Introduction - Again, sorta...

[jasonawalker]

Hi there.

My name is Jason and I live in East Texas. I'm a graduate student and also a teacher -- well, I was a teacher anyway. That seems to be in doubt right now.

I've been here before. I've had problems with anxiety attacks and depression since I was a little kid. Back in 2009 it got really bad, so I bought the program and signed up for the forums. Things got better after a while and I even went back to school and finished my degree. My triumph was actually going and walking at graduation, something I would've never been able to do while suffering.

The last few years have been okay. Not great, but not terrible...until January. In January I started having anxiety attacks again and they got really bad really fast. By early March I was no longer able to go to work and was put on medical leave. Unfortunately, I didn't get better fast enough and my contract with the district was not renewed. For teachers, a non-renewal, even for medical reasons is pretty much a "death sentence" where finding jobs is concerned.

Anyway, my doc put me on Zoloft and Xanax for acute attacks. I guess I'm a little better, although I really don't want to be on the meds. I'm scared to death that I'm going to become addicted to Xanax. I just started the program again and I'm hoping for the same results as last time.

So, yeah...that's me. I welcome any conversation.

[coachchris]

HI Again Jason

Thanks for sharing more of your story.

Was there increased stress in January that elevated your adrenaline?

How are you doing using the 6 steps from lesson 2?

What are your top 3 negative thoughts and the positive/truth replacement thought?

I look forward to your reply.
Coachchris@stresscenter.com

[jasonawalker]

Hi, Chris.

Thanks so much for taking the time to reply. I was under an increasing amount of stress at work in January. I'm a teacher and our state testing happens in March, so late January/early February is when the school district really starts putting pressure on teachers to make sure students are well-prepared. However, I'm not completely sure that was the trigger in my case. I'm not saying it wasn't, but if it was it was a sudden onset. I had not noticed any "symptoms" at that point.

My success with the six steps has been mixed so far. My panic attacks happen and escalate so quickly that a lot of the time I don't feel like I have time to put them into practice. But, I have had some success and I haven't given up on them. I haven't been working the program all that long yet.

Thoughts...

This will never stop. I'll be like this forever // It stopped before. It will stop this time.

I'm going crazy. // I'm not going crazy. I have a condition which can be treated and managed successfully.

I'm going to have a panic attack in public and embarrass myself or get taken to a mental hospital. // I will be okay. Even if I have a panic attack I know that it is temporary and will pass and that most people don't even notice anything is wrong.

[Tofte]

Hi Jason,

I don't have any experience with Zoloft but I have with Xanax. I understand your concern. I found that once I had a panic attack my body became sensitized and the cycle of panic attacks would begin. It was important to stop those and let my system calm down. My doctor was great at using Xanax to stop the attacks until I could start putting these principles into practice and then weaned me off it. He highly recommended this program, using the medications alone will just be a band aid.

Best Wishes,
Lynn