Wish there were people here…

[hanab82]

I wish this forum was active, it would be nice to have people to talk to about it as I go through it, sometimes I don’t understand something in one of the chapters and I have no one to ask, even a google search doesn’t bring up much about the program. And it looks like it hasn’t been really active here for 10 years or more. I have a used copy that I found with CDs and that’s what I’ve been using. It is a really good program although it would be nice if it could be updated - especially the information on diet I think is quite old and probably the lesson on medication although I’m not there yet. I also can’t help wondering what happened to all of the people I hear on the CDs, after listening to them talk four times a week for 8 weeks.

I have been using another self help online program for anxiety that does have an active user forum (although mostly users asking questions of the site admin/owner) but it’s quite a bit different from this program and I don’t necessarily agree with everything there. They focus on two levels of recovery, the first of which is healing the nervous system from being ‘hyperstimulated’ which I do agree with and I think is something this program didn’t understand at the time it was created (or at least doesn’t explain to the user) but manages to work on through the regular relaxation audio and daily breathing exercises and stress reduction. However in that program the second level involves working on underlying factors - and for that there is quite a strong push that full recovery is dependent on working with a therapist (one from their site of course as they’ve all recovered from anxiety themselves). Interestingly, I feel like this program works with a lot of what I think they consider underlying factors (behaviors that cause anxiety). Things like anger, perfectionism, assertiveness, boundaries, etc.. So this is a good program that fills in the gaps of the other one without the need for a therapist.

A lot of my anxiety is gone, but I didn’t have any issues with driving, flying, leaving the house, etc.. and I’m not scared of the anxiety. My biggest fear is one that doesn’t seem to come up in the program (at least it hasn’t yet) - of losing a loved one/pet or having them being sick and being unable to help them. I went through a traumatic experience where my dog caught parvo and the vet told me I could take care of her at home and I watched her slowly deteriorate while I did everything that I could before finally taking her back in and leaving her there and then waiting days in a state of panic not knowing if she would pull through. I struggled with that for over a year - constant panic and anxiety. And anytime she would lay in specific positions or do specific things it was kind of like a ptsd response, I would instantly panic. Then a year after that she got sick again, and then again just last October. And both of those times we spent a ton of money and couldn’t get a diagnosis and she would randomly just start to get better. So anxiety around that and around her possibly getting sick have been my biggest struggles. I’ll think I’ve made progress and then she will act different and panic will hit again. I still struggle with monitoring her every movement and constantly checking on her.

I’m on week 8, but I know I’ll be reviewing the lessons frequently and continuing to work on the skills long after I’ve finished all of the sessions. I know that anger/irritation, assertiveness, and expectations are all issues for me. I think the most helpful thing has just been how much the program has shown me about how those things cause anxiety because I remember coming up to those lessons and still feeling a lot of anxiety and thinking ‘I don’t need a lesson about anger, I need to back to the lesson on panic and repeat it’ but then going through the anger session I realized how much my irritation and anger at others made the anxiety worse. So after I finish the entire program I plan on finding workbooks for the different issues and continuing to work through them in different ways.

If anyone ever actually comes on here and reads this and is working through the program and wants to talk about it, you can email me at hanaberinger@gmail.com. I’m pretty sure I’ll be working on these skills for a very long time and I’d be happy to talk to other people about the sessions.

[Skillet]

Hi Hana. I’m open to talking.

[coachchris]

Hello Everyone,

I too wish we had more people interacting. If you have any ideas on other ways to connect let us know or email me coachchris@stresscenter.com