hello andrew, when u say anger..does it mean..you feel these emotions..due to any medication u are taking ?

b'case recently I understood that some antidepressants will have negative effect in the form of rage or some wierd revolting thoughts... (although yiour day-to-day activities are not changed).

Regards.

No

What I mean is there is a part of me that want's to fall on the ground and scream like a toddler when I don't get my way -- we all have it.

Most people express these feelings as stress and frustration, some actually become enraged at, say, being stuck in traffic or missing a connecting flight.

Others, panic attack sufferers, internalize these feelings and they come out in a hysterical way ... as panic.

Panic is an explosion of hysterical emotion that usually has very little, if anything to do with the subject of the actual panic.

The point is that panic attacks seemed like something happening to me until I began to understand that panic is something I choose at a very subtle and unconscious level. The energy of the panic attack is proportional to the energy of my refusal to accept life as it is.

I dont think this is helpful for panic attack sufferers, after all they often inherit their panic attacks

If that were 100% true no therapy would be effective in treating panic disorder ... but cognitive-behavioral therapy is effective. So panic attack sufferers, including me, have a psychological problem that is treatable.

People with diabetes often inherit a predisposition to diabetes. But behavior is also a component.

Management of panic disorder is similar. One MUST take responsibility for the panic. It makes no difference what the root cause is -- only that it can be treated.

I don't understand why you would say this is not helpful?

I'm finding that for myself panic attacks come out when I'm suppressing an emotion - could be anger or pain or, whatever.

Also, tiredness affects them.

So, I think you are onto something when you identify anger being at the root of your anxiety.

But, knowing that doesn't make the anger, pain, emotions go away. And it doesn't make the panic attacks go away. Until you can learn another way of releasing those emotions.

When I think of the most powerful emotions I've experienced, anxiety and anger come to mind.

If anxiety is a "fight or flight" response -- that makes it seems like anger and anxiety are two sides of the same coin ... and that the extremes, panic and rage, respectively, seem to come from the same deep place inside us.

On one hand it is just how I am wired. I didn't choose to be like this. On the other hand there must be something in the way I look at the world that feeds anxiety. That is, a drastic change in perspective would and will have an effect on my level of anxiety.

Have you ever had those moments where you are at total peace? Does it seem like a change in perspective has taken place?

you have a point, justandrew.......when my anxiety first started, it seemed to be triggered by my supressing my anger towards my husband......he is always right and there is just no winning with him, so i learned to just shut down, and not fight back. That is when it became even worse.....and things have gone downhill. aybe i need to start fighting back. Hmmm..thanks for the thoughts......now i have something to think about.

Andrew,

You are bringing up some really profound thoughts regarding panic attacks and their origin.

I definitely think that, although there is a genetic component, anger or repressed intense emotion will exacerbate panic in some people. I remember a friend of mine who had also suffered from panic attacks suggested to me that I had a lot of repressed anger due to growing up in a violent and verbally-abusive family, and the evidence for this was that I experienced panic attacks when I was a kid, and living with my family of origin was like living in a war zone.

So when she told me this, I started trying to express the anger (privately) by yelling or hitting a pillow, or anything that would get my anger out. And to my amazement, I found that the panic would start fading away when I replaced the panic feelings with rage!

Also, I would experience an increase in panic when I felt intense emotion, whether it be sadness, being moved by music I was listening to (I actually had to stop listening to music which I loved the most, because it moved me too much - which would bring on a panic attack!)

So just as depression is "anger turned inward", I think that panic can be partially caused in some people by the same process.

Janet

I can't watch emotional movies most of the time without having a panic attack after it's over and I try to face reality again. Sitcoms or something that keeps you laughing the whole time is okay though.

I just watched "The Hangover" and I feel ... well ... hungover.

The worst panic attacks I ever had were always after drinking.

It's sooooo important for me to stay away from alcohol.

But that's another thread.

I have panic, just thinking about it at times...grrr...also have some whenever I have to go somewhere. I DO have road rage really bad....simple things can bring them on for me.....