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An Inspirational Letter

© Karen Hamilton

I get quite a bit of e-mail from the folks who visit the Anxiety/Panic Disorder corner of Suite 101. Most often, the people that I hear from write to tell me how they are doing and how much my column has helped them in coping with the disorder.

A few days ago, I received an e-mail from a man who wanted to share with everyone his success in handling his disorder. I asked his permission to share his letter with you all, because I believe he truly is an inspiration to us all.

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Here is his letter:

"As I was scanning through the television channels last night, I ran across a show on HBO and quickly identified it as one I was once all too familiar with.

I sat and watched several people discuss their own stories of panic attacks. I sat and watched the entire show visualizing my life many years ago. My thoughts drifted back to a time back in the 70's when I too had suffered from this disorder that almost ended my life. I continued to live this way for over seven years, during which time I went from doctor to doctor trying to discover what my problem was.

To no avail, I could get no answer from anyone until I went to what I called a 'shrink' in those days. This I felt was a last resort since no medical doctor could help. To this day, I still remember the break through day when, as I lay in the floor of his office after he had told me he could show me how to control my problem.

Many years have now passed as I am now 39 years old and this all began when I was in my late teens. I now live a normal life style and it has been many years since I have had any problems at all.

I guess I just wanted to let someone know it will STOP!

Understanding it and dealing with it day by day will help many who thought there was no help. Several members of my immediate family have had the same problem and we are all now panic free. If anyone is interested in hearing from me on dealing with this and making it stop, I would be glad to email them or talk with them.

You are more than welcome to use this if you think it will be of use to others. Back then there were so few who even knew what this was and even fewer one could talk to about it and even have an ounce of understanding. I had looked for answers day in and day out but like I said earlier, nobody could offer