Re: Hi Im new!!
Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2012 10:43 pm
Glad to help Dolphin. It is confusing to a new person and I don't come on the site much since they changed it , so to be honest, I don't know how to do everything either anymore. lol. However, I can answer your question about new posts. Just go to the site where you want to post and click on it. You will see the name of the site and under it , in red, you will see "new topic." Click it. You may have to enter your user name; then it will go to a page that says Post a New Topic--type in your subject, then just type what you want in the box and click submit. Voila, you will have created a new post.
You can post wherever you feel it is appropriate. You don't have to limit yourself. You can also answer anyone else's post if you have some good feedback or a question for them. Don't worry about doing the right thing. Everybody on here is in the same boat, so don't feel you have to be all-knowing.
I never went in for their coaching myself. I have insurance and I selected a local therapist who specializes in anxiety disorders. He is out of my network, but my insurance will still cover some of his costs. He has a PhD and teaches Cognitive Behavioral Therapy at the University of Tennessee. He has been trained by a woman who trained with Reid Wilson, who is a Psychologist out of Chapel Hill NC and very well respected in the field of anxiety disorders. Wilson takes the approach that to get over anxiety, you have to accept it and face it head on. It is pretty much the new thing in CBT and is not easy to do. Lucinda also says the same thing--she calls it "floating" with anxiety. You can google Wilson's site under his name. You can also call his office and if he knows anyone local to you, he will let you know. He is a great guy--he called me and talked to me himself.
My therapist says that anxiety and depression are two sides of the same coin, so it is fairly common to have them both. Ugh! Personally, I have the diagnosis of panic disorder, but it pretty much feels like generalized anxiety disorder.
After I had the program a while, the StressCenter.com called me and wanted to sign me up for coaching. It was actually more expensive than to go to a local therapist, who has all the credentials. I really don't know about the StressCenter.com coaches, since I never used them. I will caution you that you and your therapist have to be a good fit and that the therapist has to be very knowledgeable. I went to one therapist, who was completely useless. I see that you already have a psychologist, is he/she good? If so, then I am not sure coaching would benefit you that much, but that would be up to you to decide. To work the program "the right way" varies with each person. As you read more posts, you will see that some people spend more than a week on a section because they need it--you have to use your common sense, do the homework and really focus on the program. I have been through it several times and learn something new every time. Don't get too hung up on doing everything right--that is our perfectionism talking and part of our problem. lol.
And that statement, "I need to be the old me again"--Lucinda says we don't want to be our old selves because that is what got us into this mess. She stresses that we need to learn better skills in coping with stress and adjust some of our attitudes that have caused our anxiety. You will hear that as you progress in the program. It is going to take some time Dolphin, so be patient with yourself because you have some ingrained negative habits that have caused your anxiety and depression--we all do.
Hope this helps. Just be patient with yourself and don't pressure yourself that you have to get better "soon". It takes people different amounts of time and you are going to have to change some fundamental beliefs that you have carried around for years. But you definitely seem to be on the right track and to have the desire and willingness to put in the work required.
Take care and hope I helped you some. It is an awfully long post, but I thought you needed to hear some of this stuff.
You can post wherever you feel it is appropriate. You don't have to limit yourself. You can also answer anyone else's post if you have some good feedback or a question for them. Don't worry about doing the right thing. Everybody on here is in the same boat, so don't feel you have to be all-knowing.
I never went in for their coaching myself. I have insurance and I selected a local therapist who specializes in anxiety disorders. He is out of my network, but my insurance will still cover some of his costs. He has a PhD and teaches Cognitive Behavioral Therapy at the University of Tennessee. He has been trained by a woman who trained with Reid Wilson, who is a Psychologist out of Chapel Hill NC and very well respected in the field of anxiety disorders. Wilson takes the approach that to get over anxiety, you have to accept it and face it head on. It is pretty much the new thing in CBT and is not easy to do. Lucinda also says the same thing--she calls it "floating" with anxiety. You can google Wilson's site under his name. You can also call his office and if he knows anyone local to you, he will let you know. He is a great guy--he called me and talked to me himself.
My therapist says that anxiety and depression are two sides of the same coin, so it is fairly common to have them both. Ugh! Personally, I have the diagnosis of panic disorder, but it pretty much feels like generalized anxiety disorder.
After I had the program a while, the StressCenter.com called me and wanted to sign me up for coaching. It was actually more expensive than to go to a local therapist, who has all the credentials. I really don't know about the StressCenter.com coaches, since I never used them. I will caution you that you and your therapist have to be a good fit and that the therapist has to be very knowledgeable. I went to one therapist, who was completely useless. I see that you already have a psychologist, is he/she good? If so, then I am not sure coaching would benefit you that much, but that would be up to you to decide. To work the program "the right way" varies with each person. As you read more posts, you will see that some people spend more than a week on a section because they need it--you have to use your common sense, do the homework and really focus on the program. I have been through it several times and learn something new every time. Don't get too hung up on doing everything right--that is our perfectionism talking and part of our problem. lol.
And that statement, "I need to be the old me again"--Lucinda says we don't want to be our old selves because that is what got us into this mess. She stresses that we need to learn better skills in coping with stress and adjust some of our attitudes that have caused our anxiety. You will hear that as you progress in the program. It is going to take some time Dolphin, so be patient with yourself because you have some ingrained negative habits that have caused your anxiety and depression--we all do.
Hope this helps. Just be patient with yourself and don't pressure yourself that you have to get better "soon". It takes people different amounts of time and you are going to have to change some fundamental beliefs that you have carried around for years. But you definitely seem to be on the right track and to have the desire and willingness to put in the work required.
Take care and hope I helped you some. It is an awfully long post, but I thought you needed to hear some of this stuff.
