[Bogart McKilo]

Now, this is a strange question to ask, and I doubt many have an answer, but I'll throw it out there. I just had one of the worse panic episodes I can remember. Now, this is a question for a psychiatrist, but I am open to all opinions.
I realize that panic attacks are a "thought process." Thoughts turn to feelings turn to panic. So here is my question: Do you think a person's religious upbringing can influence (in a negative way) the way a person thinks/reacts to an episode? Btw, I do take the book of Revelations as relevent in today's world.
Don't get me wrong...I can't tell you the last time I darkened the doorway of a church. I'm not a fanatical or anything like that. Don't even go to church. It's just that at one time in my life I was deeply into the Bible, and I remember so much. Circumstances in our world are strangely becoming those passages I hate to think about. Wierd, huh?
So what do you guys think? Is this logical? Do I win any points for the oddest question of the day?

[HHCFairfax]

Originally Posted by Bogart McKilo

Now, this is a strange question to ask, and I doubt many have an answer, but I'll throw it out there. I just had one of the worse panic episodes I can remember. Now, this is a question for a psychiatrist, but I am open to all opinions.
I realize that panic attacks are a "thought process." Thoughts turn to feelings turn to panic. So here is my question: Do you think a person's religious upbringing can influence (in a negative way) the way a person thinks/reacts to an episode? Btw, I do take the book of Revelations as relevent in today's world.
Don't get me wrong...I can't tell you the last time I darkened the doorway of a church. I'm not a fanatical or anything like that. Don't even go to church. It's just that at one time in my life I was deeply into the Bible, and I remember so much. Circumstances in our world are strangely becoming those passages I hate to think about. Wierd, huh?
So what do you guys think? Is this logical? Do I win any points for the oddest question of the day?

I am certainly no psychiatrist but I definitely believe that a person's upbringing whether religious or not can influence your anxiety.

People can relate what is familiar to them and tie that into anxiety very easily. I do know people who, like you, are finding the book of Revelations very relevant which is making their anxiety worse. I have friends who were very into Nostradamus when they were younger and are terrified right now which gives them major anxiey. (and I am not trying to equate Nostradamus to the Bible. I just want to point out that things you were raised with can resurface when tied to events of today and cause major anxiety)

I tried doing a google search on this, but wasn't finding what I was looking for! Mostly found pages about how religion can scare people which is not what this is about.

[Bogart McKilo]

Thank you! This was very much along the lines of what I was thinking. This seems to be a heredity issue, and I have learned much from this and other forums. I know that there are many who suffer out there. Thank God, for me it's only sporodic in it's nature.

[Neko150]

I've been suffering from similar things, I've always been somewhat of a worrier, but in recent years since starting college, these stresses of the future, my career, being successful, etc... have pushed me into having minor anxiety attacks. As I am not a senior in college, these attacks have gotten progressively more intense.

I know MJ soothes these issues, but have not seen a doctor about them. I believe I may see my primary physician and talk to him about it, get my issue on record, see what he thinks, before seeing a MMJ doctor and receiving a rec.

[tanja]

I too have a panic issue, Its the one thing that turned me off of MMJ. How ever my up bringing was a little off, my parents didnt believe in religion but politics OMG .So I do believe in god jesus and karma( gods way of being everywhere at once). To help I usually ( not a docs advice) Tell myself that the attack will only last a while. So I look at my watch and tell myself everything is fine , its ok ,etc. untill it goes away. Ive noticed that my med (pills) help more than MMJ, and sometime it can cause an attack. But thats a common side effect and if you medicate often it goes away. I wish you the best of luck, feel free to pm me if you like;. this is a personal issue and you might feel embaressed, but you shouldnt alot of us have this prob.
Big love to you

[Jackpot]

Intresting thread....... I agree we are seeing ALOT of the signs of end times....gotta happen sometime right?

[freedom first]

let me begin by saying I in no way want to rock your faith, but these "events" have been present since the beginning of time. They are a lot more reported these days with the google and the 24-hour news and whatnot. But natural disaster, evil misdoing, and creepy overtones have been a part of humanity since its inception. I am not sure where I stand these days, as I was raised in a very religious environment and have struggled my life to figure out this mystery. My conclusion. I cannot believe that MY god would allow for such senseless suffering and overwhelming absurdities as we see on a daily basis. "The Big Guy," as I like to call him, simply guides us through the turmoil and provides a sense of comfort when we are down. I am not qualified to affirm the existence of one God over another, therefore I embrace all religious aspects as open possibilities and try not to exclude any of them. I take the writings of these religious doctrines to be guiding stories that provide a framework for good living, but we cannot take them literally by any means. Do we believe in evolution? Yes. Science has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt the evidence needed to embrace this as truth. Thus, if evolution is a factual basis of reality, then the garden of eden story is false, and therefore the rest of the bible is simply a wonderful collection of morality based stories to guide ones life by. it has been around for 2000 plus years, so the stories are very relevant in the lives of the people whom follow them, and that is a positive force in our society. Could God be responsible for evolution? Absolutely. Could man have simply fudged the story a bit? We know this is human nature. jimmy Carter addresses this in his book, "Endangered Values" where he simply states that science is irrefutable and that the people who wrote the bible were not scientists. Well, they were not fortune tellers either, and cannot "predict" the demise of mother earth and the human race. We cannot spend our lives fearing the end of times or seeking out our own demise to fill a prophecy of some dudes that rode donkeys and talked to fiery bushes. Take it light and enjoy life and whatever miracles and joy that comes with it.

