The swinging of a pocket watch by the magician allows the lady to focus all her attention on the watch. Nowadays it is possible for a person to go into hypnosis by just fixing his eyes on an imaginary point in front of him. With the appropriate suggestions from the hypnotist, the person’s scope of awareness will gradually become narrower and narrower. The appropriate suggestion is important to constrict the scope of awareness away from the surroundings. The result is that the person dissociates and detaches from his thoughts, so that his thinking then follows the suggestion of the hypnotist.

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The boy who has not done his homework suddenly develops a pain in the stomach when he is about to leave for school. It is real pain. He feels it and it hurts him. He cries with it. In fact this is a feature of hysterical pain; the sufferer has to let others know about it. These examples may seem very simple, but they are real; and we must remember that the soldier in fact cannot move his leg, and the child does in fact suffer pain. It is not altogether uncommon for adults to develop a severe headache when the time comes for some task which they do not relish. The circumstances may be such that the headache excuses them from the task; or on the other hand it may provide a ready excuse to themselves or to others for not doing it well.

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On rare occasions this may happen during the twenty-minute sessions. If it does and if we feel distressed, we can reduce the meditation time to ten minutes, gradually building back up to twenty minutes. It is better to cut down the length of meditation time than to stop meditating altogether.

After twelve or eighteen months of regular meditation, session times can be slowly extended up to an hour. The releasing process is an ongoing one, but with experience people are able to understand and not become hesitant if they experience a release of feelings or emotions. Many people actually cultivate such releases because they see how beneficial they are in the long term.

The daily practice of meditation does require discipline, but we shouldn’t feel guilty if we miss a meditation session. Missing one or two sessions happens to everyone. Only after days or weeks without meditating should we seriously question our motivation—or lack of it.

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Recovery for many of us who have had panic disorder means we still can experience an occasional attack. The difference between panic disorder and recovery means we have taken the power back and are no longer afraid of the attack or anxiety. We have shifted the power balance. There are no more ‘what ifs’, but instead we have developed an attitude of ‘so what’, irrespective of how violent the occasional attack may feel. ‘So what’, means we have taken back the power.

Compassion

A major obstacle to taking back the power is the lack of compassion we have for ourselves. Compassion in this instance is the acknowledgement, and the capacity to fully feel the pain of our own suffering without mentally abusing ourselves, ‘I am hopeless, stupid, worthless etc’ and without the brutal self-hatred many of us feel.

In the early stages of the disorders many of us say, ‘This is not me, I am not like this’, and in doing so we negate and invalidate our own suffering and pain. Most of us cannot see, let alone acknowledge or appreciate our own strength and courage, which has bought us thus far. Taking back the power means learning to be compassionate toward ourselves. Only then can we begin to take back the power from the disorders.

Compassion for ourselves, combined with understanding is the first step. It is important we understand what is happening to us and why it is happening. When we understand and accept that understanding, we can begin to work towards recovery.

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The need to be in control permeates every aspect of our life. We feel we need to be in control as we have already lost so much to the disorder. We are afraid of what might happen if we lose control.

Most of us have never been aware of the need to be in control, but it has always been part of us, long before the onset of the disorder. As a result of the disorder, this control becomes paramount. Our sense of helplessness and fear demand nothing less. When the anxiety and panic attacks break away from this control we feel even more helpless than before.

The need to be in control is the main obstacle towards recovery. Recovery means the opposite. Recovery means we need to let go of the need to be in control. We don’t realise our overwhelming need to be in control perpetuates our disorder.

There are many various aspects to this particular control, which are discussed in detail later. To let go of this control is unimaginable, but letting go means recovery, and with recovery comes freedom.

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It can help if our partner or family members can talk with other people who are in the same situation. This mutual support can be very beneficial. Self-help groups usually encourage partners and family members to attend programs or group meetings, which can alleviate some of the distress and helplessness many partners and family members feel.

Talking with a therapist may also help, whether it is our therapist or a different one. There may be occasions where family therapy would be useful, and again this can be done by our therapist or another.

Some partners or family members may want to become actively involved in our recovery. This can be extremely worthwhile. Being involved with a self-help group or a therapist, or both, can help partners or family members understand exactly what is involved. Being involved helps to balance the excessive pressure or over-protectiveness of some partners or family members.

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