In time of panic or duress, take a moment to rationalize.

Hi there,

Michael here, Boris' partner...

A couple of days ago while talking to my son over Skype he told me that the father of his friend has passed away. Death never leaves me completely indifferent, but in this case I didn’t feel too much grief. I’ve met this guy a couple of times, but never his father. So it seemed that I forgot all about the incident.

However, an hour or so after that I started feeling pressure in my chest, i.e. my usual symptom of anxiety. I thought to myself – “Not again…”

I should note here that since several years ago I had a history of anxiety and even panic attacks. Back then, Boris helped me keep my anxiety under control, first with a series of massages and then with the course of self-massage that I follow based on his system.

Nevertheless, anxiety still decides to pay me a visit every now and then; especially after unexpected stress. Every time it happens, it feels like I am having a heart attack. Surely I took an extensive test in the hospital that proved that I didn’t have a heart condition and Boris has told me the same thing many times. Still, whenever I experience tightness and the sensation of nasty warmth in my chest,

I think “oh…here it comes…”

During moments like this, I usually call Boris and he spends roughly 30 to 45 minutes turning me around on the table, straightening the fascia and relaxing the muscles on my back and left Latissimus Dorsi.

This time around, I told myself “Stop panicking. This isn’t heart attack. You’ve been through this so many times before. Just stop. You are fine. It’s psychosomatic, psychosomatic, psychosomatic…”

As repeating these affirmations, within the next couple of hours, I noticed that the pain and tightness in my chest has dissipated to the lesser degree. After waking up in the morning, I was back to full health.

I didn’t think that I acknowledged the death of the boy’s father consciously. However, my subconscious mind must have taken a toll from hearing the news. The resulting panic caused my blood vessels to constrict, and the vicious cycle that lead to my anxiety had started.

To sum up, I think that acknowledging and verbally affirming that I was “ok,” result the incident. Doing so led me to the root of the problem. Perhaps some of you can relate. Please share.

Michael Gaft

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