welcome alfa giad we are all here

Hi, I've suffered from anxiety for as long as I can remember.... As a child I had a phobia of tornados... now the phobia is of getting sick, strange how it changed (I'm in my 30's) I went through the program about 7 years ago and have done so well... But after I had my son my life has changed, I am a stay at home mom now and I help out with the elderly in the family also... the anxiety is raising its ugly head again...While I am so very thankful to stay at home and do the family thing, I really miss my contact with the outside world. i am somewhat isolated and with the "swine flu" scare, I am starting to feel agoraphobic again... I am doing the program again and just listening to the cds always makes me feel better. My hubby is an alcholic I think he suffers too... Thanks for listening.

Hello,
Just received the program, I am 39 and have been dealing with this for 20 yrs, and I am looking forward to a happier life.Not sure I can afford to keep the program, so hopeing to get done as much as possible. Thanks

Hi, I just started the program yesterday, I am so hopeful it will help me develop skills to reduce the anxiety and depression I have had for years. I have been working on positive affirmations and things the last four years but got into a relationship and all the anxiety issue came back out to bite me again. Fortunately I have someone that is hanging in there with me and allowing me to grow. I love the relaxation CD and am using it. Going off my two Pepsi's a day will be a challenge but understand the benefit. So here I am and will look forward to sharing and reading your post.. Have a blessed day!!

I am 42 and unexpectantly pregnant with my 4th child. I have been on Paxil, 5mg, for many years. When I have tried to get off in the past, I have always had a really hard time. Before Paxil, I was housebound with 3 small children. It changed my life and I have lived the life I have wanted to for 10 years with occasional panic attacks usually about going to sleep. However the Paxil is a double edged swoard. I tried to gett off when I got pregnant with disastrous results, extreme anxiety, no sleep, depression. I felt like I could not go on. But I have for 6 weeks. I have gone back on Paxil and I think It is starting to help. Also taking Ambien CR at night. My psychiatrist and OB docgtor have okayed my medication, but I think positive thinking and this program is really going to help me. I am very frightened about being pregnant and everything being okay with the baby, due to my age and the medication. I go to the perinatologist for testing on Monday. Pray that everything is okay. I think hormones play a huge part of my anxiety, whenever I had breakthrough anxiety on Paxil, it was usually related to my monthly period. Any one else take medication? or had increase in anxiety they noticed related to hormjones?Since I am so familiar with anxietyk, I am doing week 1 & 2 this week. The relaxation tape is very helpful and knowing other people are struggling with this makes me feel less isolated.

tlpearce, I hope you are doing well. I know that being housebound with kids can really increase anxiety! Continue with the program, it really did change my life several years ago. Now I'm going through a "growth spurt" but I know now with the skills I have from the program I will get through it. Now my anxiety/panic doesn't scare me anymore and thats most of the battle. I have noticed that my anxiety increases a great deal during PMS and during my pregnancy, my anxiety was waay better! I hope the same happens for you. Take time for Yourself and take care.

Hang in there tlpearce! The baby is going to be fine. Sometimes the unexpected ones are the most amazing little packages in the end. As for hormones, I think that being predisposed to anxiety in the first place makes "normal stressful situations" (like pms, etc.) more magnified. This might all just be the best thing that has ever happened to you. Best of luck...

Hi everyone,

I have suffered with anxiety and depression and perfectionism for a long time. It is a great relief to finally understand that the symptoms, feelings, and thoughts are all "normal" for those going through anxiety and depression. That wisdom alone has made me feel better and get a better understanding of where this all comes from. I have been listening to the audios and really enjoy them. I have been suing self talk quite a bit too. We are all brave to forge ahead and take control of our anxiety and depression. Things are definitely going to get better as we explore the program together.

Hi! I'm a 33 yr old mother of 2 and I am awaiting my package. I suffer from panic disorder and my panic attacks have gone from once a year to once a week!! It seems like as soon as the thought enters my mind about a panic attack, I have one.... My worst time is at night...

