I had my first panic attack on an airplane...
...and it came with claustrophobia.
After my last blog post to you, a few of you asked about my corporate jobs. My last corporate job was with General Electric (GE). I was there for 19 years. It was a great company to work for and I'm very grateful for my time there. It was also a highly stressful environment. The 10-, 12-, sometimes 14-hour days I mentioned weren't because I was unproductive or inefficient. We all worked those hours, it was the norm. Being single with no kids or pets, it was what I filled my time with. I earned praise, raises, and top ratings.
I also started to wonder if that was it. That was my life...working. Working to live. I made great money, but didn't go anywhere or do anything. All I did was work. In November of 2012, I was on a plane on the way back home from a Women in Excellence conference I'd been nominated for and...it hit...my first panic attack.
I had no idea what was happening to me. I started sweating, my heart beat wildly, my outer body trembled as my insides vibrated, I couldn't breathe. And...claustrophobia buried me. I had to get off the plane IMMEDIATELY. Uh, that wasn't going to happen as we were in the sky. There was no way off the place. My irrational panic skyrocketed. I thought I was going to die.
I'd heard of panic attacks, but mostly in a flippant sort of way. Let me tell you, they're no freaking joke. I'd never been so scared in my life. By the time we landed, it was all I could to do hold myself together until I got off the plane.
That wasn't my last panic attack. They started coming more frequently. It took me a while to realize that the stress of my job was killing me. And when I figured it out, I knew I had to make a change in my life, or the stress was going to end my life.
In 2013, I started my event decorating business, Rustic Elegance, where I rented out vintage decor for weddings, showers, etc. Not able make it profitable, I started my online business coaching business in 2016. It took me a while to get it up and running, especially since I was still working at GE. By 2018, I had some steady clients and made the difficult decision to quit GE and leave my stable paycheck and benefits, crossing my fingers that the clients would continue to come.
They didn't. It wasn't my passion. My heart wasn't in it. I loved helping people and I learned a ton, but it just wasn't for me. By 2019, I had no clients, no business, no income. I was devastated.
I started writing Untouchable Zane at the end of 2019 and it was published in December of 2020. I was 50 years old. Writing love stories is my passion. I finally have a career where I love what I do. And my panic attacks are extremely rare anymore. Plus, I now get to use my business knowledge to help other romance authors flourish in their author careers.
Fun facts: I wrote a book in 2009 called, Untouchable. It remains unpublished as it's, quite honestly, dreadful. LOL! But, I did take some lines from it for Untouchable Zane. :-) If you read Someone Exactly Like Me, the story above is how Destiny's panic attack came to be.
Did you have a career path full of twists and turns? I'd love to know. Comment below and tell me.
Reminder, Kiss Away Your Pain will release in July. Add it to your TBR today: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6....
Hugs,
Debbie
After my last blog post to you, a few of you asked about my corporate jobs. My last corporate job was with General Electric (GE). I was there for 19 years. It was a great company to work for and I'm very grateful for my time there. It was also a highly stressful environment. The 10-, 12-, sometimes 14-hour days I mentioned weren't because I was unproductive or inefficient. We all worked those hours, it was the norm. Being single with no kids or pets, it was what I filled my time with. I earned praise, raises, and top ratings.
I also started to wonder if that was it. That was my life...working. Working to live. I made great money, but didn't go anywhere or do anything. All I did was work. In November of 2012, I was on a plane on the way back home from a Women in Excellence conference I'd been nominated for and...it hit...my first panic attack.
I had no idea what was happening to me. I started sweating, my heart beat wildly, my outer body trembled as my insides vibrated, I couldn't breathe. And...claustrophobia buried me. I had to get off the plane IMMEDIATELY. Uh, that wasn't going to happen as we were in the sky. There was no way off the place. My irrational panic skyrocketed. I thought I was going to die.
I'd heard of panic attacks, but mostly in a flippant sort of way. Let me tell you, they're no freaking joke. I'd never been so scared in my life. By the time we landed, it was all I could to do hold myself together until I got off the plane.
That wasn't my last panic attack. They started coming more frequently. It took me a while to realize that the stress of my job was killing me. And when I figured it out, I knew I had to make a change in my life, or the stress was going to end my life.
In 2013, I started my event decorating business, Rustic Elegance, where I rented out vintage decor for weddings, showers, etc. Not able make it profitable, I started my online business coaching business in 2016. It took me a while to get it up and running, especially since I was still working at GE. By 2018, I had some steady clients and made the difficult decision to quit GE and leave my stable paycheck and benefits, crossing my fingers that the clients would continue to come.
They didn't. It wasn't my passion. My heart wasn't in it. I loved helping people and I learned a ton, but it just wasn't for me. By 2019, I had no clients, no business, no income. I was devastated.
I started writing Untouchable Zane at the end of 2019 and it was published in December of 2020. I was 50 years old. Writing love stories is my passion. I finally have a career where I love what I do. And my panic attacks are extremely rare anymore. Plus, I now get to use my business knowledge to help other romance authors flourish in their author careers.
Fun facts: I wrote a book in 2009 called, Untouchable. It remains unpublished as it's, quite honestly, dreadful. LOL! But, I did take some lines from it for Untouchable Zane. :-) If you read Someone Exactly Like Me, the story above is how Destiny's panic attack came to be.
Did you have a career path full of twists and turns? I'd love to know. Comment below and tell me.
Reminder, Kiss Away Your Pain will release in July. Add it to your TBR today: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6....
Hugs,
Debbie
No comments have been added yet.
