You don't always need meds.
I just wanted to share that the meds kept me going but if you want full relief you need to change the way you process things in your head. I tried the med route for several years before learning the cbt exercises that enabled me to start living my life again. There is hope if you are willing to work hard on yourself.
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Guest
Debmarie, Thank you for the encouraging words. After withdrawaling from Paxil after over 10 years using it I can honestly say the same. I have more control over my anxiety and panic in the last two months since starting this program then I ever did on Paxil. Not to mention I don't have to deal with the nasty side effects of the meds or worry about a "poop out" or withdrawal problem with the program.
How's the saying go "If it is to be, it's up to me."
How's the saying go "If it is to be, it's up to me."
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Guest
Thats a very good post Deb but many people have chemical inbalances in the brain which affects the lobes of the brain and results in challenging thinking ways......
If people have a normal functioning brain by all means interpretation of life done accurately is correct but for many who do not have normal functioning brains and need paxil and or benzo then thats a blessing for them.
If people have a normal functioning brain by all means interpretation of life done accurately is correct but for many who do not have normal functioning brains and need paxil and or benzo then thats a blessing for them.
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Guest
debmarie,
i know that some of us have a chemical imbalance and they try and to load me up with more meds then i needed. so as the panic left that i was diagnosed with then i cut back on mine and felt better then i had in years.plus GOD helped as well and that means all the world too me.takecare and be blessed.
don
THIS IS THE DAY THAT THE LORD HAS MADE.LET US REJOYCE AND BE GLAD IN IT.
i know that some of us have a chemical imbalance and they try and to load me up with more meds then i needed. so as the panic left that i was diagnosed with then i cut back on mine and felt better then i had in years.plus GOD helped as well and that means all the world too me.takecare and be blessed.
don
THIS IS THE DAY THAT THE LORD HAS MADE.LET US REJOYCE AND BE GLAD IN IT.
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Guest
Hello there, it's been long time since I was here last time.
I was on meds for few years after the birth of my 2nd child. They supposed to help w/the post-partum. And the docs said I won't need them for life. As time passed by and I felt better and stronger I'm hoping to eliminate the need for any antidepressant. I just can't take the ultimate prognosis that sentences me to depend on drugs for the rest of my live. I know there are going to be bumps on the way to recovery and the road is not always smooth and my fears are going to be around. I can't give up I have to try a way out.
I'll keep on fighting.
Happy journey!
Ivonne
I was on meds for few years after the birth of my 2nd child. They supposed to help w/the post-partum. And the docs said I won't need them for life. As time passed by and I felt better and stronger I'm hoping to eliminate the need for any antidepressant. I just can't take the ultimate prognosis that sentences me to depend on drugs for the rest of my live. I know there are going to be bumps on the way to recovery and the road is not always smooth and my fears are going to be around. I can't give up I have to try a way out.
I'll keep on fighting.
Happy journey!
Ivonne
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Guest
:p Hi! This is my first post. I felt like I should say a little something to Vonci. I am a person who doesn't like to take any type of medication and have had bad reactions to even antibiotics. I started having Panic Attacks out of the blue about 4-5 yrs ago. I was so scared by the way I felt I went to the Dr. and ended up with a prescription for Ativan. I did NOT want to take it at all! I felt like I was being forced to take something I didn't want to due to circumstances I suddenly found myself in. I almost felt rebellion about having to take a pill! So if I had to I would take half a pill! I was raised to believe in the mind,body,and spirit connection so that helped me through my hard times, and maybe hurt me before I had the right tools to deal with my panic. I know medication helps lots of people but it just isn't the thing for me. I got started feeling much better by reading Lucinda's book "From Panic to Power". That helped me to feel better when I needed to leave the house instead of giving in to feelings of almost becoming Aghoraphobic. I have had a good handle on my feelings of anxiety and panic for a few years now. I just started the program because I really want to get rid of those feelings for good and I want to be able to get on an airplane and not panic. I have every confidence that medication is not a lifetime sentence for you or anyone with depression or anxiety. You hold the power to heal yourself. I felt happy I didn't rely on the medication because I wouldn't have learned to talk myself out of anxiety if I just popped the pill every time I had an attack. I don't think I would have known how much of a grasp I had on it if I had just used the medication. I know some people need it so don't take this the wrong way. I just want you to realize you can be strong enough inside to ride those feelings out. I have not suffered from depression but I have felt depressed about the way my life was while having such severe panic attacks. I'm still trying to cope with the aftermath and trauma I felt due to the attacks. That's why I'm using the program now. You need to work on building up your inner confidence that you can change your thinking and be on your way to feeling better. Hope this helps a little!
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Guest
Thanks for all of your kind responses. I just wanted to encourage as many people as I can because too many doctors do not even tell their clients about cbt and other therapies that are so useful. I didn't mean to criticize anyone who needs to be on meds like people with bi-polar etc. I have read several studies where cbt also cured people with chemical imbalances fwiw as the minds chemical make-up changes when you change the way you process things. God bless you all and I wish you all the best!
