and the more practice opportunities the quicker and more effective you can be with overcoming the anxiety and depression.
Mike
The 6 advices on session 2 are not working for me.
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Guest
I can't believe how negative my mind is. I have been following all the suggestions and I have managed a little bit, however, the weird sensation is still there. but the day before yesterday I did pretty good, I felt really proud of my self so I used the positive afirmation to repeat it, however, yesterday and today again my negative thought were stronger than my positive thoughts because I felt very nervous at the time of the meeting. I do not understand myself, I have been able to see that it is possible that I can get calmed and relaxed. But unfortunately I cannot keep it more than one day. Help. any more suggestions?
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Guest
But you should also be proud of yourself! You are SEEING how negative your mind is... instead of BEING the negative thoughts. Of course you are still suffering. And of course it is frustrating, infuriating! But you are closer to being in control of your conscious mind. So many of us (me included) endure intense, ongoing personal suffering because our minds and thoughts are not under our conscious control. It sounds a little zen-ish, but being an observer of your thoughts is a HUGE step. When you use the relaxation CD and notice the intrusive negative thoughts, the mind chatter, maybe even get wrapped up in it, then step back from it and go to the CD you are practicing and exercising your power as an observer of these thoughts. Of course you won't perfectly clear and relax your mind the first time right away- if you could, you wouldn't have anxiety! So go easy on yourself because then your inner self, the true you, the observer, the you that's above the tumult of the mind chatter, will come more easily to you. Again, sorry to get a little zen-ish... but seriously, you are worth it. Practice focus on a particular thing - and be ok with failing repeatedly - it's the ongoing practice rather than the single perfect result that's important and life-changing, if that makes sense at all.
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Guest
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Guest
C2009 -
Be kind to yourself. This is a process and as everyone is saying, it takes a lot of time and effort. For now, expect that there will be good days and there will be bad days (and of course, some in-between days). If you have a bad day, it doesn't mean that the next day will be bad as well. Also, as you master your skills, your good days will soon outnumber your bad days. On those good days, be proud of yourself and give yourself lots of praise. On the bad days, get back up and dust yourself off, praise yourself for trying and doing your best, and look forward to your next triumph.
I imagine you have a lot of anticipatory anxiety about these meetings since they are a daily occurrence. Since you've had trouble in the past, it's natural (for us) to expect to have difficulty doing the same thing again. But this is a thought process that you can break. If you don't fear attending the meetings and don't obsess about having anxiety during them, then it's pretty unlikely that you will actually have anxiety during the meetings. Worrying about having anxiety during your meetings just becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
One thing I might suggest in addition to using your relaxation exercises and positive thinking, is to do some planning for the meeting itself. If you have a rough idea of what you need to cover, jot down some notes about what you can say and how you might respond to likely questions. That way, if you start to feel uncomfortable, you've already prepared your thoughts and will be able to refer to your notes for guidance. Also, if you can't answer a question right away, it's okay to say so and that you'll get back to the person that asks it. These are great tools for people with or without anxiety.
Jamie
Be kind to yourself. This is a process and as everyone is saying, it takes a lot of time and effort. For now, expect that there will be good days and there will be bad days (and of course, some in-between days). If you have a bad day, it doesn't mean that the next day will be bad as well. Also, as you master your skills, your good days will soon outnumber your bad days. On those good days, be proud of yourself and give yourself lots of praise. On the bad days, get back up and dust yourself off, praise yourself for trying and doing your best, and look forward to your next triumph.
I imagine you have a lot of anticipatory anxiety about these meetings since they are a daily occurrence. Since you've had trouble in the past, it's natural (for us) to expect to have difficulty doing the same thing again. But this is a thought process that you can break. If you don't fear attending the meetings and don't obsess about having anxiety during them, then it's pretty unlikely that you will actually have anxiety during the meetings. Worrying about having anxiety during your meetings just becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
One thing I might suggest in addition to using your relaxation exercises and positive thinking, is to do some planning for the meeting itself. If you have a rough idea of what you need to cover, jot down some notes about what you can say and how you might respond to likely questions. That way, if you start to feel uncomfortable, you've already prepared your thoughts and will be able to refer to your notes for guidance. Also, if you can't answer a question right away, it's okay to say so and that you'll get back to the person that asks it. These are great tools for people with or without anxiety.
Jamie
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Guest