JOHN WILLIAMS’ PERSONAL BLOG ON CREATIVE LIVING
The power of a thought
7Jul2009 Filed under: How to be happy Author: JohnYesterday as I was walking back to the officespace I sometimes work at, I saw a young woman collapse just ahead of me. Some people nearby rushed to help her into the building to sit down.
She said that she suddenly felt numb down one side of her body. It sounded like she was having a stroke and I urged one of the staff to call an ambulance immediately. The ambulance came within minutes and by that point the woman was feeling faint and completely numb on her left side.
I was shocked to witness someone falling so ill so quickly and was worried what would happen for her.
Today I discovered that it was not in fact a stroke or heart attack. She had suffered a panic attack; a sudden overwhelming bout of anxiety. Panic attacks happen when negative thoughts feed back on themselves and escalate to the point where some very startling physical symptoms occur - which in turn generate more negative thoughts.
A thought is a very powerful thing. If negative thoughts can produce paralysis, what can positive thoughts produce?
Choose yours wisely.
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This is the personal blog of John Williams, author of "Screw work, let's play: How to do what you love & get paid for it" to be published by Pearson in June 2010.
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Andrea
February 11th, 2011 at 12:08 AM
I have experienced panic attack before, but at the time I didn’t know what was happening. I just suddenly (literally from one second to the next) felt nausea rise in me and then felt really faint and had blackout spots in front of my eyes. Then I started to panic to my breathing became heavy, my heart started pounding, I started to get pins and needles in my fingers and my face. All this within about 20 seconds while I was sitting at my desk in the office. Then I stood up to walk to the sick room, and my legs just felt so weak like they wouldn’t support my weight, luckily I had the presence of mind to ask a colleague to support me, so I wouldn’t fall.
It took me about an hour to completely calm down and recover.
Later someone mentioned that it I must have suffered a panic attack.
I was actually going through a very difficult time, and often I felt like there was no way out. That particular morning my thought weren’t too gloomy, but the deep down my inner turmoil still affected me in that physical way. And being scared about what was happening made the condition even worse !!!