Stress Center Peer Support

Hello everyone! My name is Jake and this is really round two for me with this program. Last year in August I had a panic attack, which was the first one I had in years, and my mom originally used Lucinda's first program in the early 90's. My mom bought me the CD set so I can work on battling my anxiety and depression since I started losing sleep and having more anxiety issues. It worked really good and I took it to heart for the 5 weeks I used it and then all of a sudden I got layed off from work and found myself looking for a job again. I did alright and found a new job in less than a week. Everything was going fine until I started getting to a point where work just became the usual drill and I started feeling on autopilot mode and all I had was myself and my thoughts. I obsessed over my past wishing things could've been different and then all of a sudden I started thinking "internally" and then I started obsessing over how my anxiety was making me feel. My heart would race, I'd get a sick and bloated feeling in my stomach, I'd feel spaced out and on autopilot the whole time, and overall not doing well. Every little pain and ache or tense muscle would turn into the biggest deal all over again and i couldn't calm myself down. Last Sunday I was so bad that I talked myself into listening to the CD's again and i just broke down crying. I like to think of myself as being tough since I served 6 years in the Army National Guard as an infantryman, no combat experience just want to make that clear, but I just couldn't hold it together anymore. I won't lie just hearing Lucinda's voice and listening to everyone tell their experience again in the first tape made me feel immediate relief and reassurance all over again and made me realize I didn't stick with this program enough to build strong and healthy mental habits to bring about any change. I'm giving this another go and hopefully I'll stick with it this time. I am glad to say even though there were times it really got to me I still remembered every once in a while that it's only anxiety, I felt this way last year, and I am still here to talk about it.

Hi JacobJonik. It takes guts to share what you have shared.

I think a very important tool that the program teaches is to journal or write down your negative/scary thoughts. Once you have some written down try and develop new and more compassionate thoughts to counter the negative/scary ones. Then as the negative thoughts resurface, repeat the compassionate thoughts to yourself. Over time you will hopefully believe the compassionate thoughts and let go of the negative/scary ones.

There are other tools that have to be applied in this process. Forgiveness toward yourself is one and it is a very important one. Forgiving and letting go of the past. This is a process, not a one time thing. Each time you start to beat yourself up over the past you have to put up the stop sign and stop beating yourself up. You have to start to learn to love yourself as you are, not as you want to be or as you think others want you to be.

We are all born with God given self worth and that can't be taken away by others or by our performance. Trust in that, believe that.

You have to begin to love yourself and learn how to say positive, loving, compassionate things to yourself.

This takes work, one day at a time, but the program can work and you can feel better. That's the good news.

Know that there are others who understand the challenge and the suffering you experience and want to aid in however we can.

Please do work the program and keep working it even after you begin to feel better. I think that 3 years is a good period of time that one needs to give to the program for lasting benefits. I do wish you success in your journey and most of all peace and security that comes from within you.