How the skills benefit us

[NinjaFrodo]

I've faced my fears before going through the program and after going through the program, with and without relaxation skills and there is a big diffrence.

Before i started with the program I would face some of my fears and limitations but only if i absolutely had to face them and the whole time i was facing them I was thinking about the fear, how i felt and what the other person or people were thinking of me. It also didn't stop there, i would think of it days or even weeks later. I would actually make myself sick over it. Colds/Flus a couple times a month, consistent fatigue, consistent stress and consistently low self esteem/confidence.

At one point in my life I had gone from avoiding everybody (staying in my room at home and only coming out when everybody else was asleep), to moving to a friend's place and working as a ski lift operator at a ski hill. I would be helping hundreds of people on a lift and having to communicate with them as well and the first day of work i threw up before going to work and for the first 2 weeks i got IBS symptoms where i would have severe cramps and would have to run to the bathroom and had frequent bowel movements. It was hell.

2 years ago I felt more prepared to handle anxiety than before i started the program and so i took a full time job at a call centre. I was using the relaxation cd before going to work and for the first 3-4 weeks and i was really struggling but i was getting better at talking to people over the phone and things were starting to get somewhat easier and I didn't use the relaxation response as much and then the reverse started to happen. I was becoming less focused, slower, more anxious, I was becoming dyslexic and i was having a harder time with communicating with people. I kinda wished i used the relaxation response in the moment as well as thought replacement. I can still remember thinking...I can't reach that quota, I can't ask people this, I can't handle cold calling. I was the one putting the pressure on me, I was expected to try to reach the quota, not to actually reach the quota and I just brought myself down with my thoughts about how i couldn't do it. I felt so much stress that i had to call in sick every other week and I eventually got fired.

Other times I've faced limitations where I would have immense anxiety when i first approached it but after a few seconds i was able to calm myself down and think more clear minded and i ended up feeling good about my experience.

Skills are very important, its important to use them in the heat of the moment and this is a message i'm also giving to myself by writing this thread. I believe this is why I'm still struggling with the anxiety and depression. Don't get stuck like i have.


Mike