This guide is from a side of me who goes by “Oogloog”. I’ve come to know him recently through how he’s helped an often anxious side of me to calm down, relax, get patient, and reflect on reality from a more meditative, centered state. It can get easy to get caught up in emotion and the urgent picture one’s own perspective can sometimes paint, so it’s been extremely helpful to have this voice of calm that a more erratic side of me can turn to. Like many cases I’ve seen, this interaction seems to be an example of balance, where two perspectives can inform each other, and move towards greater equilibrium and harmony – in this case, through one side imparting a calming perspective.
In any case, when I queried my inner world recently about whether anyone might like to make a guide, this side of me seemed to speak up, answering that he wanted to write a guide to panic. Again, for those unfamiliar with what I’m doing – these are sides of myself, aspects of my being that I try to sense and distinguish as individuals, marked by their own particular energy, which can express itself in an individual way.
Oogloog’s energy is much like that of stone – patient, steady, solid, grounded. The name itself comes from an attempt to translate that energy into a name, and the throaty, deep pronunciation of “Oogloog” may give you some idea of where he’s coming from – or how to be in that place yourself, in a sense.
That said, this guide on panic is not a definitive guide. I try to let him talk in his own way, without many disclaimers or caveats. However, I encourage you to take this as you will, and not as something that will guarantee you better success with panic. It may help you, indeed, and this approach may give you something valuable for your toolkit. Just know, there may be many other aspects to the issues of panic, and more specifically your panic, when you encounter it.
Step one.
Relax.
Take a deep breath.
Take one more, and one more. Another.
Relax.
Breathe.
Relax your mind.
Relax. Breathe.
If you cannot, try. Get yourself eased down into a calm, relaxed state. Even in your present circumstances, try, for now.
Step two
“Be wary of trying to escape your own feelings, however bland or dark. Relax, and let yourself feel.” (Oogloog)
Once you’ve relaxed, and calmed down, get a sense of your feelings. What are they? -not in the uproar, but in the calm. If you are dejected, feel dejection. If sadness is what you’re in, feel that. Feel whatever’s there, and not your objection to it. If you object to feeling, you have little room to grow. You’ll be fighting yourself, fighting to escape where you are. Doing that, you never see clearly. You’ll be fighting your own drowning, instead of rising to the surface naturally, because you’ve freed yourself from your bond. How to do that, we’ll talk about soon.
Next step – now that you’re feeling, let yourself stay there. The water of feelings may be hot or cold – that is, something you aren’t comfortable with – but let yourself be there.
An example of what calming down emotionally can look like – even if you’re scared and panicked, the underlying feelings may be something more like dejection or defeat. Lowering yourself into these feelings, and letting yourself feel them is the point of this section (Oliver)
Let yourself be, and adjust. You might want to run away, do quick things that might feel good to you, but feeling good through a shift in attention doesn’t last, or likely won’t, since you’re not addressing the root cause. Rather than trying to “feel good”, first feel bad, however that happens to be, so you can see the territory you’re dealing with. This is like letting your eyes adjust to the darkness – you will see more, but you have to let yourself adjust. You do not need to escape. Dark and unfamiliar things are not truly scary, they are merely things that are unfamiliar, or that you might not yet understand. Give yourself a chance to understand.
Now, now that you’re here in these feelings, speak from them. What do you feel, and why? In your sadness, what do you say? In your helplessness, what are you looking for? In your confusion, what do you ask? Let yourself ask, without embarrassment, shame, or any attempt to control or box yourself in. If you consider shame, yes, you may speak that. If the act of expressing yourself feels embarrassing, you may say that as well. Express yourself and your feelings. Let yourself communicate that which is on your mind, and heart. Relax in those feelings, listen, and say – whatever’s there, even if there are multiple feelings, conflicting ones, or if the main feelings begin to change. Let them change, but remain with them, or, if you retract away, let yourself return to them. You are safe to feel. To feel as you are, and do. You do not need to feel what you don’t, or what you think that you should – but if you feel or think you should feel or think other things, you can express that as well – continuing to be real with yourself, no matter what facets appear.
But why? Though I have not said so already, I have implied here – that this process of feeling, expressing, and listening, all allows you to process through that which is on your mind or heart – things that trouble you, or afflict you, or bring you down. It is a process that allows you to remove the bonds I talked about earlier, so you can return to the surface naturally. It is something that you yourself may want to do, on some level – something important to you, but that you may have been avoiding, or confused about, or holding back from, for some reason or another. Those reasons, like was said, are things you can express as well. They are things you can feel, and know about – things of influence that you can express as you work through whatever is actually there, in you.
Note, there may be times when you’re not sure whether or not what you’re expressing is actually what’s there – and that’s okay too. Expressing that uncertainty is yet another avenue you can take. Keep being you, keep listening, keep expressing.
Eventually, things will settle down. Let them – you don’t have to go at this forever. Even if you are still confused, still sad, still forlorn or feeling helpless, you may still let go of the act of expressing, and return again whatever time you see fit. This place, this process, is one of safety and assistance. A place you can be, and work through the things that affect your heart and mind, and to find your way by way of feeling and expressing those troubled things, not through avoidance. You can avoid, but these things still remain, affecting you. This, this place you create with your own calm and awareness, is one of safety, where you can express and work through these things, whenever you wish. It is a power, a tool, a safety, a place of your own. You may use it as you will.
That is my guide. Thank you.
