Lesson Two, I'm ready!!

[MirandaLey]

I am now on Lesson Two starting today and very excited. Although I almost never have panic attacks anymore, I do have waves of intense fear sometimes (fear that I will never get over this condition, or that it will get worse) or extremely negative thoughts that provoke a physical response (i.e. "My daughter and husband would be so much better off with someone who didn't have this problem"). I am going to see how using these same six steps will help me with these, and I'm confident that it will. I am beginning to learn that it it all about positive thinking. It sounds so ridiculously simple but it's TRUE. Let's say I am having a "blue" day. The OLD me would say, "You see, this is happening again, I am just on a slope downward and it's only going to get worse. This is it for me, I won't ever feel better." This is an extreme example but I can remember thinking similar thoughts. Instead, I can say, "Listen, so I'm feeling blue. Big deal. Everyone feels down sometimes. What's really bothering me?" And if I can't think of anything that is bothering me, I can simply say, "Everyone, especially new moms and people going through lots of hormonal changes, can feel sad at times and not know why. It's no big deal. I will do something to pamper myself, I will share my feelings with a caring person, and I will feel better. This is temporary."

Also a big thing for me is reminding myself I'm only in Week 2 -- I can't expect to be totally cured yet, so I SHOULD expect these days where I feel more blue or anxious. I've got so much to learn still. So I can get excited about what I will be learning to help with the way I feel instead of letting the way I feel discourge me.

Hope this makes sense and helps people!!