Panic Attack Shaking

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If you are able to work through the process with me, rather than just reading, you will glean the most benefit.  It’s great practice.

You may find that the process seems very basic or unhelpful if you just read these things but actually working through the examples and using the process with your own thoughts can be very beneficial to you.

One of the great things about Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is that it is necessary for one to be proactive in their recovery and this, in my opinion, as I’ve stated many time is key.

Without further delay let’s look at the question. 

Question: “I feel like I'm going crazy and don't know what will happen if I do. Secondly, I can be out shopping, and I start to shake then my knees give out.”

Answer:

For the purposes of this example, let’s say that the person’s name making the above is Kelly.

First, I would recommend to all subscribers that they try to identify the cognitive distortions present in Kelly’s thinking by reviewing the list of cognitive distortions. 

Once you have done so, come back to this spot and see if we have agreement.  Remember this is a great way to practice the process which be applied to your own thoughts.  

1. Emotional Reasoning is present because Kelly is stating that she FEELS like she is going crazy.  Emotional reasoning is the tendency to make conclusions on the basis of how one FEELS.  Although she does not specifically state it, the thought that lurks in the background is that she actually is going crazy – so on a certain level she concludes this to be true – which is exactly what makes this so scary.

2. Fortune Telling is present because this tendency refers to the notion of predicting what will happen in the future even when there is no basis in reality.  This is exactly what is happening here.  Kelly states “…I can be out shopping, and I start to shake and my knees give out.”  The thought that is likely lurking in the background is that she will not be able to continue shopping or doing anything else because her knees have gone out.  It is likely true that there is in fact no basis in reality.

Let’s now look at some alternatives:

1.  Just because Kelly feels like she is going crazy does not make it so.  She really has no evidence that this is the case.  The truth is that most people who are genuinely going crazy do not realize that this is happening so the very fact that Kelly has this fear is likely a healthy sign.  It is more correct for Kelly to conclude that she is anxious, but additionally that she has likely felt anxious and felt bad before and she did not go crazy nor did anything really that bad happen. Over time she can learn to accept being anxious and her anxiety will lose its grip on here.

2. Just because Kelly gets nervous and consequently her knees start to shake is not something that really going crazy or unable to continue shopping.  Rather Kelly can simply have a seat somewhere and relax and it will likely pass and she can go back to her shopping.  She might try having a friend accompany her while she is shopping, initially.  Over time she will see that she can simply take a break and return to her shopping. 

Anyone that has kids knows that from time to time it becomes necessary to leave your cart full of groceries in the store if you are having a child who is misbehaving badly and will not listen.  Well, same with Kelly if she gets really shaky and has to take a break.  She can simply leave her cart in the aisle and take a break.

In closing, I have used cognitive behavioral therapy on myself, and I know of countless people who have benefited from it.  I have done an abundance of personal research into actual cases, the thought processes and outcomes.  I have also consulted with many people who have used this same process and it has proven very effective for even severe problems.