Stress Center Peer Support

Finally caved in and decided to post a little success story, just to get it out of my system. I'm in Week 14 and have had fantastic success in conquering my general "up-tight" nature (OK, call it "anxiety") and my depression. I'm currently an active 51-year old man and have been battling some form of anxiety and/or mild depression since my high school years (had no clue what I was feeling in high school may have been anxiety-related issues, until going through the program and learning more about myself...man, what an eye-opener!). I have always demanded 110% from myself and others, but especially hard on myself (from being high school valedictorian onwards....); just no room for failure or mistakes, until now. Always the "go-to-guy". Since Sessions 3 and 4, I've had a life-altering experience and have never felt so "deserving" of recovery. My self-esteem, confidence, decision-making power, and ability to ENJOY LIFE in the moment have all sky-rocketed. I realize I'm not finished, but will continue to head down the road to recovery; in fact, I look forward to the challenge. BY THE WAY, I got off my depression meds (yes Lucinda, I consulted my doctor) about 6 weeks ago and have NEVER FELT BETTER (that was 5 years of hell, beating myself up because I was having to rely on meds to "tolerate" life's ups and downs)...now I actually enjoy the fact that I CAN ALLOW MYSELF TO FEEL the ups and downs, and understand that not every day is going to be "perfect". Anyway, enough rambling and back-patting...in summary, I thank StressCenter for teaching me to teach myself, and for the realization of the positive effects of these tools: (1) positive self-talk, (2) lowering my butt-kicking expectations of MYSELF and Others, and (3) exercise, exercise, and more exercise. For those of you who may still be struggling, I want you to know you're learning a new process, and it's not going to be necessarily an "ah-ha" moment....keep plodding forward in the right direction and you WILL GET THERE, one step at a time. Best Wishes and Thanks, "New Me".

Your post is such an inspiration to me! Thank you for sharing your amazing experience! I am just beginning the journey to a new me. I started taking a very low dose of paxil 3 weeks ago and it is helping me through this beginning process! I get discouraged sometimes because I always expect and want immediate gratification (something I am working on)! Your story really made my day! Thank you so much! I hope you have a wonderful day and Merry Christmas

Sincerely,
Kara

Thanks for sharing your success story. I'm glad you were able to get off of your meds. I did once last year and now I've been weaning off a different anti-depressant w/o the help of Xanax so far.

It is a little rough around the Christmas Holidays and cold weather, but I am amazed I'm doing as well as I am. Even with the reactions from family members not quite liking the new me.

Kalina--Congrats to you too, on working the Program as well using less meds. Paislee

Kalina (Kara),
I totally understand the instant gratification thing (my wife calls it impatience). For me, session 4 (I think) about "expect less, get more" was a key in learning a little patience. It's OK to be discouraged emotionally, but intellectually I needed to keep reminding myself that this thing is a "process" and it's not like a light-switch change that happens overnight. It will come, so just hang in there. You're getting better each day! Small baby-step positives add up over time, and if you keep throwing up the red "stop sign" everytime you get think negatively or feel discouraged, you may start to feel some encouragement soon.

Best Wishes.