Jonathan123
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- Sep 11, 2021
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PLOMS disease is a very nasty complaint. It's symptoms are despair. exasperation and self pity. PLOMS, Poor Little Old ME is the wringing of hands and sighing and saying that I will never get over this! It is an extreme form of self pity. In anxiety self pity is out. It can lead to despair and a giving in to the symptoms. This is not to say that we should fight and struggle with it. No way! Many will sympathise and say 'you poor soul' with very little understanding which can contribute to our self pity.
Understanding is one of the most powerful tools we can have. Knowing what is happening to us and why can have a profound effect for good. Shaking off the shackles of fear is not easy. Fear can become so ingrained that the slightest 'trigger' can get us going. To counter PLOMS disease means that we need to accept how we feel without reaction or comment. If we have been medically checked out and declared OK then believe them. 'Oh my goodness', or 'my god, here you are again, what shall I do'? are all symptoms of PLOMS. As Dr. Weekes says, 'your panic mechanism is well oiled'! If and when you feel panic or an anxiety episode stop what you are doing, if you can, take deep breaths and let it come. Adrenaline has a limited life and will always die down. In the supermarket don't run back to the car and sit and 'recover'. What's different about being in the supermarket and in the car? In the supermarket your fear of making a fool of yourself is there. Clutching the trolley with white knuckles and with everything going blurred is frightening, but bearable until it passes without reacting to it. It's your reaction that causes the problem not the actual effect. None of this is easy. Nothing in anxiety ever is, but it can be done given the will.
Understanding is one of the most powerful tools we can have. Knowing what is happening to us and why can have a profound effect for good. Shaking off the shackles of fear is not easy. Fear can become so ingrained that the slightest 'trigger' can get us going. To counter PLOMS disease means that we need to accept how we feel without reaction or comment. If we have been medically checked out and declared OK then believe them. 'Oh my goodness', or 'my god, here you are again, what shall I do'? are all symptoms of PLOMS. As Dr. Weekes says, 'your panic mechanism is well oiled'! If and when you feel panic or an anxiety episode stop what you are doing, if you can, take deep breaths and let it come. Adrenaline has a limited life and will always die down. In the supermarket don't run back to the car and sit and 'recover'. What's different about being in the supermarket and in the car? In the supermarket your fear of making a fool of yourself is there. Clutching the trolley with white knuckles and with everything going blurred is frightening, but bearable until it passes without reacting to it. It's your reaction that causes the problem not the actual effect. None of this is easy. Nothing in anxiety ever is, but it can be done given the will.