Problem with session three!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Joe L]

This week I have started session #3. One of the self help type of ideas is to carry a notebook and write down all negative thoughts. Who really has the time for this? I work for an Insurance comapny in the corporate office. Im married and we have a four year old. After my 8, 9, 10 hour work day its a 20 minute drive home. Help the wife with dinner, clean up, do laundry, and play with our daughter. Its hard enough to find time to listen to the CD and watch the DVD a few times a week and do the workbook. They say listen to the relaxiation CD 3 times a day, sorry I still have a busy life thats not possible, once a day is all i can do. Now I need to stop and write down every negative thoughts?? I understand this problem has effected some people to the point where they dont work and have ran from all their responsibalities and have all kinds of time, but I haven't and am trying to deal with my problem while still living a productive life as much as possible. How in the world am I going to be able to stop at every negative thought and write it down??????????????? If I cant get this done will this program really help me?????

[anniec]

i am on session 3 and i kknow what my neg thoughts are but having a little trouble turning them into positive self talk. i guess practice will make perfect. i loooove the relaxation cd

[zoom5]

I've had the same problem....finding time to write down negative thoughts...I've resorted to using my iphone which has an audio record feature so I just talk briefly into the recording....takes just a few seconds. It's easy to talk quietly into the phone. Don't know if you have some type of audio recording device but it sure makes it easier.

[CJS67]

I just started Session 3. I see I have a long road ahead of me. But I can do it. I haven't started any excercise program. But I'm taking the time to listen to the session 3 cd, and the relaxtion cd at Least once a day. I read over the my card several times a day. I've always been a negative thinker. I was raised that way. My Dad and Mother are constant worrying about everything, thinking some bad will happen. Or you better not do that . Because of something they heard on the news.. My dad always thinks someone or something is out to get him. And I've thought the same thoughts over the years. But I'm making the effort to change my life. And be the person I want to be and who God wants me to be.

[sickntired]

I know what you mean. I don't have time to write my thoughts down either. I work all day and come home to a 3.5 month old. I am lucky I have time to eat. It's the same reason I have not started an excersice program yet.
I do have one other problem with session 3. During the group talks there is a discussion about how stressed caused a heart attack in one of the participants. Well my panic attacks are brought on by my fear that the physical symptoms are more than just anxiety. And I am scared to death that I am going to have a heart attack or stroke, then I hear that this woman actually had a heart attack because of stress and anxiety. It sent me straight through the roof. My entire day was one huge panic attack.
To make matters worse I had DVR'd Royal Pains and I watched it tonight and sure enough this woman has some issue where she is experiencing anxiety, palpatations and the doctor tells her she is literally drowning in adrenaline. Is that possible? As if I needed another thing to worry about. And now another TV show I can't watch cause it makes me thing to much! I just want to be better!

[webfoot1970]

I CANNOT BELIEIVE, the session 3 CD has a woman talking about how she suffered a heart attack due to overstress!!! I fear everyday I'm going to have one. I continuously check my pulse, have periods sometimes that last hours where I feel I can't get to the top of my breath, chest pains & pressure, arm pain, jaw pain, center back pain etc. Have been to the ER several, several times, cardiologist & regular Dr. only to be told there is nothing wrong with my heart. Maybe the next set of symptoms will be the indicator & the time I should get the life saving help I need! Ever since listening to this womans story in session 3 I've been more afraid. this is one piece Lucinda could have definitely left out.

[marialuv19]

Hi,

I know exactly how it feels to have no time to sit there and write down all your thoughts as they come to mind. What I generally try to do is think about the thoughts I know for a fact I've had swirling around in my head. For ex:
My MAIN THOUGHTS that are verrry negative are: I'm not normal, there's something wrong with me--I'm crazyy--I'm depressed --I'm never going to get better--WHY DO I FEEL THIS WAY...WhAT IF--I HAVE TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL FOR A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN---WHAT IF THIS GETS WORSE---ETC.ETC. What if I GET ON THE BUS AND HAVE ANXIETY---ETC.