[imachroniac]

yEAHhh y notttt nething can influence your brainn homiiiie .

[tanja]

In no way do I think end of times is near. There are two kinds of people, One person hears a storm is coming, He says to himsekf " no way would god destroy my priceless things , and does nothing, the othjer person says " well I hope the storm will go east, but just incase I will protect and move my most priceless things": This is a BIG diff. from blind faith. You hope for the best and prepare for the worst. God helps those who help themselves. And if you lose out then mabey try to learn something, God never gives us more than we can handle. I hope I hope Ihope. There is so much beauty in the world that I can only be sure that there is someone out there. Just my opinion. I dont go to church but I do pray, also Im trying meditation.

I'm an athiest, but you are 100% right to be freaking out about these times. This country is in deep shit, and I've felt like I've been trapped inside of a nightmare I can't wake up from for the last 8 years. So, I'd say you're having a normal reaction to current events. Anyone not panicking is not paying attention.
Panic attacks, for me at least, are a massive flood of adrenaline to the brain. It's a fight or flight response to a stressful situation. If you're like me, your fight or flight system turns on just fine, like it's supposed to. Problem is, it doesn't know when to shut off, sometimes it also doesn't know when's the wrong time to turn on. My system gets turned off by heavy duty psychiatric drugs only. MMJ helps keep it off, but once it's on and stuck, I have to go for my Xanax ASAP. Most likely, since yours seems more situational, your panic attacks will be vastly reduced by an Obama administration, so have no fear because it's almost over.
As far as the religious thing goes, it does cause brain damage IMO.

[Kushism_girl]

"Do you think a person's religious upbringing can influence (in a negative way) the way a person thinks/reacts to an episode?"

Absolutely. Your anxiety is brought about by a book that is meant to instill fear, which is exactly what it is doing. There is a similar book in the Torrah and Koran as well that gives a very similar depiction of the book of Revelations. Of course, we are going through some tough times right now, which validates your anxiety. But if you really think about it, for the past 10,000 years (ever since human kind has been able to record history) we have always been going through tough times. There has always been many different natural disasters (earthquakes, volcanoes, etc) War, fall of empires, genocide, economic decline, and so many more things that I can't name off the top of my head right now. What's going on now a days, isn't really that new to the history of the earth. And all through out history, people always had the same fear and anxiety as you.

[xxxthatwhiteboy]

Ive noticed that my anxiety has calmed down why more when the person that i cared about and worryed about getting hurt passed away. Im not saying him happy but it was me worrying all the time about her and ive never really had a bad panic attack anymore and i never relly thought that it was bugging me but inside it was.

[sway]

you should really look into cognitive therapy. i was stuck in my house for over a year because of panic attacks. now, i havent had a panic attack in over 7 years. the answer to panic attacks and anxiety is through cognitive therapy. trust me, ive tried it all. and it really, really works. its saved my life.

[DaDoctor]

I know about stress. I have had extreme attacks for a few years, and weak MMJ just does not do anything, it can make it worse for me. I have smoked the chronic like 'God's Gift' or GDP, Blue Cheese. night and day difference, with in a minute my heard rate drops and I feel much better I far prefer MMJ vs. the meds my doctor wants me to take. less side effects.

[Chronicsmoke]

Originally Posted by Bogart McKilo

Now, this is a strange question to ask, and I doubt many have an answer, but I'll throw it out there. I just had one of the worse panic episodes I can remember. Now, this is a question for a psychiatrist, but I am open to all opinions.
I realize that panic attacks are a "thought process." Thoughts turn to feelings turn to panic. So here is my question: Do you think a person's religious upbringing can influence (in a negative way) the way a person thinks/reacts to an episode? Btw, I do take the book of Revelations as relevent in today's world.
Don't get me wrong...I can't tell you the last time I darkened the doorway of a church. I'm not a fanatical or anything like that. Don't even go to church. It's just that at one time in my life I was deeply into the Bible, and I remember so much. Circumstances in our world are strangely becoming those passages I hate to think about. Wierd, huh?
So what do you guys think? Is this logical? Do I win any points for the oddest question of the day?