Hi everyone.
I am new to this forum and have many questions. I understand and accept that I have panic and anxiety attacks, but don't know how to control them. I am a mother of 5 children and have had these attacks since I was 18.If ya'll don't mind, here it is. If there's a problem with the length, then let me know. I don't usually post on forums, I don't have much time. I am too busy with my children and work. But please let me know what you think.

I woke up at 3am this morning to the voices of the infomercial for this product. It really woke me up! This is what I have been experiencing. I am married with 5 children and outside of my husband I have nobody to talk to. This past weekend has been a roller coaster ride for sure. My family and I went camping this past weekend at our property. Well what we were expecting and what happened are two different things. We got to our property at 5pm as opposed to early in the morning because I was too tired to get up. My husband wanted to be out there early to set up everything. We had just enough time to set up everything quickly, get our firewood for the night then catch the drive-in movie around the corner. After using our child sleeping techniques of putting them in chairs and letting them fall asleep during the movies, we went back to the property. Now it was my husband and mine time. We hardly ever get time to spend together because we have 5 small children. Ages 1,3,5,7,and 9. What was supposed to be a relaxing moment turned into me crying the rest of the night. Why was I crying you ask? Because I had realized that I hadn't been loving my husband the true way, the way that I vowed in the beginning ten years ago. The way the Jesus wants me to, which is simply to love him. Now some of you will ask, did I cheat. No way. Never ever have I cheated on my husband. I just haven't shown him the love that he deserves. I have done him an injustice considering that he is the epitomy of love. It's difficult to explain, just follow me. So after hours of talking and crying to the Lord, I finally decided to tell my husband what I was crying about. I didn't think it was funny when he shined the flashlight on me nor did I think it was funny when he didn’t even remember the next day what happened. This was a very deep emotional issue that came from my heart and very hard to expose to him that he threw by the wayside. Well I had asked for his forgiveness for the way that I had treated him. Now my husband has many issues of his own which is a whole other topic. But instead of facing the issue, my husband just changes the subject, so I didn’t’ receive forgiveness from him verbally. I was left guessing whether he accepting my apology or still aggregates it. Well this was just the tip of the iceberg. Never before had I really opened myself before like that to him. Sure we have come a long way in the past ten years and have learned quite a bit about each other.
We woke up the next morning and went looking at garage sales. I didn’t feel myself until about 3pm that afternoon. I was very inward and wouldn’t talk to anyone. I did something very unusual again. I called my dad and vaguely explained the situation. My dad is a pastor. Never before had I opened up to him like that before and for no apparent reasons have I felt inclined to discuss such intimate matters with him. My relationship with him is not the best that I want it to be. We don’t really talk about things. He told me that you are not weak when you submit. That is what makes you strong. That gave me encouragement until that night. Then I felt that opening up would not make me weak but strong. After the incident that night, I felt like it opened up a door for the devil to come in, because that’s what I was afraid of.
I didn’t know what to think about the whole thing and the fact that my husband couldn’t even remember really ticked me off. He asked what happened and I told him that I was crying all night. He still couldn’t remember and I wasn’t trying to make him have a bad day the rest of the day so I just left it alone all together. So later on during the day, we had to go back to the house to grab a few things. Mind you, the house is an hour away. Which isn’t a lot to me because we travel it all the time, but annoying all the same. So we get our stuff and we go back out there. We were finally going to sleep in the rv because now we have a big enough generator to run the lights, etc. We had been sleeping in the van which has proved very uncomfortable. So we lit the fire, we got the kids threw them in the rv and said ok let mom and dad have a few moments by ourselves. OK mommy. Well after an hour of running back and forth to them, they finally let us have 30 minutes by ourselves. WOW! 30 minutes! Boy I cherished it immensely! Because the rest of the night was going to be like hell. Now our property is God’s place. That is our safe place. We are not scared of people because it is 100 acres. The only thing to worry about is animals and we have guns and will shoot the coyotes or bobcats or foxes etc. Nothing to fear. Yeah right. Not with my stupid mind at work. As my time with my husband was coming to a close, I began to walk to the rv. I kissed my husband goodnight as I was going to put the children to bed and doze off myself. All of a sudden, my oldest child said that she felt the rv shaking underneath her bunk bed. Then all of the rest of the children felt the same thing. I could have been a sane person and kept my children safe, but I feel so much guilt because I allowed my children to be in fear. Which is not my nature nor my duty as a parent. I, unfortunately used the technique of the bobcat coming to get them to go to sleep. I have done this before but they know I am joking around and they all know that they are safe. They all know that daddy has a gun and will shoot anything that comes out. Well he had started to fall asleep, so me in all my grandeur decided to bring all the children back in the van as a precautionary method. Bad move. First of all, whatever was shaking the rv, scared me to begin with. The first thing I thought of was the devil trying to scare us. Now I am a Christian strong in my faith, but sometimes the fear gets the better of me. Well it really grabbed me that night. I woke my husband erratically to get him to see what was going on. He awoke and just laughed and said I would tell those ghosts to shake it as much as you can because you can’t scare me. That wasn’t helping. Now I am not afraid of the animals out there. I am a bit of a tomboy and enjoy shooting the bobcats or coyotes and skinning them. Sorry PETA. I believe in using the animals around you. Now you can’t eat the bobcat or coyote but the skin sure looks pretty and it keeps them from eating my deer which is my food source. Anyways, I looked over at the rv and there was a bobcat standing right there in posed position just staring at me. He wouldn’t move. I screamed with all tremor and shaking so bad, “There’s the bobcat! Get your gun!” I said it over and over again until he awoke. My husband went over there, checked the rv and came back. Everything was ok. There was no bobcat! It was all a hallucination! I HAVE NEVER EVER DONE THAT BEFORE. IT SCARED THE CRAP OUT OF ME. I have never hallucinated like that before. Something inside of me said that I was facing my fear. FEAR? I am not afraid of bobcats! So it doesn’t make any sense that I was freaking out about a bobcat of all things. I felt like he was going to attack us. Sure I have over exaggerated before, but never to this much of an extreme.
