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By Andrea Lanier, Group Facilitator previous page
In order to be truly effective, all the elements of the BARCS exercise need to be practiced in detail. It is helpful to practice a breathing exercise several times daily, as well as a relaxation exercise. I practiced by using guided relaxation tapes twice daily to help my body and mind to adjust. Through my college studies, I had also learned that fear can be overcome by coupling feared stimuli with relaxation. This caused me to "experiment" to bring on a sense of relaxation when I felt the first symptoms of panic appear, and when that did not work, to bring on the relaxation to counter the fear of returning panic. To this day, I practice a relaxation exercise and/or meditation twice a day. I attribute the non-occurrence of panic attacks for the past two years to being more relaxed in general.
One of the biggest challenges I was faced with was to accept the sensations of a panic disorder. When I was first told to accept these terrible feelings, I concluded that the person telling me this must be absolutely clueless as to what it is like to feel such terror. But I learned to understand. The more I fought the feeling of panic, the worse it became and the more difficult it was to recover. But when I started to learn acceptance, it was kind of like gently letting the air out of an over-inflated balloon instead of inflating it more until it burst. As I became even more used to acceptance, it was acceptance and relaxation that helped me avert a full-blown panic attack when I noticed the first symptoms. In the severe stages of the panic disorder, it had been impossible to recognize the onset of an attack, but becoming more relaxed and tuned to myself through the practice of regular meditation allowed me to be more conscious of what I was feeling and thinking. I still remember that last panic attack two years ago that did not become one because I recognized it coming on and I knew how to meet it.
The staying part of the BARCS exercise can only be practiced during the actual panic attack, but you can prepare for it by reciting and rehearsing BARCS in its sequence. Panic attacks can occur just about anywhere. Some of mine were at night and they tore me out of my seemingly calm and restful sleep. Others came at breakfast, after a nap, before taking a shower, and often they came on while shopping for groceries. Some people experience them while driving. I don't believe in forcing anything when it comes to staying in the feared situation, but in a gentle determination to do a little better each time. The first time: go ahead and run if that feels good. But make sure you return very soon. I allowed myself to escape the place where the panic came on, but after recovering, I would return to the grocery store where it happened. Later, I learned to stay immediately. Staying in the feared situation helped me get used to seeing that what I was feeling was not dangerous, a process that can be induced and practiced with a good psychotherapist as well. And staying becomes a lot easier when appropriate breathing, relaxation, and acceptance have been practiced.
Although BARCS practiced well has made a big difference in coping with panic disorder, I found that a holistic healthy life style is conducive to keeping panic attacks away. For example, I avoid placing my mind and body on a nutritional roller coaster by avoiding large quantities of refined carbohydrates. I eat almost no candy, pie, cakes, white flour products, etc. I rarely drink alcohol. I consume no caffeine, nicotine, or other drugs. I practice daily meditation and relaxation, and I exercise at least three times a week. Ideally, I like to take frequent relaxing walks in pleasant environments. I also find it important to discipline my mind and body for set sleeping times, for me: eight hours between 10 PM and 6 AM. It is important to condition mind and body to a specific time for sleep even if this seems difficult at first. And last, I try to ensure that I practice some form of self-nurturing everyday - anything that's totally useless - except for the fact that I enjoy it.
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