I have just ordered this program and I am worried (of course) that it is not going to be worth my time. Am I right in the understanding that this is a program to try to help yourself change your thought processes? Because i am completely aware of why I have my thoughts that cause me great anxiety when it comes to my kids and I can not see that base thought changing. I guess it would help if you knew what I am talking about...

I am not a someone who follows a certain faith, however, I have faith. And in my faith, I believe that the reason we come here is to learn and develope our souls. And before we come here we "make a contract" with God about what we want to learn while we are here. Not that I think I am some highly evolved being, but I have identified an area where I completely stink. I can not learn how to cope or function with loss. I think since I have been aware of that, i am slow to attach to deeply for that fear of losing. Well, now I am a mother and there is no way I could hold myself back form loving my two babes, so now I am completely terrified all the time thinking that i made some contract to learn about love and loss, that I may lose one of my kids...So, anyone who has had experience with this program...what do you think, do you think that there might be something that will help to calm my fears?

Dear "new",
I've been doing the program since November 1, 2005, and am on lesson 12. I take longer than some might to do my lessons, because I want to thoroughly "get" what the lesson is trying to convey.
The thing I can offer you is this: Approach the program with an open mind. If you close your mind to this type of teaching, then you won't get anything out of it. Personally, I put the cd's in my car, as I have a 1/2 hour drive to work each day. I listen to them back and forth each day, and maybe once a week listen to music instead, but I find I'd rather listen to my lessons. I work the workbook about 2 times a week, and I incorporated evening journaling time (that one is hard for me as my time is limited). I didn't have a hard time with adding exercise, I'm a nut already for exercise! but cutting caffiene was a little hard, I find allot of herb teas, and decaf lattes from Starbucks helps.
Don't let all the "work" of the program scare you. Just take it a little bit at a time. My sister-in-law recommended the program to me, after I had spent the last 2 hours telling her I thought I was experiencing depression and panic attacks for the past year. She said "this had helped her immensly" overcome her depression and anxiety. She is one that her faith beliefs tell her that she shouldn't be experiencing things like this, that she is supposed to be "perfect" in every way. But she found that Life just isn't perfect, and she was having a really hard time measuring up to unreachable standards.
I hope that you will find something in this message that will be of help to you. For me, this has been worth every penny it cost, and I would recommend it to anyone. Before I came here, I was in counseling every week with a therapist. I really can't say that it helped me, only to identify that I was depressed. It cost me allot to arrive at that conclusion with the therapist!!

Take care
Kandi (gettinbettereveryday)

Hi BurgML,

I am on week 3. I too am taking a little longer than what they recommend. But I can tell you right now that it so worth it.

It does require you to work at it daily which can become difficult with family and work.

I understand about your feeling on loss. I found myself over the years putting up my guard in relationships. I have been afraid of getting hurt. I have a great marriage and family but have always been afraid of losing it all. I guess due to conditioning from a young age.

I have suffered from a negative attitude and panic attacks off and on for over 20 years. You name it, I can worry about everything. I can always think of the worst case senario, and finally I am tired of it. I realize I just can't live like this anymore.

While on the program this past month, I have seen changes in myself. I never thought was possible. It is so amazing. I am thinking much clearer. My mind was constantly fighting negativity. I was afraid to be happy for fear that something bad would happen.

Negative thoughts do creep in but I am aware of it immediately and replace it with positive thoughts.

I find myself worrying less. I had a panic attack last week but it was amazing how quickly I was able to talk myself out of it. It lasted for only 30 seconds. My husband was amazed and so supportive of me. He was the one that turned me on to the program.

I wish you lots of luck.

Sophia

Hi and Welcome!

I am so glad that yu have the program coming. It helps you see that there IS a way to see things differently, which will make us feel positive and feel better all the way around. I am on lesson 12 and find the program is worth it. I am worth getting better, YOU too are worth getting better. There is no need to live in fear or depression, we can change ourselves. I also have found the book "Change your Mind, Change you Life" by Gerald Jampolsy a great source to live a calmer life. Lucinda has 2 books as well on her website for sale, which both are very good as well.