So needless to say, I was left with dealing with my children’s fears. My 7 yr old asked me in the van, “Why did you do that Mommy? Why did you scare us like that?” I started crying. I couldn’t’ believe I jeopardized my children safety and allowed my emotions to get the better of me. I told them, “I am so sorry baby. I got scared. I am so sorry. It’s ok. Even if there was a bobcat, Daddy would shoot it.” But that wasn’t enough anymore. I scared them good. And nothing I said was going to make it better. Only daddy could talk them out of going home which is all they wanted to do. We couldn’t go home. We were determined to stay there. We didn’t have enough gas to drive around and all the gas stations were closed.
So the next morning, I was expecting a slow morning to regain control of everything. I woke up to no gas in the generator that had run all night with no one using it and no gas in the van because we left the van running all night long. Of course my husband had a fit. Not a good sign. So he found some gas, enough to get us to the gas station. We were going to go home. He wanted to get there in time to watch the game and the t.v. out there wasn’t working. Of course this is at 6am. Well, he got mad at me and drove out of the gate, locked it and began to leave me there. He would have gone all the way home had it not been the children who insisted that he come back for me. Things just got better let me tell ya. After he came back for me, he couldn’t find the key to unlock the gate. So I had to climb over this 8 ft. fence at 6 in the morning hardly awake. Now usually I drive everywhere. I drove to the gas station and my husband put some gas in. Then my eye started really bothering me. I couldn’t see at all, it hurt so bad. So I had to let him drive. He didn’t like that. Then we got home at 7:30 am and I went straight to bed where I stayed the whole day and night. I didn’t get up for nothing. Well, I couldn’t see anything. Every time I opened my eyes it hurt. I kept having sweats. Not just regular sweats, but it looked like I just went swimming in sweat I was so wet. Then I would get up long enough to go the bathroom and would get extremely cold with the chills, I felt like I just stepped out of the freezer. And this went on all day and all night, going back and forth from sweats to chills. Not to mention, my whole body ache all over like the flu or something.
I woke up Monday afternoon at about 11am and tried to get something to eat. I couldn’t eat anything. My mouth hurt so bad to eat anything. I had been drinking water, but I was so hungry. I forced myself to eat some rice and chicken soup but it hurt like hell. My husband asked me earlier if I wanted to go the doctor and I told him no. Well after trying to eat something without any success, I decided to go to the doctor. My eye wasn’t hurting anymore; I could open my eye, but didn’t put my contacts in. Just kept my glasses on, but stayed asleep the whole way there and back. The doctor said that I had herpes in the mouth on the soft palette in the back of my mouth. I said well how do you get it? He said by kissing or drinking after someone that has it. Or if they have cold sores. Well my husband hasn’t had any cold sores in a long time, although he is getting over MRSA staph infection which is deadly. I haven’t cheated on him so how in the hell do I get herpes in the mouth? He prescribed some meds and said that if I don’t get better by that night to go the hospital and they would have to admit me. That would sure not be easy on my husband who would have to tend to 5 small children by himself. Well I was not going to the hospital. That would be too much on us. So I am toughing it out.
I feel a little better this morning, but still very uneasy about this whole situation. This is a very deep emotional state that I have never had to face before. I am out of sorts here. I don’t know how to cope with it or deal with this situation. After seeing the infomercial for this product, I knew exactly what it was. I have had strong panic attacks before where it felt like I was having a heart attack. I have had my heart checked and everything is fine. Just panic attacks and anxiety attacks. They come out of nowhere and I can’t stop them. I know how to pray to the Lord and do my best to remain in the Lord. I believe that Cognitive method is the method is the way to go. You must take captive every thought, examine it and determine whether it should be given light or thrown away. If it is not of the Lord, which you know by the fruit; because a tree is known by the fruit, then you must dismiss it and think on the good things; the things that are pure and holy in the Lord’s sight. However knowing it and doing it are two completely different things. How is it that I can know these things but actually doing those things that tend to be good for me, I can’t seem to muster up? Now my father and my husband both have said in different times that you must let go of the fight. Just release. Submit to the Lord. Don’t fight it anymore. Yes I have read the commentaries on the webpage that say to just accept that it’s there and accept that you are not going to allow it to happen. You are going to remain calm, cool and collective. My husband is famous for saying that we are creatures of reconditioning. Things used to never bother me before. I was so full of faith and nothing could waiver that. NOTHING. Now here I am, scared to death of anything anymore. How do I regain per say control or sanity. By letting go of the control. You don’t have control of those things. You have to let go of the control. Only God has control. You must pray to Him nonstop. Now, here’s another thing. Give unto Caesar what is his and unto God what is his. I believe that Christ is my savior. My husband is my savior to a large extent. I don’t intend, so please don’t get me wrong, to replace my Jesus. However I feel that my husband has many traits similar to Christ and that is what we aim to do. To be like HIM. I do my best to take cues from my husband, but ultimately we must look to the Lord the ultimate savior. My husband didn’t ease my fears like I hoped he would. Only my Lord Jesus could. This has definitely been an experience not so easy to forget. I will remember these things. It has awoke me.
Now I tend to dream. I have been called a dreamer. One that tends to live in fantasy world. I don’t believe I do that. However I don’t live in the moment like I should either. I need to fix this as well. What do I do? How do I make myself do the things that I know I must do in order to regain captive every thought and be full of faith again? How do I have that child-like faith that was once instilled in me so strong, that nothing could waiver it?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Shea1117,

