Learning To Breathe - Finally!

My special friend, Barbara, said she could not find a single person who had triumphed over social anxiety and panic.  She also said, I believe, that the specifics of her case were so unique that she doubted there would be a cure for her. 

I can sympathize with that thinking…and how it must make her feel. 

But I know that the thinking is erroneous and that it is essential that it be corrected, if she is to make progress in a shorter period of time.  Part of the thinking is that the problem is due to circumstances and/or locked in place by her past.  That is not true - and it can be a "reason" for thinking the problem is "fixed, permanent", which is a classic wrong way of thinking - and one that the Buddha cites as being a great source of suffering.    

But few understand the difficulties of those who experience panic attacks, no matter that source (the source is always thinking) - it can be a tough road, but the point is that there is a road to peace. 

Looking for the story of someone who has succeeded is a useful idea.  And certainly those people understand the difficulties.

One book that has been written and published recently is a delightful story of the year of learning to breathe – which, for a panic attack person, is very hard to do, as he/she has learned the wrong way to breathe and made it a habit – but one that is overcomeable.

But the solution does not lie solely in the breathing.  It is in handling each part of the syndrome, which is defined as a combination of parts.

Priscilla Warner writes in a manner reminiscent of Elizabeth Gilbert in her Eat, Pray, Love book.    Her book:  Learning To Breathe – My Yearlong Quest To Bring Calm To My Life. 

Or as she calls it her “my panic-to-peace project.”

It is a book that is hard to put down but one with many, many lessons included in it, as she rubs shoulders with Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche (who shares how he cured his panic attacks; see also his book The Joy Of Living) and Krishna Das (who had recovered from many years of depression), and many others, each of whom contributed to her seeing and implementing what works to free herself up from that type of thinking in life.  Yes, breathing is part of it, but only a manifestation of the cause – which is the type of thinking that generates needless, useless suffering.  Tension, and the resultant exhaustion, is also a manifestation of the cause.

(She even generated proof of her changes, by having brain scans that showed her "before" and "after" brains – the latter looked more like that of the happiest people in the world – Tibetan Buddhist monks. See Rewiring The Brain.)

I urge you to read the book, whether you are trying to cure your social anxiety and panic attacks or just wanting to live a better life, still with ups and downs but with lots of “good stuff”.  And I urge you to follow in more depth the practices and paths she has taken.

As I write this, I feel a great sense of peace and appreciation for life.

Keith

There are also example after example of people who have overcome depression and/or panic attacks.  I list some their names on the site, in the depression section, in the Bad Past Good Life section, in the Panic Attacks section.  Review those and find a person who resonates.  Many are famous now.  Many have devised ways of helping others through the process – though they have products that sell for money, what they do is very beneficial for the world.  Read their stories and follow the clues that success leaves behind – for it is easier and more productive to follow the path of one who has already travelled the path you would like to travel.  True, you will have to select what works best for you, and, true, it might be best to have a guide to help you, but there is a path(s) that works for you!