Title:
Dealing With The �Monsters From The ID�: 9 Techniques For Overcoming Panic Attacks
By Communicating With The Unconscious Mind
Word Count:
885
Summary:
"Monsters from the Id, John."
Dr. C.X. Ostrow clutched the arm of Commander John J. Adams in the 1955 science
fiction movie �Forbidden Planet� and stared at him feverishly.
"Morbius was too close to the problem. He didn't see that when the Krell machine
gave the Conscious Mind a boost, it also boosted the Id that lies in the
Unconscious. It is where the mass of formless, bestial impulses develop..."
Anyone who saw �Forbidden Planet� would never forget it as the first...
Keywords:
panic attack, symptom, anxiety, treatment, cause, medication, disorder unconscious,
mind, understand
Article Body:
"Monsters from the Id, John."
Dr. C.X. Ostrow clutched the arm of Commander John J. Adams in the 1955 science
fiction movie �Forbidden Planet� and stared at him feverishly.
"Morbius was too close to the problem. He didn't see that when the Krell machine
gave the Conscious Mind a boost, it also boosted the Id that lies in the
Unconscious. It is where the mass of formless, bestial impulses develop..."
Anyone who saw �Forbidden Planet� would never forget it as the first movie to
convey a postulate of Freudian psychoanalysis ... the Unconscious Mind.
For those too young to remember "Forbidden Planet", it's a tale of Morbius, a mad
scientist who survives a disaster on a distant planet and discovers a super-
scientific race known as the "Krell". The Krell had developed machines that boosted
their intelligence and gave substance to their thoughts.
Unfortunately, the Krell destroyed themselves by unleashing primeval monsters
lurking in the Id.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE UNCONSCIOUS MIND
Shakespeare used the concept of the Unconscious Mind in many of his plays, and
indeed, �Forbidden Planet�, is a remake of �The Tempest�. The concept predates him,
however, and was explored in the Hindu Vedas between 2500 and 600 BC (Wykipedia,
Unconscious Mind).
In his development of Psychoanalysis, Freud proposed a model of the mind which
consisted of the Conscious and Unconscious, the latter consisting of the Superego
and Id. Later psychoanalysts elaborated on the concept of the Unconscious, or
disputed its actual existence, but none denied the notion that there were buried,
non verbalized impulses deep within the human psyche that resulted in
unexplainable, and sometimes irrational, behavior.
OUR UNCONSCIOUS TALKS TO US
I rent rooms in my home. I once put an ad on the Internet advertising one of my
rooms and forgot to mention that I had a cat. I received an inquiry and set up an
appointment to show it. Everything was going well until the prospective renter saw
the cat.
He paled. "I...I uh, am afraid of cats."
I stared at him in disbelief. "Cats? Oh, our cat is harmless. He's just a housecat
and we've had him for years."
When I saw the genuine fear in his eyes, I decided his reaction wasn�t ridiculous.
For some reason, he was afraid of housecats, and I sincerely doubt he knew the
reason for it
Something must have happened when he was very young. Fear of cats lurked in his
Unconscious and was being communicated to him nonverbally in a way that was very
difficult to deal with.
ADDRESSING THE "ROOT CAUSE"
Panic Attacks are acknowledged to be different from Panic Disorder, which can be
treated with drugs that modulate the neurotransmitters in our nervous systems.
Even though medications may treat the "symptom" of the Panic Attack, the root cause
is not addressed and dealt with. In order to do that, you have to have a little
conversation with your Unconscious Mind.
DEALING WITH YOUR UNCONSCIOUS MIND
Why should an incident like waiting in line in a grocery store suddenly cause
bodily sweating, shaking, and unreasoned fear? The Unconscious Mind is responding
to the stimuli, and the question is...what is it communicating that is causing this
kind of reaction?
Communication, however, is a "two way street". The Unconscious can �talk� to us,
and vice versa. How can we find out what it is saying, and how can we talk to it?
There are at least 9 ways we can attempt to communicate with our Unconscious Mind:
1) Hypnosis. This can be a way of talking to and reprogramming the subconscious.
There have been amazing success rates in overcoming phobias by this means.
2) Dreams. The Unconscious communicates with us through dreams. In order to use
them as therapeutic tools, you must immediately record the dream when you wake up
and most likely get professional help in interpreting them.
3) Meditation. Take time to clear your mind...stop all Conscious thought�give the
Unconscious the opportunity to communicate with you.
4) "Freudian slips". Freud believed that when we involuntarily say things we don't
mean, we are given clues to what is going on in the Unconscious.
5) Flashbacks. These can be vivid recollections stemming from the Unconscious, and
can give us clues to problematic behavior.
6) Imagination. What we imagine when our minds are allowed to "drift" can give us
clues as to what is going on in the Unconscious.
7) Regression techniques. These are done professionally in an attempt to take us
back to our childhood to explore Unconscious programming.
8) Inner dialogue. Sometimes just "ordering" the Unconscious to come up with
something works. It may take time, but the machinery starts operating, and may
produce surprising results.
9) Intuition. When you have a "gut level feeling" that either agrees or disagrees
with the rationale of your Conscious Mind, it is your Unconscious communicating
with you.
NO BRAIN BOOST FROM THE KRELL
Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, we can't receive a "brain boost" from a
super scientific race like the Krell in "Forbidden Planet". If we could, maybe we
would be able to drag the monsters out in the light where we could talk to them.
Meanwhile, however, we are stuck with the techniques of psychoanalysis,
hypnotherapy and meditation.
But, come to think of it, that might be for the best. I didn't really want to talk
to the monsters anyway.