Hi everyone! I have been suffering from anxiety since I was about 5 years old. I will be 50 in May! I didn't know it was anxiety way back then but I can recall being such a worry wart when I was a little girl. When I was 24 years old I had my first "real" panic attack. I say "real" because I can recall having them before that but never went to a doctor for fear they would think I was crazy. I was afraid of what they would tell me actually. I'm one of those types of people that is scared of health issues. I was given xanax way back in 1984 and continued on it for 30 years. I didn't need it everyday but I was absolutely terrified if I didn't have it in my purse at all times just in case I needed it. Later in my life the stresses got the better of me and I was not able to go to sleep. My mind would not shut up so I was taking the xanax to sleep. It worked great but I still felt awful every day and couldn't wait to take the xanax so my terrible feelings would stop. My doctor ended up getting ill and went out on medical leave and the doctor who replaced him said he would not be given me the xanax anymore as he felt I was on it for way too long. Told me I needed to find a psychiatrist if I wanted meds like that. I looked and searched and could not find one that took my insurance. I started trying to cope with everything without medication but the not sleeping part was killing me. I went to the "other" doctor who took over my docs practice and he gave me another drug NOT considered to be a controlled substance which has helped me at least go to sleep. I was watching the infomercial with Lucinda and I desperately wanted to get better so I finally made the call. This wasn't the first time I had seen the infomercial either but I finally did call. Just listening to the relaxation CD brought back memories of when I was in grade school. They had someone come into the school and had us do almost everything that was on that CD and it is the ONLY time in my life I can remember feeling so relaxed that I actually fell asleep. I want to feel that way again and I believe this CD will help me achieve that. I am only in my 2nd day really and I find it difficult to find someplace peaceful to listen but I will figure something out. Thanks for being here to help me through this horrible disorder as I will certainly be here for you.

