Stress Center Peer Support

Dear Stress Center,
I would like to know if there are any veterans or staff members of StressCenter that would be able to be more present on the forums to offer support and help, words of encouragement, etc.
I think it would be very beneficial to participants, new and old.
I hope that I will get a response to this post, to help us all know that you are present, care, and want to help on our journey.
Thank you so very much
Sincerely,
Barbara

Pushing this back up to the top. Lots of views, no responses...
Staff members? Asking for your help.
Anything?

Well, I don't work for the StressCenter.com - lol, although for the amt of help this program has given me, I'd work for free (well, not really but you know, lol) :p

I am recovered fr anxiety disorder. My anxiety disorder was triggered in APR 2005. I was officially diagnosed w/ : anxiety disorder + panic attacks + ptsd (fr 3 diff things). I spent the next several yrs working through some tough childhood things + facing/feeling/acknowleding some deep seeded anger + pain + fear + resentment + I did the program & completed it 1st time in MARCH 2007. <span class="ev_code_RED">My PERSONAL RECOVERY encompassed many things & it REQUIRED MANY THINGS "OF me":</span> therapy w/ a psychiatrist + journaling (very instrumental in helping myself get me comfortable w/ what I was thinking & feeling & then FEEL THEM) + research: reading 16 + books on anxiety disorder: this was KEY - because knowledge is power. The power in anxiety disorder comes fr OUR NOT KNOWING OR UNDERSTANDING. So, we EMPOWER ourselves w/ finding out what it really is - that STEMS OUT THE FEAR + then, purchasing & doing Lucinda's program. In addition, I've made changes in my dietary intake = changing what I am eating - making healthier choices more consistantly w/ PORTION CONTROL playing a lge role in all of it + EXERCISING = moving a little every day, something - ANYTHING. I've lost 70lbs thus far = that equates, for me, of going fr size 22 to size 4 (some things size 6). I don't have enough words to describe how very instrumental what roles HEALTHY EATING & exercising play in our recovery. I am no JANE LALANE - I don't wake up every day EXCITED "gosh, I can't wait to exercise" - NOT. However, I reap the benefits of doing so every day - mentally + emotionally + physically + spiritually - that is what motivates me to MOVE IT every day.

I've said in many postings prior, that I firmly believe my purpose in life - MY LIFE - is to help + inspire + motivate others who are suffering or experiencing or have experienced: abuse + molestation + abandonment + anxiety disorder + panic attacks + pstd - my survival & recovery fr where I was to WHERE I AM (given all MY FACTS) TELL ME THAT - God spoke to my heart. The focus then becomes about others & turns things into something way more positive & powerful - something other than my own suffering. I'd be more than happy to help out when I can - when I am available. However, because I am recovered - I am not on here daily/regularly. I have returned to working USA + I exerise everyday + have a hubby/family + home - out there living life - making things happen. So, I can - when time permits. I am almost CERTAIN - this is the case w/ many of the people who are recovered - they simply are out there living life - they come back when time permits - it doesn't mean they/we don't care - quite contraire - it DOES mean we are going after the very things ANXIETY DISORDER & DEPRESSION TRIED TO ROB US OF - our right to choose & live & do as we wish. It honestly feels like being let out of an EMOTIONAL PRISON = WAKING UP LIKE RUMPLESTILSKIN - fr a long slumber - to WOW I CAN LIVE - IT IS MY LIFE!

With alllllllllllllllllllll that said, lol lol :p (being silly) - I want to say something that comes fr the most purest place - of sincerity + empathy + compassion: You can & WILL get the greatest support on this StressCenter.com site - however, in the end - IT IS YOU THE SUFFERER who makes recovery happen. Recovery is not easy - it is very hard. Just when you think you've given enough - it requires you give more. You want RECOVERY? Do you really want recovery? Well, recovery COSTS & here is where you start paying in: committment + conistency + hard work + dedication + no excuses - no I can't, but rather finding a way TO MAKE IT HAPPEN - moving mountains if you need to + crying & shedding yourself of all that surpressed pain - it will hurt, but BLESSED BE GOD - you will feel FREE as never b/4 + sweat = working this PROGRAM AS INSTRUCTED strictly- it does work + TIME: there is valuable information out there in the library's & internet & books, etc - utilize that to empower yourselves - take notes. think of it as RECOVERY COLLEGE & YOU'RE GOING FOR YOUR MASTER'S DEGREE & there is no SKIPPING SCHOOL IN RECOVERY COLLEGE - you need to keep at it everyday.Recovery is you doing for you probably for the 1st time in your life - it requires you doing everything & anything in your power to heal + grow + learn + evolve - recovery ='s you the sufferer taking all them steps & doing it towards recovery.

