Do some research, Tanja. For a Scandinavian, you are certainly too hot-blooded. There are several ways to treat anxiety, and medication is usually not prescribed right away. Behavioural modification method would probably be the first choice in this situation.

I guess I am being too practical here. Instead of participating in an expected TSA-bashing, I decided to offer a practical advice, and it did not receive a well reception.

What was the purpose of the OP? To complain about TSA-induced panick attacks. OK. What was OP trying to achieve? Another TSA-bashing "discussion" or a practical advice? We all know very well that the TSA is not going anywhere in the nearest future. As a doctor, the OP should have known that if an underlying cause cannot be eliminated, then the disease can still be managed effectively - in this case not involving medications.

I wasn't trying to achieve anything. I was alone with this problem and chose to share it, perhaps in order to discuss it and be less alone with it.

For this situation I would recommend in general, depending on the person of course, and this is not medical advice blah blah blah...prn benzos. No therapy will suffice, IMO. But when fear is strong enough, even they won't 'hold' the anxiety. Fear. It's fear, more than anxiety. Better term. Reality based fear.

I don't agree that treating the symptoms is enough. I don't accept the TSA assault as an act of God that cannot be changed by man.

And there is something very wrong about needing to numb yourself so you can withstand sexual assault. Something very wrong.

Littlesheep, you are absolutely not alone with this problem. In fact, there is another post at tsanewsblog with another long list of quotes from travelers who feel just the way you and I do about being manhandled by strangers in blue shirts.

Here's how one letter writer felt: "It was one of the worst experiences of my life. I never want to be subjected to this kind of physical, mental, and emotional abuse again, especially anywhere in the United States of America."

I will second that - being sexually assaulted by the TSA is the worst thing I have ever experienced in my life. I've thought carefully about that statement, and yes, it's true. No other experience ever left me feeling so powerless and so degraded and so hopeless for so long. Even being grabbed and sexually fondled by a criminal in the street a few years ago was less traumatic - because when someone attacked me in the street, I called the police and they agreed that I had been assaulted and came to my aid. And now I would never walk down that street at night again. But I have to keep walking back into airports, like the proverbial battered woman who walks right back into the situation that got her beaten up before.

When I was attacked in the street, the authorities and my family were extremely concerned for my safety. In contrast, being abused by the TSA has just seemed to make me the punchline in everyone's funny joke. The TSA raped me, and then sent me a letter on official stationery telling me the search was conducted properly, and now Konig's on here telling me I should just take some pills and learn to enjoy having my genitals violated? No. This is absolutely not okay.

I will never ever try to adapt myself to a world where the government forcibly fondles and passes judgement on my sex organs. “Reasonable people adapt themselves to the world. Unreasonable people attempt to adapt the world to themselves. All progress, therefore, depends on unreasonable people.”

I'm sorry... :(

+1

I am not familiar with your situation to pass the judgement. I was addressing the OP and the likes naïvely believing they were trying to get rid of the anxiety given the situation we, as travellers, find ourselves at airports. Call me cynical, but knowing how the American society can at times exaggerate the threat, we are going to be stuck with the TSA for a long time, unfortunately. There is not enough intelligent well-organised non-tin-foil-hat resistance to make the TSA go away. You and littlesheep are not helping this situation. So, you either adapt or be miserable - your choice. Sorry for being harsh - it is a reality.

I dislike the TSA too, but I need to fly and I cannot afford being late for the flights. So, if the WTMD is not available, I have to go through pat-down or even nude-o-scopes (in case I am running late). I cannot afford not to because I need to keep my job and put bread on the table for my family.

And no, like I said before, I was not suggesting meds. Behavioural modification method should be tried first. What is up with so many people assuming meds when I said treatment? In psychology, meds are not the first choice.

Now who's talking about hyperbole? We castigate TSA on this forum constantly. We have one example of an employee trying to act like a human and we rip them to shreds? Would it be appropriate to touch someone in most circumstances? Probably not. But here the passenger is having a hard time and the TSO says a few words to comfort them, apologize, and keep them from having a nervous breakdown. And she also gives a "side" hug to the passenger. How dare she do that!

You can't have it both ways! Do you want the TSA to hire robots or human beings? Which is it? :rolleyes:

It doesn't have to be either extreme. Expressing empathy may be appropriate, but a TSO putting arms around someone and hugging them is not.

Hit the nail on the head there.

Plus, if you're hurting other people, feeling disgusted by your actions but continuing to do them is immoral.

And - if your next door neighbour turned out to be a child molestor, would it help if he was nice and smiled and comforted the child after he molested them? What a bizarre notion!

When you realize you've done something wrong to another human being, you stop doing it. You can't 'feel bad' and pity yourself and expect other people to comfort you. It's twisted.

I see through this stuff, sorry.

I've been thinking about my incident very carefully. I don't believe I was over-reacting. I do believe what happened to me was not a pat-down. It was an assault. it was done by a poorly trained, possibly malicious, TSA person.

it was totally inappropriate and shouldn't have happened. I was compliant. I was respectful. I will not take drugs to just get pass security. But I will continue to write my elected public officials. I will do what's in my power to make changes in the "protocols" of an agency that has loss all sense of its purpose. This is what I can do.