Download Panic and Adoption: A Personal Account and more Thesis Business Accounting in PDF only on Docsity! C820 QVP1 Panic is a real. It is actually a bioreaction that leaves the person feeling as if there is impending doom when, in fact, there is none. I have suffered panic for over 20 years, the last five I have been able very effectively control it by using a method developed by a well-known psychiatrist, Dr. Lindt. As is known, panic usually has four stages: Fight, flight, freeze, and appease. Since we already know that forming habits also entails forming pathways from neuron to neuron in the brain, it is really no surprise that these panic episodes, which happen over and over, might also be performing the same situation of pathways; this thought has helped me to understand why I kept being told to retrain my brain. Some years ago, we adopted our grandson. His situation was dire and started with a call from his doctor saying that he was steps away from reporting this to the authorities. Thankfully, he had known us for years and realized that, if we knew, we would never allow this. This started our foray in the process of adopting him. First, we had to get him physically stable. His iron was low, very low; his weight was low; he couldn't talk at three years old. For six months we had his blood drawn and sent to his original physician three hours away. Then, in the sixth month, we took him to the last appointment he would have with that doctor. It was a bittersweet moment for us as we felt blessed to have had that doctor and sad that we would not see him again. We felt he saved our grandson's life in many ways. As we moved forward, it became clear that we would be keeping him in our home. At that point my panic became more severe and more frequent. How would we get his mother and father to sign adoption papers. If we didn't, he couldn't received my healthcare, dentistry, and other benefits. Enrolling him in school was no easy feat either. Everyone wanted an explanation, one that I was not happy having to relive over and over. We had a notarized statement from his mother. What was so unusual about all of this and why did people feel they needed a detailed explanation for the most simple requests? This set up the aggravation that led to more stress and more anxiety. People I didn't know, didn't have much contact with, and probably would not speak to again needed to know pertinent and very personal information about us. My reaction of flight was high in some instances. I just wanted to go home. My reaction of fight started becoming more prominent, with the thought of how intrusive all of this was. The reaction of freeze was there, but only my husband could spot it and let me work through it until it abated. Appease, wasn't so easy. That was an internal fight with myself. I didn't actually want to run. My grandson needed me to fight for him. The feelings of flight would come and go through the situation as I struggled through the freeze, all the while trying to figure out how to get to appease. I had no knowledge that I was going through these steps. I had seen a physician and new about "fight or flight", but freeze and appease were very new to me until years later. I had been researching for years how to overcome this panic. It's uncomfortable, embarrassing, limiting, and causes quite low self-esteem. I finally found a program that I used that had one big statement of recognition early on. Panic is the same feeling as excitement because it has the same sensations (McDonagh). If I could just think about what I was panicking about in a positive light instead of a negative one, maybe I could turn this around. One of these attempts to change my "perspective" was the day the adoption hearing came. I had a wonderful attorney. All the paperwork was in order, signed, in front of the judge, and I was completely prepared. I walked into the courthouse with my family. We were excited to go through this process and come out the other side. My attorney was there when we arrived. We were early, presentable for the situation, and assured that everything was going to go as
