straight from the DSM:

A panic attack is a discrete period in which there is the sudden onset of intense apprehension, fearfullness, or terror, often associated with feelings of impending doom.

I understand the "rush" or the "thrill" that Smile wrote about. Having been a performer for many years, I often experienced that rush of adreneline, but having also experienced panic attacks, I found them to be quite different.

The thrill of performing has a quality of apprehension and, as I mentioned the rush of adreneline, but I don't believe it includes the absolute terror, or the impending doom of a panic attack. Even the word thrill is associated with a positive experience.

That said, I do believe it is always good to pursue those things that might make you feel anxious. I do think you experience a tremendous amount of empowerment everytime you do it (even if you experience panic during the event...you still did it!)

Jeanne

Jeanne, thanks for including the DSM. It helped me to define that attack in the realtor's car as a panic attack, because I indeed had the feeling of impending doom. The surprise was that I had not had a panic attack in years, and I thought I was "over" them. It just goes to show that PA can be managed, but not necessarily cured. LLL

By the way, the job that my husband had was a bust. The company had hired him to open a restaurant in St.L. AFTER we spent 2 months apart, AFTER we sold our house in St. J, AFTER we put a $6,000 deposit on a house in St. L, AFTER my husband had hired a managment team, that company decided they did not have the funds to open that restaurant in St. L. It was a move doomed from the start, and my intuition was right on target! LLL

Smilinize, I like your solution! You're right -- house cleaners are a much more important medical benefit than Viagra any day! For that matter, for all the time men spend thinking about their erections, they could be more FUNCTIONAL if they took up a vaccuum and cleaned the house.

Just my take on it, anyways.

Hi everyone!

I thought I might share a few FUN FACTS from our book. We concluded each chapter with some startling/funny/ interesting information about anxiety and mood disoreders. Here's three of them.

1. About 25 percent of chest pain patients admitted to hospital emergency rooms are diagnosed with panic attacks.

2. Approximately 80 percent of panic disorder patients experienced an unusually stressful life event not long before their first panic attack.

3. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder was once thought to be caused by early experiences related to one's toilet training (I'm not kidding!).

Jeanne

Anal Retentive. You know how we say, "Oh, she's so anal!" in regards to someone who is nit-picky and/or a perfectionist? I believe the term came from Freud who used the term to describe a phase of toilet training. Anal. I hate that term! LLL

In response to a private message:

Mary,

Sorry, I don't know how to respond to you privatley. I did not reply to your 2nd post only because it wasn't really a question, which is fine of course. So sorry.

Jeanne

Heard the term but have never quite been able to figure what the heck ANAL RETENTIVE means. Is it like saving our a _ _? Makes no sense to me either way...

Hi Everyone,
I thought I'd mention a few of the "Fun Facts" that our editor decided to omit:

1. In Ancient Greece, girls who "slept around" were known as Panic Girls. (wonder why that one got nixed?)

2. Even though he's 50 years old, Richard Gere is still a babe. (you have to question the wisdom of editors !

And here's the quote from Winona Ryder: "It's that feeling when you almost get in a car wreck and you swerve, and for a second there are needles in your head and needles in your body. It's that moment - but STRETCHED OUT!

I love this quote - I think it's a great snapshot of what some of the intense moments of a panic attack can feel like.

Sugaree- have you considered, or has your therapist mentioned to you the possibility of desensitization or exposure therapy? It can be a very successful treatment for specific phobias, including smells that remind us traumatic experiences. Let me know if you want to know more about it. Hope things are okay with you.

Francine--
How are things going with you? Have you seen the doctor at the base? Did you get the galleys yet for your book? I know you're not on cloud nine about it, but it will be something to focus on and somethig that will give you positive feelings.

Everyone--
I thought it might be interesting for people to let loose with particular fears - bridges, antique furniture (Billy Bob Thorton has that one - among others ), spiders, storms, flying, the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth, or my favorite - hippopotomonstrosequippedaliaphobia. This is a particular fear, one we found in the "Encyclopedia of Phobias" which lists thousands and thousands of phobias. I'll toss it out as a challenge so start your brains ticking and guess what it's a fear of.

One benefit to everyone tossing their fear in a hat is that we can see WHAT WE'RE NOT AFRAID OF. Seeing what we're not afraid of is a good thing, because no one is afraid of everything and if we can experience NOT BEING AFRAID of what someone else is afraid of, then we can see ourselves from a different point of view and see that others are not afraid of what we're afraid of. Being able to take an outside perspective on fear - seeing it from someone else's point of view is a good thing. I have a great fear of this thing that I can't even name so I have given it a letter - "W" I have been terrified of this "set of experiences" and it wasn't until quite recently that I was able to see it in a different light. I had been convinced that my therapist was afraid of it too and he kept saying he wasn't - but I couldn't believe him and thought he was afraid to tell me he was afraid! A short while ago, in a great insight, I was finally able to see that he wasn't afraid and I could understand why he wasn't afraid. This has made a big difference for me because I was able to see myself through his eyes and this have the experience of seeing what it is like not be afraid.
Another reason to have a "fear purge session" is that even though many of us know all too clearly the terror of what it's like to truly be afraid of something - it's also true that most of don't understand some fears. Like the antique furniture thing with Billy Bob Thorton - whenever I read about it I just think: what's your problem, Billy? How's that for compassion? The point is, after I think this, I realize that HE REALLY IS AFRAID OF IT. Many of us might have significant others who simply just do not understand how someone could be afraid of this or that. I bet if everyone posting and reading listed one thing they're afraid of, one thing that gets them feeling those bad feelings -I bet that we'd find we had some fears in common and that there are some fears we would find difficult to understand. It's good to have this experience, (for a moment anyway), because it will help you to understand those who don't understand you.
Anyone game?
I'll start with an easy one: A BEE IN MY CAR. This is probably a common fear and one that's easy to relate to, but TRUST ME, YOU DON'T WANT TO BE IN MY CAR WITH ME IF THERE'S A BEE IN THE BACK. I have screeched to a halt on 4 lane roads, run out screaming, and flipped the back open. I have swatted and screamed at them, but no matter what, if there's a bee in my car - I'M OUTTA THERE.
I'll throw in a second, which I mentioned in a previous post: THE SMELL (SOMETIMES EVEN THE PICTURE OF) NAIL POLISH.
Okay kids - let's see what ya' got.....

-Julie