quote:

Originally posted by Kimster:
Hello everyone. Kim the Kimster here! I have lived with anxiety all my life (soon to be 53 years)I have come a long way in the last 15 yrs. on the anxiety trail. I'm here to get rid of the last of it!!!! To finally relax and live my life to the fullest.

hey kim, im 44 and cant go on like this either. we deserve to feel better and we will.

quote:

Originally posted by Carolyn Dickman:
Welcome- to those who are participating in the Attacking Anxiety and Depression home study program. I welcome you to the best thing I ever did for myself.

Debilitating stress and anxiety do not get better by themselves-action, change, must take place and you've already started.

This program gave me understanding, education, tools, and life skills which enabled me to make the mental, physical and spiritual adjustments necessary to

rid myself of a lifelong struggle with anxiety, panic and depression.

Follow the program process (important word- process). We have been working with these materials for over 20 years. We know what works. You will find clear

directions in your guidebook. Following the guidelines will ensure that you get the maximum benefits from the program. Listening is not enough- do the

homework, make small changes as you advance through the lessons week by week.

And welcome to your Peer Support Group.

Only you and others who have signed up recently will be posting here. Everyone will be using the same section of the program and working with the same

topics, going through the same challenges and recovery steps. We hope you will think of this as your safe place for encouragement and support. No one is

judging you, other posters understand what you are thinking and feeling simply because we have had the same thoughts and feelings.

Making a personal commitment to use the program and participate in your peer support group daily is the best way to ensure your success and to achieve the

amazing changes in your life that you desire--and they will happen if you make this commitment. Going through the peer support process with a group will

yield much better results than going at it alone. There will be countless opportunities to help other people going through similar experiences, and there

will be plenty of times that you will draw strength from other participants.

Previous program users will also be sharing advice periodically. These program “Veterans” have been through the same process you are going through

now, and experienced the same fears and excitement. You’ll find their wisdom and support a true source of strength. And their progress a true inspiration of

what you can expect.

I will be checking in often as well...I love watching your personal growth. I have worked with the Center for over 20 years. In addition to having

recovered by using the same program you are using, I've facilitated group sessions, and studied this subject for many years...I've learned the MOST from

fellow travelers like you-please teach me more.

So I’ll be here if you need me. But my hope is for you and your group to actively participate amongst yourselves and to support one another. Please be a part

of it!