Very interesting post and before i start going on and on lemme just say i definetly think ones upbringings can determine the way a person reacts, especially when religion is involved. Modern day christianity has alot to do with morals, and in todays society were faced with alot of "sinful" temptations. Its similar to what the japenese are going through, they have the highest suicide rate of all industrial nations, mainly because there whole way of thinking has to do with honor and living up to your families expectations. Anyways as far as thoses passages, a spiritual awakening is on the way. Just give it a couple more years

[pasteisme]

i think panic attacks could be a result of drugs, or even certain foods. I think caffeine will exacerbate a panic attack and the feeling of anxiety, for instance.

[JeffW]

Throwing out something that worked for me, many years ago when I was a late teenager. I suffered from sporadic panic attacks and as painfully long lasting as they appear to be, the truth is that the time spent in panic mode is pretty short....yes, I know how 10 seconds feels like 10 years. I saw a psychologist who suggested a strange technique. He taught me to actually WELCOME these episodes! Who in their right mind actually wants panic attacks? That being said, when these episodes would occur, I took the advice, and lo and behold, it was a miracle. In those seconds where you are immersed in sheer terror and panic, if you can make yourself take a deep breath, and either think or say out loud "come on and get me, I welcome you", something wonderful can happen. Using this discipline actually slows your wheels down enough that you can abruptly disrupt the pattern of what a panic attack is all about. This little disruption can let your nervous system "re-boot", and the panic attack dissipates incredibly quickly. In time, this strange "welcoming" can become second nature, and then you will reap the reward of your psyche throwing out these episodes rarely, if at all.

Just my 2 cents!

Cheers and good health,
Jeff

[ob619]

Panic attacks are related to your everyday life-stress ect. How you were raised and your beliefs will all come to surface when under stress, hope your able to figure out what sets this off for you

[DreamSmoker]

Anxiety disorders are usually a cumulative... Meaning a total sum of the way you respond to stress over your lifetime.. Its in the bodies chemistry too...
Both change over time... As we age.. The sum becomes more apparent and so symptoms also become apparent such as rapid breathing or sharp heart rate rise.. Even both... Hyperventilating is also a symptom.....
These symptoms can occur out of now were. Even at rest......
Medical Marijuana can only do so much... But a change in lifestyle is the cure....

[Markit8]

I think the most important point here is that GAD (generalized anxiety disorder) is not necessarily the result of one or even a few sets of thought processes. Let me build a parallel - you don't have to be sad to have clinical depression, its a neurochemical imbalance. Similarly, you don't have to have a specific stressor to have anxiety or experience panic attacks.

That being said, you can speculate all day long as the what the causes of these imbalances are. Many argue that these things are transfered genetically, but I think its more complicated (thought I don't rule it out as a possible contributing factor). I think that GAD comes from stress and stressful situations reorienting, or re-patterning our neurochemistry. Think of Pavlov's dog... ring the bell enough and the brain develops physiological responses to a stimuli. Then consider that same dog living in a world where its overwhelmed by bells ringing all day (the average person being overwhelmed by stress all day every day) and eventually the dog will start drooling uncontrollably for no good reason. An thus we get to panic attacks that come on independent of any stimuli or stressor.

[heywood]

Everything about a person (especially their upbringing) influences the cause and nature of their attacks. Whether or not it was specifically your religious upbringing is something for your psychiatrist/psychologist to decide.

[HockeyShark]

I suffer HORRIBLY from panic attacks.

I find the use of medical MJ in Moderation a great help. But too much can bring them on. Stay away from Sativa's, stick with the Indica's, and learn to Meditate your way out of the cycle.

I feel for anyone who suffers from these horrible damn things.

[HockeyShark]

Originally Posted by pasteisme

i think panic attacks could be a result of drugs, or even certain foods. I think caffeine will exacerbate a panic attack and the feeling of anxiety, for instance.

Caffeine is a HUGE contributor to panic attacks. Genetics is the first and major indicator. You will often find others in your family who have suffered. Harder drugs, ANY speed type drugs are bad news.

Medical MJ in moderation for me has been a godsend.

[JeffW]

Agree with you HockeyShark on all counts. Moderation for me means edibles. The effects transport me gradually. On the very rare times that I have smoked, the sudden transition is what brings on more anxiety. As for coffee, you are also correct. That being said, I do love my morning mug, and only rarely these days will I feel a temporary panic from my morning ritual.
Thanks for sharing,
Jeff

[tooweirdtolivetooraretodie]

"Don't wait for the final judgment, it happens every day." -Camus

....or something pretty close to that.