Panic in the Van
I always get nervous when I move to a new place. It is not so much the move I have realized that makes me nervous it is living in a new place with new people. I have lived in several places in Canada from New Brunswick to Victoria and each time I move I go through a period of anxiety which often leads to panic attacks.
My move from Montreal to Vancouver was like any other move except added on top of that I needed a job fast. Well I have since learned that I should not try to sell something I do not know much about. I got hired on with a company that goes door to door selling books. I already knew that I was very nervous but thought because I had a car it would make it easier and I may not experience a panic attack.
All was going well until I arrived one morning to be told that a few of us were heading off up country to do some selling. Well, when I got into the van I was sure I was going to become sick. My hands started to sweat, my heart started to pound and I thought “here I go!” But for some reason I closed my eyes and started to use my imagination and try to visualize a place that would bring me comfort and peace. In my mind I went to a place I used to go when I was growing up.
“My hands started to sweat, my heart started to pound and I thought "here I go!”
Within seconds my hands dried up and my heart stopped racing. When I opened my eyes I felt so calm and at peace that the rest of the trip went just fine. I have never had a panic attack since and if you have ever had one then you know what a celebration that is.
_Anxiety and panic attacks are crippling. They can keep one tied to their house and make going anywhere real difficult. By practicing visualization as a way to ease anxiety and therefore panic a person can discover a way to empower themselves and give themselves control over their fears.
Creative visualization is a way to trick your mind from thinking it needs to panic to thinking there is nothing to fear. Practice closing your eyes and imagining a place that brings you comfort and peace. Perhaps it is lying on the couch wrapped in a comforter or going for a walk in the woods or maybe taking a nice bath. The important idea is to find that place that helps you feel comfortable in, then go through your senses and ask yourself what do I see, what do I hear, what do you smell, what do you taste (if there is a taste), and finally what do you feel.
If you go through each sense, you will find that by the end of it you will be relaxed and peaceful because you have told your mind that there is nothing to fear. Once you have practiced it long enough you will be able to go there in a second. Then the next time you feel some anxiety coming on close your eyes (as long as your not driving) and you will find that you will not become overwhelmed with anxiety._
Tools
Practice creative visualizing.
Know that facing the unknown IS scary and does create a certain amount of anxiety.