I know it sounds contrite coming fr someone who has already recovered. However, I was there - 1 of the worst cases. My recovery truly started when I sought ANS'S - whether it was at therapy & never missing 1 scheduled session OR journaling every single day FEELING & SHEDDING ALL THAT BAD/PAINFUL STUFF OR researching & becoming informed & empowered, etc. <span class="ev_code_RED">Recovery started when I chose SELF SUFFICIENCY + SELF RESPONSIBILITY + SELF ACCOUNTABILITY.</span> Yes, I am & was human. I too needed validation + support + comfort + love - I needed all those things many a times. However, my recovery TRULY started when I sought the answers I needed w/ in myself, by myself - when I started to believe in me & love me. So, yes, many of those who have recovered would be more than happy to help you when time allows. During the interim, you the SUFFERER can do for you RIGHT NOW - that is a part of the recovery process = you realizing you had the power & answers all along - with in yourself.

Your friend,

LENORE

Hi Lenore,
Thanks for posting, I hope that the members on here will get a lot out of what you wrote.

I myself, am also "out there living life". However, I come on here daily to post to the Daily Inspiration topic forum. I FIND the time to get on here for five minutes each morning, so that hopefully someone who might be feeling bad that morning, can read something positive and might help them to have a better day.

I think maybe having mediators or staff members responding every once and awhile would be beneficial for the other members on here who continue to struggle.

I absolutely understand how much hard work and self determination go into working this program, i do it daily, and will continue to do so for as long as that is necessary.


thanks for your response
Barbara

There is an old Celtic saying: “You will never plow a field by turning it over in your mind.”
That pretty much explains what I believe is a primary purpose for this forum. When you begin the program, all the skills and tools are unfamiliar to most people. However, our reason for being here, anxiety and depression, is common to all of us. Because of that familiarity, we are at once linked, like a room full of first graders on our first day of school. From our initial day of listening to the CD’s, watching the DVD’s, getting into the routine of doing homework and journaling, we all now have more things in common. We have session material, new skill techniques, and new tools to work with. What is different is who we are. Our histories are unique, and our day to day lives are unique. This forum allows us to bring all that we have in common together with all that we do not have in common, compare struggles, and address solutions or simply offer encouragement to each other. In a nutshell, we are becoming, here on this forum, a classroom of problem solvers with similar goals. The moderators do occasionally offer additional information, but they are not here to be regularly involved. You can certainly do what I do, and scroll back through all the forums in search of topics by Carolyn, or some of the veterans, and read them. Very insightful, and often helpful with homework questions. You will also discover that many of the posts (new and old) are full of answers to your current questions. Scroll through the 2006 and 2007 threads. They are like answer sheets for so many things we all have in common. Just think Talk Therapy without a group leader. This is the place for our talk therapy part of this program.

I am on Session Thirteen, and probably don't have anything to offer your post. This is simply my understanding of this forum.

Hi Swan, I worked the program from July 14 to Oct 13 2006 and guess you could call me a vet. When I first got here I was the basic wreck...hadn't left the house in over 6 months, wasn't able to drive anywhere, and could stand to be left alone for more than 3 minutes at a time and at the age of 55 (back then) that was hard for me to accept. I carried anxiety/panick attacks for over 35 years but they got to the point I was having them 2 and 3 times a day until one day I just shut down all the way. I lost my job, almost lost my marriage and family as well as every friend I ever had in this world because of my internal shutdown.

Like you, when I came onboard here at StressCenter.com I was on the forums & esp chat everyday, to the tune of many hours, not just a few each day of the week while I did the program. I learned from the other vets that to get over what I was dealing with took time and hard work from me and me alone since no two people are alike. At first I didn't believe that but the further into the program the more I understood what they meant.

The regulars like Bry, Nelly, Believe (Beth), MsPip (Lynn), Windycity (Jeff), and many many more became my best friends and I swore we'd all be together no matter. So I worked the program as hard as anything that I've ever done before in all 55 yrs because I wanted to be 'normal' again.

After the program was over, I found that I had changed from the 'old David to a new David (my family and new family online saw that change long before I did honestly) and I didn't want to go back. The panick attacks stopped within the first 3 weeks, the anxiety started going away by the time I got to lesson ten, and I was driving again, by myself, by lesson twelve. The fear of being here alone left me someplace around lesson three or four, I don't really remmeber to be honest but when I suddenly realized all the above happened it was a fantastic feeling!!!

As the months went by after completing the program in Oct 2006, I found that I was slowly leaving the chatroom...at first I thought it was "them" leaving me but in reality it was all of us regulars that were starting to move on with our lives and in different directions.

