Originally Posted by
freshstart57 
Hello, Jack! Great to see you here - you will find a lot of support for you in this forum, really great people.
I found a couple of things to be very helpful during those vertigo moments. Top of the list is a mindfulness exercise. It could be as simple as asking yourself, 'Am I breathing?' Then focus on the sensation of breath. Cool air comes in. The chest expands, the diaphragm drops. Clothes move against skin. Warm air goes out. Just become aware of these sensations.
Then you can become 'the watcher', a nearby observer of you. You get to see things happen, but with a slight separation between you and the feelings that you are experiencing. The feelings are not you, because you are The Watcher who observes these feelings.
You only need a second or two to recall the Big Plan, and then the separation between you and IT becomes clear and tangible again.
Like Soberlicious says, you got this! Onward!
Thank you Freshstart,
I will definitely use that. In fact, reading some of the AVRT threads, and re-reading the book, I have come to understand AVRT in terms of mindfulness. I have used mindfulness a bit in other areas of my life and found it very useful.
I read somewhere that the native Americans had a way of viewing all kinds of suffering. If they felt physical pain or emotional pain they would say: "A man is in pain", or "A man is sad" rather than "I am sad" etc. It obviously gave them enough distance to dissociate, which is just like AVRT.
So I will follow your advice and use all of the tools in the book. I feel much more ready for any future attacks of "vertigo".
Thank you