Yesterday I almost had a panic attack. The situation wasn't that big of a deal, but the particular scenario I was in has become wired together with fright and flight in my head. For me, based on some past trauma moments, the triggering situation is: being late, not being at the right location, miscommunication, having to find a place, and someone is waiting.
Here is the positive - I felt the sensations kicking in. I noticed them. I WITNESSED them and decided, logically, there is no reason here to panic. This is just a miscommunication and he can wait a few minutes for me to drive to the other place. The pause between stimulus and response made all the difference and is HUGE progress for me.
Made-up-crisis-in-my-head averted. Happy afternoon shopping then with my son once I located him.
I think we all have experiential wires that are crossed in our heads. For instance...arousal triggers. One classic example would be girls with glasses. Glasses are not inherently sexy, but what if you were crushing on a girl who wore glasses back when puberty was kicking in, HARD? So then glasses, and the feeling of arousal, maybe get linked?
Are you aware of your own crossed neurological wires? If so please share. 🤗