anxiety and als

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gilly

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my aunt has been experiencing a lot of panic attacks lately. i happen to be quite familiar with an anxiety attack and how it can completely crush your ability to reason with yourself and feel stable. it can cause you to lose your breath, make your head spin, feel your heart pounding etc. add ALS to that and not being able to communicate your fears and that must be the ultimate anxiety.

anyway, my aunt was having one so i got on the phone with her and talked her down from it. just want to pass on the technique i've learned. it helped her tremendously.

the key is to focus on two things that make you calm and happy. for my aunt, it's her dogs. they have dog houses out in the backyard. so i had her sit at the door and slowly let her eyes roam from one dog house over to the other... and back and forth and back and forth - counting to 5 slowly in between. the back and forth rhythm is good to calm the nervous system and the counting gives the mind something to focus on. constantly remind yourself or the person you are coaching to relax their shoulders and the rest of their body. let them know that severe anxiety cannot last longer than 3-5 minutes. an attack though can last for up to 30 minutes. so focus and stay at it. DO NOT fight it. let your body feel panicked. let it freak out. it will pass. just keep looking slowly back and forth at something that makes you relax or feel good.

ok, just a piece of advice. xo nicole
 
Hi,

Yesterday, I had lots of fastitulations in a different finger and my right shoulder blade. As a matter of fact my legs felt like they were shanking on the inside too. I called it the "heebee geebies." Well, that has not happened before, but we were at the Doc's for my husband to schedule surgery or radiation for postrate cancer. It occured to me that anxiety was causing my symptoms. Then I read this thread. The decisions have been made, and I don't have them today. So I conclude it was anxiety making things worse. Peg
 
peg...

sounds like it could be anxiety. but sometimes als can cause little jerks in your muscles. i have heard of that before. however, if you feel you were having panic or anxiety, it's certainly something you can train yourself to cope with. it's all in your head so that's where you need to start and focus! i'm not a professional but i've done a lot of practicing with methods of meditation and relaxion. they help.

good luck.
xo nicole
 
relax techniques

Hi Nicole

I am the caregiver not the patient but your advice sounds great even for me!

Lately, due to my husbands PMA/ALS affecting from waist up, he is having trouble with
breathing. Does BIpap at night but can tell he gets himself worked up.

Made an appointment with our regular doctor to see him next week about getting a pill just at bedtime to take the edge off for him.

You can be sure I am going to use your idea for me! :) Thanks again! Patty
 
Hi Patty! I just pm'ed you!

Irma
 
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