obcession may be panic attack

February 10, 2003

Dear ALL: This is less than one cent worth, LESS THAN because I have not sat

down with Fay and learned her history, but want to respond to something she

mentions, that is, obsession.

For some persons, not saying Fay now mind you, the bolting of food, or the

'extreme need " to eat, or the sudden " must have right now a great deal of

food " or the " continuous nursing " of food, can be a symptom of a

chemicological imbalance, that we sometimes put under category of panic

disorder, sometimes obsessive compulsive disorder. Please don't concentrate

on the word 'disorder.' What it really means is that something has gone out

of kilter in the body and now causes incohesive behavior and that this needs

attention.

Will power is a somewhat primitive way of dealing with these organic outages.

There are medications that help many people greatly. In these 'disorders',

the signal being sent is one of low-level panic, all the way to four-alarm

panic. Food appears to quiet some, not all but some, of the alarm symptoms.

Most people think there are only two responses to fear and panic: Fight or

flight. But, in my own anecdotal research over these years of post-trauma

work, I find four: Flight (run away or reattach one's attention elsewhere),

Fight (put up your dukes literally, or psychologically fight against

'negative messages in one's own mind), Fawning (give in to the pressure,

grovel, acquiesce in order to lower one's stress levels, ) and Feed (use

food, alcohol, drugs or sex, to turn down the volume of the feelings of

fear-- whether they are warranted, or appear out of nowhere with no apparent

cause.)

Sometimes a panic disorder or OCD is masked by a profound history of abuse.

In other words, the person's childhood history can in part cause some of the

hypersensitivity to various matters, but underlying much of the current

perseverative thought system (over and over again thinking the same

disheartening set of thoughts) is actually an organic disorder that responds

well to medication.) Those meds need to be assessed and adjusted on a regular

basis as chemistry dances around depending on the STRESSES, including

happinesses, in people's lives. The continual reassessment, and sometimes

change of the 'cocktail' needs to be done on a regular basis. What is called

non-compliance, can also be an issue to keep an eye on. Non-compliance really

just means that a person on meds, whether for high blood pressure or for

panic disorder, or whatever disorder, may try to see if they can do without

the meds--a natural desire-- however, for most, pitching them right back into

the original problem again. The body cannot manufacture by itself what it

cannot manufacture by itself. Any more than you can grow beans each season

without planting the seeds and watering them daily.

Incidentally, the panic disorder or OCD does not invalidate in any way the

abuse a person suffered as a child. It means that there are two diagnoses,

not just one.

Just to think about...

To reiterate, if it is a bona fide panic disorder, one needs to look into

seeing about medical intervention. This is my opinion.

love,

ceep

Subject: obessession

I am used to grazing and understand it. I know why, when, where and how.

But, there is more now. I can't end a meal. I eat feel full and want to

keep on eating. I am obsessed. If I can get through the obsession for and

hour or less, I am okay. But if it overtakes me, I keep on eating until who

knows when. It is as if my stomach knows it is full, but it takes another

hour for my brain to know. There are so many ways to get through this, I can

use my treadmill, get on the phone, or anything. But sometimes it is so

strong, I feel like I will lose my mind if I don't eat.

Fay Bayuk

300/175

10/23/01

Dr

February 10, 2003