has anyone been like this since early childhood?

Juno · Post by **Juno** » Tue Jun 02, 2009 4:48 pm

Yes! I had scary thoughts since I was 8 or even earlier. I remember fearing that my mom wasn't really my mom. Or when my parents took me to church I remember thinking, "oh no, what if everyone can hear my thoughts."
It was brought on by anxiety by moving from Poland to the U.S. and not speaking a word of English and being tossed into school.
But I do remember that I had milder scary thoughts at 6. I thought I was mentally ill and that must have been a bad sign to have symptoms so strange at an early age, but now I know. It's just anxiety.

Bees4me · Post by **Bees4me** » Sat Jun 13, 2009 11:52 am

Wow! Look at how many of us have been dealing with these problems for our whole lives! We must be stronger than we thought! Survivors, every one! I can trace my depression back to age 3, if you can imagine that. My dad wasn't the nicest either, when he was around. Let's pray that we all improve as we go through the program.

Mr. Kris · Post by **Mr. Kris** » Sun Feb 21, 2010 2:53 pm

As a child right around age 5 and up I would get very anxious when my parents argued I would "freeze" and have that sense of doom. Of course like most of us as I aged it progressed and was followed by depression and anticipation of something bad happening. Here Iam now 27 going on 28 with two children of my own, thanks to my skills I've been able to better my relationship with my kids and my fiance. I would be preety stuck without this program.

jillzmind · Post by **jillzmind** » Tue Mar 16, 2010 12:15 pm

I also suffered from a young age. I think 8 or 9 is when it started to get worse but I was also a shy and melancholy kids too. Now at 45 I look back and see that it was anxiety and depression and I wish I had this program back then. Or my Parents anyway. I kept getting passed around to shrinks trying to figure out what was wrong with me and they thought I had
"school phobia". They have made many great strides in psychologial knowledge and help.
I am so thankful

Jill~

Littlegraycat · Post by **Littlegraycat** » Sun Apr 04, 2010 7:27 pm

Looking back after my diagnosis at 16, my mom tells me she remembered anxious behavior from my early childhood on, and I can distinctly remember full blown panic attacks during 6th grade. It's funny we didn't catch it before, honestly.

And unlike a lot of people in this thread, I didn't have a dysfunctional family, nor did anything traumatic happen to me when I was young. It just seems to be the way I'm made; part of me. Something I had to learn to work with and channel positively.

Many of us began this path of ours early, I think, whether we knew/know it or not; and that's fine. The most important thing is that we finally were able to recognise that what we were going through was real and that we got help. I know I eventually made it through, and I hope with all my heart that everyone else here has or will too.

All my best to you!

Cheryl Wilson · Post by **Cheryl Wilson** » Sat May 29, 2010 8:21 am

Yes, I was a very sheltered child. My mom tried to protect me from life for as long as I can remember. When I would get out in public, I was scared of everybody and everything. I remember starting to school in first grade and being absolutely terrified. I have had a knot in my stomach for as long as I can remember. When I married my first husband I felt "safe". He died in 1993 and the "knot" started all over again. I am just now starting to get over it.

JR5 · Post by **JR5** » Wed Jun 02, 2010 12:20 pm

Pretty much as long as I can remember. I have gotten a lot better since I learned the CBt counter exercise and the TEA form exercise. Which I was taught them as a teen though

MyDogMaddie · Post by **MyDogMaddie** » Thu Aug 12, 2010 9:59 am

Yes! Since I was six I can remember asking my mother if I was going to die or go blind. I had watched a show or something. Then in third grade I thought my school was going to burn down so I went to the nurse everyday because it was close to the exit. I'm in my 30's now and I still have OCD and GAD...OMG... I know what it is though and I know I'm not alone.

JR5 · Post by **JR5** » Sat Sep 04, 2010 7:53 pm

Mydog give the cbt exercises I mentioned a try. The TEA forms in the CBT book by Sam Obitz are really helpful in fighting anxiety.

*slimjim · Post by *slimjim » Mon Sep 06, 2010 7:14 am

Oh Nuts! I was just working on a decent response when I hit the wrong button and lost all my copy. When here I go again.

The following is from Personal Notes I made to myself 2-11-09.

I'm sitting at Jack In The Crack awaiting Max Cannon the creator of a synidicated comic strip called RED MEAT, to show up. But he doesn't. And my negative side goes: See You're just not worth his time. And so the reason I wanted this meeting was to see if he'd be willing to take up the chore of inking in my comic character:
MADAME X INCORPORATED. However since I've been practing with new sized Sharpie black and Brush pens I'm finding that maybe I don't really don't need him to do what I'm finding out I can do myself.

So I think I'm going to continue to ink in her adventures because it makes my happy. And this is a feeling that no drug can top. I've been looking into trying to ink differently since a good friend and colleage suggested that I needed to start experimenting with my line varations. Also too, I needed to do more spotting blacks in my final pieces. And guess what he was right. And now my art looks better and more professional because I was willing to listen to some criticism and then try something new. Another new factor added to MX Inc. is I've taken on an Editor in the name of Rich K. and he's allowed me to see that by slowing down the pace of the action in the comic we could wind up with a better product and since then I've been doing just that and the books, we're on #3 is coming out like gangbusters.

None of this could have occurred before I got through the the program course because I was still stuck in my thinking that I had to be the Lone Ranger to get things done MY WAY! Now I'm not trying to Feed this Hole inside my gut screaming at me to "FEED ME SYMORE, FEED ME!" Anymore!!!
My game plan has totally changed because I've changed! For the better I might say. I'm also in a Business Planning class thats allowing me, not some other business person who saids they can write a terrific Business Plan for 1K. And just give me something that reads like sterio instructions. Nope. I'm writting it so I can understand what I'm doing and why. Before the program I'd be hiding under the covers waiting for someone else to do it. So you see theirs no one who can do what I do or get the job done any wheres near as I can do it. So I'll keep moving in the direction I feel the Good Lord is leading me.
Thanx.