The second mode is a “flight mode”, where the brain completely relies on the involuntary part to control leg movements. The mind goes into this mode whenever we sense danger or panic or reacting to situation which requires quick response. It is usually a seamless transition but because Pwp do not have involuntary control of their feet, problems occur. When it goes into this mode, the mind completely loses it’s connection with the feet and therefore freezing occurs. What happens is I lose the feelings of my legs. That is why I freeze when I see a car coming, or when I hear a loud noise or when I crossing roads where cars are waiting for me to cross. All these situations cause me to panic and my mind responds by switching into flight mode to get me out quickly. Instead of getting out quickly … I am unable to move.
Once the mind gets into flight mode it is quite hard to get it back into normal mode. I need to stop everything I am doing and try to calm myself down. Take deep breaths and try to relax. Sometimes it takes a minute to calm down.
So it is better to prevent the mind from switching into flight mode than trying to calm myself down after it has gone into flight mode. To prevent this from happening I do a number of things:
a.
Try to keep calm at all times
b.
Try not rush to get somewhere
c.
Give myself plenty of time by planning ahead
d.
If I feel a panic attack coming on, slow down my
walking instead of wanting to rush (it’s
the opposite reaction so need to train myself to do this). Take deep breaths as
I walk. Helps calm things down.
e.
As long as I keep myself calm and relaxed I can
walk anywhere without freezing.
No comments:
Post a Comment