PLEASE POST something here on your first visit. Introduce yourself, tell us a little bit about you and your experience with anxiety disorders. What

part of the world do you live in? Why did you decide to try the program? How long has your life been negatively affected by anxiety and depression? What

would you like to do with the time you now spend worrying? ...

And PLEASE REPLY TO POSTS AND WELCOME OTHER NEW MEMBERS, AND REPLY BACK TO PEOPLE WHO REPLY TO YOU! Be an active part of the community. Supporting

others is a great way to support yourself. And remember to check back and participate daily!

Here are a few tips to help you get the most out of your Peer Support Group:

1. Reply to a Topic

Introduce yourself, give advice, and keep the conversation going. Whether you help yourself or someone else, this is the fastest and easiest way to get

started!

2. Post a New Topic

Need support? Need advice or feedback? Start a New Topic!

Just click the “New” button at the top.

3. Visit the Main Forum

Our main program forum is used by thousands of program veterans and has information on just about any topic that you could possibly imagine.

We recommend that most of your time is spent in the Peer Support Group when you’re getting starting but we also encourage you to visit the main forum for

additional support and information. Just click on the community tab above and select “Online Forum”

4. Rate the Topics

Click “Rate This Topic” in the upper left-hand corner of every topic to rate it on a scale of 1-5, 5 being best.

5. Learn about others and give others a chance to learn about you by updating your Profile regularly

Check out someone’s Profile by clicking on their name.

6. And don't forget to have a little fun !!!

When I was going through the program I had the opportunity to speak with others who were also going through the program. You have that same chance by

participating here in your Peer Support Group. I’ll never forget how wonderful it felt to get the affirmations and advice from my peers and I also remember

how good it felt when I helped others in the group. There truly is no greater gift than the one you give to someone else.

If you read the postings in this group- your group, you’ll notice that everyone here has similar challenges, limitations and questions. You can help them and

they can help you. Please take a moment to introduce yourself, and then take one more moment to welcome someone else who is new. And please check in at least

once a day, and reply to posts when others ask for advice or feedback, and start a post when you’d like advice or feedback. And please be sure to reply back

to people who reply to you!

We have found in the past that those who get actively involved in their own recovery and that of others benefit beyond measure. Let’s all make an

effort to “speak” to just two other people in this support group- what a difference we’re going to make.

Welcome to a life changing experience, directed and controlled by you! (Please post now!)


You are brave, courageous, and a fabulous student.

Best regards, Carolyn Dickman, Education Director, Midwest Center, Oak Harbor, Ohio

Carolyn,

it felt great after i finished session 1, even though it took 2 weeks. the problem is that great feeling only lasted about an hour or so. every time i accomplish something my joy is very short lived. its like i dont think i deserve to be happy or something. my mind just wont allow me to think positive about myself. i laid in bed after i finished session 1 trying desperately to hang on to that good feeling and i lost it.

Hi everyone,
My name is Claudette. I'm from a small town in Ontario, Canada. I am 49 years old and have been suffering with anxiety and depression for the past 4 years even though I know now I have had bad anxiety for most of my life. I have been a high school music and french teacher for the past 24 years, however the last 3 and a half years I have been on and off with work trying to understand my condition. I did the Attacking Anxiety program 2 years ago and my life changed dramatically for the better however I didn't take care of myself for the past few months and here I am again starting over the program with a personalized coach through the Midwest Center. I just started today and I desperately need to make some changes and this time for the long run! My past also haunts me regularly because of so many poor choices I've made. For me both anxiety and depression affect my body soooo much!! It is debilitating! My new husband and I have 5 kids, four teenagers still living at home. I think my teaching career has come to an end and I am terrified of what my future holds. I wish everyone an awesome journey to freedom and most importantly, peace of mind, body and spirit.

Hello everyone, This my first time here, my first time participating in the program and I am just getting started. I look forward to meeting other people who have the same issues I have, and finding someone who can truely understand. So here we go!