SECONDARY CONDITIONS OF ANXIETY DISORDERS: SELF ABSORPTION
Self absorption is another control against anxiety and panic attacks. It does not form the basis of one of the secondary conditions, but it is one of the controls many of us use. Ironically, for those of us who dissociate, it could contribute to our primary disorder.
This control again makes it seem to family and friends that we are continually dwelling on the problem. We are, but not in the way it appears. We can become totally self absorbed and, more often than not, we will be accused of being selfish. Most of us would probably agree, but at this stage there is not much we can do about it.
Most of us who develop the disorder would consider ourselves as having been extroverts before it’s onset. As the anxiety and the panic attacks take hold, we become extremely introverted and self absorbed. Our preoccupation is extremely exasperating to others in the family.
To understand this control we all need to be aware that everyone who suffers from the disorder, particularly those who are beginning to develop secondary conditions, are caught in an ever-growing maze of anxiety, panic attacks and fear. There appears to be nothing we, or anyone, can do to stop it. The result of this is completely devastating. Our whole life, as we have known it, begins to disintegrate around us.
Under the circumstances it is completely normal and natural to become preoccupied. The preoccupation is a means of trying to find a way out of our distress. We are trying to find an answer to what appear to be unanswerable questions.
The preoccupation is also part of the monitoring process. Monitoring each symptom is another way of defending against it. By continually monitoring symptoms we hope to gain advanced warning of a panic attack. Although we are not sure how, we feel there might be time to stop the panic attack, or at least to get help before anything happens.
There is much truth in the statement that by ‘dwelling on something only makes it worse’. With an anxiety disorder, not dwelling on it is almost impossible. We feel as if our lives are in constant danger, so it is difficult not to think about it.
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