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Guest
Debmarie is so right on the button here. I was told I was doomed to a life of meds and really down about it. Then I bought Lucinda's program and joined a CBT group based on the TEA form exercise by Sam Obitz and got off all my meds and have been off them for over four years and doing better than ever. Don't let anyone tell you you HAVE to take meds to get better, because that's what the drug companies want you to believe but I have met many people who have had success with CBT and never looked back!
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Guest
i sincerely empathize with anyone who has to take meds for true chemical/ biological imbalances.
but i will have to agree with most on this forum that meds are too readily prescribed. i was fortunate to have a doctor who listened to me, could see the changes in me from starting this program, and was willing to work with me to reassure me that i was doing ok and physically it was just symptoms of anxiety.
i'm not a Jehovah's witness, but my father obtained a book from them that set about to prove the existence of God. Perhaps the greatest surprise in this book was how the human mind is the most advanced 'science' on the planet, and there is no way that anything this intricate just evolved on its own.
Anyways, the chapter talked about 2 factors that influence the human mind. 1) The environment one is in and 2) the way in which one perceives his/her environment. This brought so much clarity to me as it confirmed for me that the environment that we find ourselves may in fact be a trigger or provide the surroundings for anxiety/panic, but how we choose to react (inner dialogue, positive vs negative attitude, self-talk, etc) has alot to do with the chemical reactions in our brain.
Like Lucinda says, if we talked ourselves into a panic, then we can talk ourselves out of one.
Now, I know (as do all of you) that this is not easy. But it is possible.
The other problem that I have with meds is the treatment of the symptom, not the cause. True, I am afraid of meds (because of the side effects). But to work this out further, when does one know when to come off? Are they addictive? How does one truly know- since the symptoms have been masked for so long- if you are truly well? and again, what is the CAUSE in the first place?
i, chose the no medication route. do i want a parade? no. would i have healed quicker, would this process maybe have been easier with meds rather than without? perhaps.
but if the biological causes of anxiety may in fact, be a chemical imbalance, does that mean that i am a victim to it? helpless to my own neurotransmitters? is not the biological explanation (for most) simply the rationale for what is happening on a cellular level, not a life sentence of drugs and medications, pills and potions?
I don't know. i think that it is an individual thing and certainly don't mean to insult or insinuate anything to people on any medication. I have been afforded the luxury of not having to work while dealing with panic disorder. that gives me all of the time that i need (sometimes to a detriment) to work on this.
all i can say is that for me i have decided to not take meds, it has been an excruciatingly painful process and i am still dealing.
but i am improving.
and i will get there.
and so will everyone else.
God Bless,
but i will have to agree with most on this forum that meds are too readily prescribed. i was fortunate to have a doctor who listened to me, could see the changes in me from starting this program, and was willing to work with me to reassure me that i was doing ok and physically it was just symptoms of anxiety.
i'm not a Jehovah's witness, but my father obtained a book from them that set about to prove the existence of God. Perhaps the greatest surprise in this book was how the human mind is the most advanced 'science' on the planet, and there is no way that anything this intricate just evolved on its own.
Anyways, the chapter talked about 2 factors that influence the human mind. 1) The environment one is in and 2) the way in which one perceives his/her environment. This brought so much clarity to me as it confirmed for me that the environment that we find ourselves may in fact be a trigger or provide the surroundings for anxiety/panic, but how we choose to react (inner dialogue, positive vs negative attitude, self-talk, etc) has alot to do with the chemical reactions in our brain.
Like Lucinda says, if we talked ourselves into a panic, then we can talk ourselves out of one.
Now, I know (as do all of you) that this is not easy. But it is possible.
The other problem that I have with meds is the treatment of the symptom, not the cause. True, I am afraid of meds (because of the side effects). But to work this out further, when does one know when to come off? Are they addictive? How does one truly know- since the symptoms have been masked for so long- if you are truly well? and again, what is the CAUSE in the first place?
i, chose the no medication route. do i want a parade? no. would i have healed quicker, would this process maybe have been easier with meds rather than without? perhaps.
but if the biological causes of anxiety may in fact, be a chemical imbalance, does that mean that i am a victim to it? helpless to my own neurotransmitters? is not the biological explanation (for most) simply the rationale for what is happening on a cellular level, not a life sentence of drugs and medications, pills and potions?
I don't know. i think that it is an individual thing and certainly don't mean to insult or insinuate anything to people on any medication. I have been afforded the luxury of not having to work while dealing with panic disorder. that gives me all of the time that i need (sometimes to a detriment) to work on this.
all i can say is that for me i have decided to not take meds, it has been an excruciatingly painful process and i am still dealing.
but i am improving.
and i will get there.
and so will everyone else.
God Bless,