ALL OF THESE thoughts I have had ---and It helps to write them down. All i do is ask myself what I'm scared of---and these thoughts are so not true....God bless you --I hope you find whats triggering your anxiety. Just because you cannot write ALLLL YOUR THOUGHTS DOWN IS NO BIG DEAL---TRY TO GET A FEW OF THEM --AT LEAST 4 AND THEN REPLACE WITH POSITIVE.
BUT LUCINDA SAYS TO KEEP GOING THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE PROGRAM---TRY YOUR BEST.

[Nanner823]

I am happy to see so many of you also noticed that little bit on the CD. I was starting to think I mis heard it! I am also having trouble with the notebook. Like you said the relaxation cd is hard enough. I am a single mom of 3 so I don't even know what time is, let alone be able to write. I would venture to say this is part of the negative self thought too. This whole making of excuses. Sometimes I feel mine are validated though as I am sure you do as well. I keep thinking "Did I choose to do this at a bad time in my life?" The fact is I did and didn't my children and myself need a better me, BUT where do I get the time.

[sparechange]

Ok, does anyone else besides me realize that most of you managed to find time to come to this forum and type up some pretty creative negative thoughts? What if you started by taking this much time every day to write down some of them (or type them in your iPhone or laptop or whatever)? The goal of this exercise is simply to get you to recognize that you (yes, you) really are a negative thinker and to get you started on the path to replacing that negativity with...well, positivity. You don't have to capture every single negative thought to be able to do this.

Believe me when I say I need to hear this as much or more than anyone else. If there's one thing I'm an expert at, it's catastrophizing, negative, what-if thinking. But even I can tell you that making the slightest change toward positive thinking really does help over the long term. Just like the guy in the group session was saying, once you start to roll with it, you begin to realize just how powerful it is.

I do agree that Session 3 was a little early in the program to be talking about stress-induced heart attacks. But remember what the doctor told her, "You have to get your blood pressure down, you have to start exercising..." If you've been to your doctor already and he/she says there's nothing wrong with your heart and you don't have hypertension, then choose to believe it and go forward with the program. Every step you take in this program is a step away from stress-induced illness. I've had anxiety most of my life and I've had heart palpitations for at least 10 years. I even had chest pains because of my anxiety. But my doctor told me I was fine every time, and guess what... I'm still here!

[karmaka]

One thing about us anxious people...most of us really ARE over-analyzers. I don't think the point of Lesson 3 is for us to write down every single negative thought and drive ourselves nuts trying to keep up with it all. The point, like another here said...to get a BETTER UNDERSTANDING of our negative thought patterns...so we can learn to identify the types of thoughts that could be inducing anxiety, depression, stress, etc. and to learn how to "reframe" those thoughts and make a habit of turning the negative thinking into more positive thinking because doing so will help decrease the anxiety and fearful thoughts. It's okay is you don't have time to do all these things. No need to stress. And give yourself some credit!!! If you're taking the time to watch the DVDs and even do the relaxation tape once a day or even once a week, IT'S STILL PROGRESS. Pat yourself on the shoulder for the work you ARE doing. THIS is the point of this lesson - for us to stop tearing ourselves down, making excuses, stressing ourselves out because we're not perfect, etc., and ALLOW OURSELVES to give ourselves some praise, love, and empowerment for the things we ARE doing for ourselves every day. Maybe instead of saying, "I don't have time to write all of my negative thoughts down," say to yourself, "I'm becoming more aware of my negative thoughts and how they can influence me, and I listened to the relaxation once today." Ya know what I mean? As for the "heart attack" thing...(and another person brought this up, too)...if the woman would've exercised more or gotten her blood pressure down, she probably wouldn't have had a heart attack. A lot of us have some fears of exercise because it makes our heart beat fast, etc., and that can make anxious. If we avoid activity for years and years and become sedentary or we do things that are unhealthy for our body over a long period of time, sure, we may end up having health problems. ANYONE might. The healthier we live, the healthier we're going to be. ANXIETY though...not gonna kill you. It'll make you freak out or scare you to the point where you feel like something's wrong with you, but remember...IT'S JUST ANXIETY. Just an EMOTION. Breathe it out...do the positive self-talk...try to get your mind out of the fearful thoughts. The more you do this, the easier it gets.