In mid summer of 2007 I became the Admin for StressCenter..yeah, right here, which lasted until Oct of 07 when I left here and moved on to another job that I used to hold years ago for a seperate company. But by being Admin even for that short amount of time I can tell you this, it's not the mods & staff don't want to stop in and chat, it's the time constraints that are on them 24/7/365. They work support, phone support, billing, customer problems, putting together advertising, technical work, security work, anything and everything that a large company does on a daily basis and every ounce of time is used to do something for you to make the program better so it is hard for anyone from StressCenter to stop in for even 5 minutes but they are here with you all the time.

What happened to the old time regulars that I was a member of? We went on in life, got new jobs, some went back to school, some moved to other parts of the country and took jobs there, some I have no idea because I haven't talked to them in a year or more but when we hit problems in life, we all come back and visit with each other, ask for help, or give as much help as we can to you who are just starting the program and we do it when we can.

Nowdays, I track and work reconnaissance missions into tropical systems such as Ike and at this very moment, the last of Hurricane Kyle, which leaves me very little time to stop anywhere for very long. Our lives, family, work, and friends have all come back into our lives, and we've moved on because we now have the skills and tools to deal with anxiety/depression and so will you by the time you hit lesson 15. Then you'll know and understand why it's hard for a vet or staff member to come back in to the forums or chat and stay around.

I've got to go soon, I've been on duty for over 24 hours now, and I will sleep soon...maybe..lol, then get ready for Invest 95L which is in the middle of the Atlantic ocean deciding if it's going to go to a tropical status or not as I type this. If it does, I'll be gone again for a week or two, but I still do swing through chat once in awhile even if it's for 5 minutes and only then if I can.

It's not that we regulars are better than anyone else, it's just we are moving on with our lives again, and it really feels great! YOU will find this out too but you have to work the program harder than anything you've done your entire life. Do every exercise, do each assignment, do every lesson, and don't skip anything even if you feel it doesn't apply to you, somewhere in that lesson you'll learn something you didn't know about yourself or the world around you.

For now...keep moving forward and don't look back...

David

Swan01, Hi Barbara... My real name is Steve and I have always loved your name. The first woman I fell in love with was named Barbara.
There is so much good advice in this thread!
I came here to the A & D site a yr. ago knowing I had a lot of Old Business to deal with and that it would take more than just 15 weeks to complete this Program. By my third week the Dam began to brake in my life and the water just kept getting higher... but, I have been dealing with every thing that has come along and owe many thanks to the Program and All the people here who have helped me. David and those he has referred to are only a few, who have helped me.
I have come to believe that I am right where I am supposed to be. When I am ready for more I will be there, and not a second sooner.
I post when I think I have something to contribute, Chat when I can, and will finish ... when I get there! Well it's on to session 14.
Excuse me for a while but the water is getting higher, over here; I'll be back soon, Seadog.
Sometimes life is like that…

I just read each post and had to respond. I'm on session 8 and a beginner so this is not a reply to you Barbara as I am not a veteran BUT is a RESPONSE to the veterans replies.

I am so very humbled by every word written and am so very, very proud of all of you and thrilled to know I will one day be that strong, self assured, confident, knowledgable, wise, assertive, and every other adverb or adjective anyone could add to the list. You people are amazing and through your words and pain I am far more determined to become the best person I can be inside and out. I knew coming into this program that it was up to me to work hard and overcome all my issues through hard work and sticking with the program, never willing to give up on myself and it has already made a huge difference in my life.

A MILLION THANKS for your words. I will never forget them and are now a part of my life changing journey.

My Deepest Regards, ALWAYS,
Deborah

Thank you to the veterans who posted here, you give me hope now that I too shall overcome these problems of dizziness and anxiety. Nice to read from someone else who has completed the program, are there others who would post I wonder? Either way, thank you Lenore, David, Pecos and Seadog you three are an inspiration to us all.

Swan01- It was my understanding that this forum was set up for us as a free peer support by the Center for us to use with each other. It's monitored for inappropriate posts like most forums are, but I don't think it was intended to be used as a teaching tool by Center staff members. Carolyn has come on from time to time and given us wonderful helpful advice, and I too wish it was more often but it isn't.-- They do have an individual coaching program available, and from what I've heard it's really very good.

I haven't taken any meds since I started the program 7 months ago. I went thru it three times in a row (obsessive? maybe-lol) just to make sure it was reinforced in my head. I was the queen of negative 'what if' thinking and worry, and scared myself constantly with these thoughts. The journaling is what got me to see just how many negative scary thoughts I was thinking. No wonder I was so anxious all the time - I was scaring the crap out of myself. The negative 'what ifs' are no longer a part of my mental vocabulary, and I have replaced these with positive 'what ifs' which now seem more normal to me. I no longer feel a need for any anxiety medication. I'm still connected to the forum, as I still learn something new from all the posts sometimes and enjoy hearing how other people have overcome some of this.