BLESSED WITH PANIC ATTACKS
Turning Anger and Anxiety into Fortunes with Cardio-Neuro-Cognitive-Behavioral Technique
Introduction If the title of this book aroused your interest and you have or are experiencing anxiety or panic attacks, I need to tell you right away: I've never been diagnosed with or treated for anxiety disorder or panic attacks.
Misfortunes and misinterpretations happen in life, and they happened to me in the form of cardiac anxiety, an informal diagnosis an emergency room doctor gave me when I was being seen for chest pain, heart palpitation, and fear of having a heart attack. That was in 1988, the era of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, third edition (DSM-III, published in 1980), dubbed the start of modern psychiatric diagnosis. However, following controversies surrounding the elimination of neuroses as a diagnostic class (category), researchers and clinicians began to accept anxiety disorders as a diagnostic class[i]. Prior to the publication of the DSM–III, such conditions were called anxiety neurosis, phobic neurosis, and obsessive compulsive neurosis. When I began graduate studies in 2001, the word neuroses was not uncommon to hear in some classes than the more modern term anxiety disorders. My experiences of cardiac anxiety or cardiophobia were clearly panic attacks, and the behaviors I displayed during these attacks were avoidance behavior; however, when I heard the ER doctor’s informal diagnosis of cardiac anxiety, only one word stuck with me: cardiac. The other word, anxiety, did not register with me. From that point on, I was seeking medical causes for cardiovascular problems. After the ER visit, I saw two more cardiologists who examined me but did not find anything wrong with my cardiovascular system. They all told me, like the ER doctor did, “Your heart seems fine,” “Your heart is okay,” or “Your heart works fine,” and I was sent home without referrals for any more follow-up exams or treatment, including mental health services. That was 1988. In this book, I discuss my three behavior transformation projects that not only saved my marriage but also brought a level of satisfaction I had never before experienced, surpassing anything I had experienced in the previous four decades of my marriage. In Chapter Five, the In-Classroom Self-Exposure Project at SMC, I will talk about how I challenged myself to expose myself to my fear-conditioned stimulus, the heart, and overcome cardiac anxiety, or panic attacks, from today’s behavioral health perspective, and avoidance behavior. |
In Chapter Six, the CBT Anger Management Project at CSPP, I will explore how I applied cognitive-behavioral techniques to regulate anger outbursts toward my partner.
Finally, in Chapters Nine, Ten, and Eleven, I will explore Cardio-Neuro-Cognitive-Behavioral Technique (or CNCBT), a technique in which I combined rigorous cardiovascular exercise with a cognitive-behavioral learning technique to train myself in emotionally desirable behaviors I call AARV(4) cognitive-behavioral skills. AARV(4) is an acronym for Awareness, Acceptance, Relaxation and four-step Validation with active listening, accurate reflection, normalizing, and problem-solving, specifically formulated to help improve my cognitive-behavioral coping techniques when interacting with my partner. Chapter Twelve will encompass a more comprehensive discussion of self-soothing and self-validation techniques that function as a personal therapist for my own hurt feelings. In the chapters in between, I will discuss the historical context of my behavior transformation projects and relevant cognitive-behavioral and neuroscience theories to support my argument that my approach to transforming my maladaptive behaviors into adaptive behaviors, or what I refer to as emotionally desirable behaviors (EDBs), worked. A note on the use of blessed in this book: In this book, the term blessed is used metaphorically, not to imply divine intervention or religious significance but to underscore the unexpected positive outcomes from my personal triumph over cardiac anxiety. This narrative is not about religion; rather, it’s about the journey of transformation of a former Special Operations Forces psychologist, detailing how overcoming these challenges not only shaped my career in anxiety and PTSD specialization but also brought unanticipated blessings into my life. This clarification is pivotal in understanding the perspective and insights I share throughout this story. 1 Shaw, Brian F., Zindel V. Segal, T. Michael Vallis, and Frank E. Cashman, eds. Anxiety Disorders. New York: Plenum Press, 1986. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-4684-5254-9. 1. January 2019 21-SCE Report
2. February 2019 21-SCE Report 3. March 2019 21-SCE Report 4. April 2019 21-SCE Summary Report 5. April 2019 21-SCE Excel Worksheet 6. 2019 21-SCE Summary Report 7. 2020 21-SCE Summary Report 8. 2021 21-SCE Summary Report 9. Three-Year (2019-2021) Summary of 21-SCE Exercise 10. May-November 2020 21-SCE Summary Report |