Stress Center Peer Support

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to share with you a small "triumph" (to me HUGE). I have been dealing with anxiety for sometime now, and have been experiencing some agoraphobia. I have been listening to my tapes since I purchased them back in January. Session #8 has been the most powerful of all for me so far. Last evening I was able to travel out of my comfort zone to meet some friends for dinner. I always stay close to home, for fear of panic, but was able to travel to a wonderful restaurant which was located close to the mountains. The drive was only 30 minutes,(husband did the driving). 30 minutes driving on the freeway can be a very long time for me! It was so wonderful to go, live in the moment, and tell myself, I going to do what I want to do, and not let panic tell me what to do. The "what-if" thinking went on all week prior to the dinner, and several times I wanted to call and cancel the plans. Then I listened to Session 8 several times, and was determined to go through with it and not back out I am so glad I did. It was a wonderful dinner, beautiful view, and I enjoyed myself. Several times throughout the evening, I could feel several small episodes of panic starting to creep in, but I "floated" with them, started thinking of something else, and had a wonderful time. The tapes have been a tremendous help for me in trying to overcome my panic and anxiety. No, I don't think I will ever be completely rid of the panic and anxiety,and good days and bad will always be a part of my life, but with one foot forward, and one day at a time,I believe we can help ourselves to be able to enjoy life like we should be.

Thanks everyone for letting me share a "small personal victory" with all of you!!

Wow very cool and very encouraging. I look forward to having a good time going out to eat with friends too someday soon.

Thanks for sharing your Big success!!

Jill~

Rainydays, I am soooo proud of you!!! You did what you feared and did not allow the fear to control you and that is a great accomplishment!!!

I am not soooo sure that this panic attack thing will go on forever...I used to think the same way

The way I looked at life was this...If I have to live the rest of my life in fear, then, what quality of life did I have???

I made a conscious decision to not allow the fear to control me!!! You may say that I had reached my limit and that I was fed up to the gill!!!

I decided that I was gonna drive like everyone else, with or without fear as my companion..

So, I hit the interstate, turned up my music and found a mantra which worked very well for me!!!

When the old fearful thoughts began creeping in, then, I would say, "If you fool with me, then, I will just ride off into the sunset!"

The reason that this mantra worked soooo well for me is that I have always loved sunsets, and I could just imagine myself driving off into the most beautiful, multi-colored sunset!!!

Of course, you must use a mantra that works well for you!!!

You have made a very huge accomplishment and I am sure that you will continue to float through those fears and do whatever it is that you fear anyway!!!

Jill, the same goes for you!!! Fear is just a figment of the "imagination" nothing more!!! It is like some big "fairy tale" that we dream up in our mind and believe..

I pray that in some way this helped the two of you, since, I do know how it feels to think that you cannot drive because of "false evidence appearing real"...

I lived that way for far too many years!!! I will never go back there and once you two have overcome these things, then, neither will you!!!

I pray that God continues to bless the two of you on your road to recovery!!!

Thanks T I appreciate your kind words of
encouragment.

Jilly~

Dear Jill,
You are sooooo welcome!!! God Bless You...Love Ya!!! Have a great night's rest!!!

Ms.T

What a special person you are. Your words were so wonderful to read. I had a small positive but several days ago went out of my "comfort zone" and the same panic feelings came back. As hard as I could try, could not get rid of the anxiety. I am so sick of anxiety, would just love to have a normal everyday life! You are so right with everything you wrote. It is our minds, and somehow we need to take back over and not let anxiety take over us. Ms. T, you are a very special person. I thank you for your kind words and words of encouragement.

i can understand what you are all talking about. i put my foot through anticipatory anxiety recently by talking to my sister about things that were on my mind as far as things getting done around the house. it went much better than i imagined, in fact it went really well. as Lucinda says, "it's rarely ever as bad as we imagine it will be".
my bigger challenge recently is getting through anticipatory anxiety and telling my dad that his anger affects me. but i have to be gentle with myself in the process. i did make a big success for myself in that area though. instead of beating myself up for not talking to him, i kept telling myself that i have a right to stand up for myself, cause his anger causes me anxiety. and the more i told myself that, the more it made sense to me. =)

Way to go Willie. Glad for you and your revelations and the tlc you are giving yourself. Good stuff

J~