Stress Center Peer Support

Hello,

Wow I can't believe the tremendous support that I've have seen just browsing through the site. This is my first time here ans hopefully this will be my last resort for help.

I'm thrity years old. I'm confident that I have had anxiety all my life but most notbably when I was 16 I had my first panic attack at my friends house during a sleepover. Wow... I thought for sure I would never see my mom, dad or brother again. I remember coming home at two am and my parents sitting on the couch just looking at me while i was hysterically crying.... "What can we do?" they said... " I don't know" I just kept repeating....

After that my life went upside down, I didn't want to go ANYWHERE in fear that this would happen again...so started the Agorophobia. I also became a Hypochondriac and thought I was dying with every little ache and pain I had...(I still suffer with that today) My school suffered, work, friends, relationships. I went o my family doctor and he perscribed Paxil....and so it starts the barrage of pills being shoved down my throat. Let me see... at 30 I have tried... Paxil, Prozac, Celexa, Effexor XR, Wellbutrin, Zoloft, Klonopin, Cymbalta and I'm sure I'm forgetting some. They worked for a while and I thought OMG i'm cured... but then...it slowly just kreeps back in....and it starts all over. I'm currently off all meds and have been for just over 5 months... the side effects were too much to bear. I'm getting through but just barely. Now my problem has become more Depression and Anxiety .... I have no motivation...no interest..in a daze..outside of reality... I don't ever want to hurt myself but I could understand why some people just couldn't take it anymore.... life is joyless and empty at times.

I have a husband and 8 year old son. This just doesn't affect me...it hurts everyone. I can't be the mom and wife I need to be because of this awful illness.

I saw the website and ordered the tapes... what have I got to lose? I just got them on Friday and I'm listening to session 1. It's really interesting BUT I'm still feeling skeptical... I would think this is normal... How can non of those meds help and this program will? I feel like I have lost a big part of my life...that makes me mad....

Thanks for listening.... I really hope at the end of this I can help someone....

Hey, I understand how these feelings overwhelm your mind to the point that you can't think straight and do anything to get out of the pain. It's mainly being human and fear of vulnerability, like no one can save you. I think it starts with accepting that in life, most anything can happen and worrying about it dose not solve anything. You have to find some peace in the fact that you made it this far and the rest will sort itself out naturally. Let the feelings be and accepting them. Fighting them with pills, sex, alcohol, etc is only a mask and the feelings are still there. I think acceptance, faith, and knowing you are loved will go a long way to making you feel empowered without having any hard answers. I wake up often with a feeling of dread. It's a sign that I am not allowing life to be as it is. Find peace in love from others who care about you and love you no matter what you have, what you do, or how you act. We can care too much about any given day and lose the big picture, life is short and life is now.

Thank you for your kind words.

I have been through many adverse trials...this by far has to be the worst.

I guess keep positive is one of the main messages...

Hi...Just thought I'd let you know that this program DOES work. The problem with meds is that they just mask symptoms, they don't actually help you to deal with life. Thats what the program does, helps you develope skills to deal with life, good and bad.

I was agoraphobic for over 6 years. I was even afraid to go out on my front porch. The truth is getting off of the couch was scary for me. I won't go into all the details, but will tell you that after going through the program I am taking my life back one day at a time.

The program wasn't always easy for me, in fact it was hard for me to apply the things I learned to my life. I had to work very very hard to get to where I'm at right now. Things did get easier for me when my brain adjusted to the new things I was learning. I was so skeptical at first and didn't believe half of what they said on the tapes. I kept listening because I felt I had tried everything else. With this program you get back what you put in it. You have got to put the time and effort into it, because unfortunately it isn't a miracle overnight cure. I am so fortunate to have found the program.

I hope it helps you as much as it has me! Best of luck to you.