Hi UM,

I don't know if this will answer your question. I haven't had many full on panic/anxiety attacks. Once when I was painting the ceiling, standing on a small table on top of a large table in the centre of the room. Had one hand on the ceiling to steady myself - gives me a sense of security to hold onto something when I get up on something to reach up you know, to change light bulbs, hang curtains, etc & to paint ceiling. So I had paintbrush in one hand, other on ceiling. Of-course, to get down again is the worst time for me. I have to take my hand off the ceiling to get down. I had a proper panic attack this time. I couldn't move my hand. Looking around made me feel worse. It was only by going into my head, focusing on what was practical, logical, rational and necessary at the time. Sensory input was not helpful at all, except one area, I guess. I had to have a sense of my body, my balance or I would indeed fall as I feared, and crack my skull open...blah, blah,...those thoughts of fear, what I thought would happen now if I moved, had to be set aside and my 'left brain' if you will, had to take charge or I would have been up there until I did fall. I had to make conscious, deliberate decisions to do what was needed to get myself down. I did visualise what I would do before doing it. I think that was a secondary assist though. It was the thought process I focused on that helped much more.

I've difficulties to say that I'm more visual or aural. I guess that I'm in between. I remember a lot of things that I see and the same goes for a lot of sounds/musics I hear.

For instance, during ten years I was a great listener of a particuliar radio station. Each time I walked into a room/office where someone was listening to that station, I could recognize it just by its sound, even if at the moment nobody from the radio but a guest  was speaking, or a music was played.

And for visual things, many times I've only barely seen something that doesn't necessarily interests me, but very often if I need, I can retrieve it or say where I've seen it. 

I hear you there, Meercat! :) I do that too.

It really is hard to decide what I rely on most, because it depends on what I need, the circumstances. If ever I was locked away in a tiny, dark cell - absolutely my imagination would be of the utmost importance. And yes, it could save me or toss me right out of my tree. Lucky I can also imagine music pretty good. But I can't hold written images in my head for long. That's the problem I have now, when trying to do any arithmetic in my head - the little numbers don't stay there long enough.

I need my hearing for the all important music, my sensitive fingers to write/type, (not yet got over the hurdle of voice recording. gggrrrrrr!) I also find when I am not entirely sure what I am looking at (my brain takes a nap I think, 'cause even when it is a tin of fruit, for example, clearly labelled, I still feel uncertain) I can pick it up and holding the thing, KNOW what it is for certain. Very weird, sometimes....

Often it happens with people who lose their sense of smell, that they also don't enjoy eating anymore, as well as if a fire started or the gas was left on, they don't smell anything wrong.  Taste is supposed to be a valuable clue as to whether something is good to eat or not, (not entirely reliable, is it - telling me stuff which is good for my body is actually bad and yukky).

Our bodies learn to do a great many things we come to take for granted. Our bodies can now perform these things without us having to think through each successive movement. Luck us - daily living would be very difficult indeed if we couldn't trust our body's ability to automate many fairly complex actions.

-Mebenji