Stress Center Peer Support

I am on week 14 of the program. I started back in April and felt really good throughout the summer. Now work has started again (I am a teacher) and this year's class is quite challening. I am feeling very anxious, starting from when my eyes open every morning. I try the positive dialogue, I listen to the relaxation tape, I try using the strategies that I've learned throughout the program. But my body symptoms have all been coming back, full force! One symptom was heartburn, and I've been on Nexium for it. I was able to ween back to one every other day over the summer, but now the burning is very strong even with the meds. My throat tightens also as a symptom. I guess my questions are these:
Is it normal to be experiencing this?
Why am I unable to use the strategies to combat these feelings?
Shouldn't I be getting better, not worse?

My doctor has prescribed Zanax as a helper on days that I am feeling really bad, but I haven't used it yet. I just need to know what's going on.

Any help would be much appreciated because I feel like I just wasted 16 weeks of my life going through this program only to end up exactly where I started.

It takes us a very long time to reach the point of disrepair we are in when we begin the program. I finished Session 15 a few weeks ago. I'm doing remarkably well right now. I am not kidding myself. Life is tough, and I will have plenty of setbacks. I've been waiting for the elections to be over, and now they are, so I can relax a bit. I'm going to begin the entire program again in another week. The idea is to reinforce the skills and habits. Talking myself into dumb things that make me feel bad is a habit. I know I will need reinforcement not to go there again. Could this be a solution for you, too?

I like your idea of starting the program again. Maybe I will do that. I loved feeling better, and I want these persistent stress symptoms/ailments to go away completely. I will try that. Thank you! I'm glad you're doing well.