This does take time and effort, but it is 15 weeks at the least. I have stretched it, I do a lesson every 2-3 weeks. Regardless, YOU ARE WORTH the time and effort for several months to be exposed to skills that will change your thinking and feeling and impact your life in a positive way. You will rub off your positive self on others, your family, friends! My husband also says that I seem lighter and see that happiness and good around, I am no longer a gloom and doomer! Let us know how it goes. Warm wishes, LizB

Hi, Burgml!

I started the program back in October, and it immediately began changing my life. The key was changing my pattern of thinking. The program has you start keeping track of your negative thoughts, and once I did that it was obvious why I worried so much... because I was constantly imagining the worst-case-scenario and feeding my brain negativity. I wrote down these thoughts on my computer and then countered them with positive thoughts... this helped keep me focused. The next step was doing it in my head, catching myself having a negative thought and replacing it with a positive one. And now the response has become automatic, I don't even realize I'm doing it. It takes practice, but it is amazing the difference it makes!

I can totally relate to your anxiety regarding your children. I have a six-year-old son and when I used to think about something happening to him, it was unbearable... and I thought about it a LOT. If we went swimming, I worried about him drowning. If he was playing outside, I worried about him running into the street and getting hit by a car. Whenever he was sick, I worried it was something terminal. And I didn't just worry. I IMAGINED in great detail how he would die and how I would feel, etc. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. After going through the program, I realized that I don't have to do that to myself. I can choose not to think about those things. So now, whenever I start to worry about him, I put up a mental stop sign. I reassure myself that I'm doing everything I can to keep him healthy and safe, and the rest is out of my hands.

I do have to say that while this has kept me from dwelling on negative thoughts, the thing that has given me ultimate reassurance is choosing to believe in eternal life. I believe we are all here on earth for such a short time; even if you live to be a hundred, your life here is still brief compared to eternity. So all our emotional anguish, physical challenges, and separation from loved ones is only temporary, confined to this brief life. I take comfort in knowing that if myself or my son were to die tomorrow, our separation would only be temporary and we would be reunited again in heaven. For me, that is the only thing that makes the loss of a loved one bearable.

What also helps me is to be spiritually prepared. I don't know that there is only one doorway to heaven (in all honesty, I can't even say for sure heaven exists)... but for my own peace of mind, I have chosen to "play it safe," so to speak. I go to church and pray and read the Bible and try to help others and be the best person I can be; and I am raising my son the same way. If someday he chooses another path, that will be his decision; but for right now, I'm doing what feels right to me.

I'm not one to push my beliefs on anyone... religion is a very personal issue and I respect that... but if you are feeling a lot of anxiety in this area, maybe there is a reason for it and you need to do some serious soul searching. I was brought up Catholic and began questioning my faith when I went to college. So much of what I'd been taught didn't make sense, and that really bothered me. I felt like in order to embrace my faith (and God), I needed to understand everything about it. So, for a long time, I avoided church altogether. With an agnostic husband, this wasn't hard to do. But I always felt like something was missing in my life, something vitally important. My anxiety over illness and death -- especially regarding my son --finally made me dig deeper to find the root of my fears. And that's when I realized that what was missing in my life was a relationship with God. So I returned to my childhood faith; but this time, I had a different attitude (thanks, again, to the MWC program). This time my expectations of myself, the church, and even God were more realistic. I accepted that not everything will make sense to me and I won't have all the answers... and that's okay. As long as it feels right, then I know I've made the right choice for me. And this, more than anything, has brought me incredible peace of mind.

I hope that you, too, will find this peace of mind.

Jen

Thank you everyone! I really appreciate the support and the stories. It is nice to be able to identify with someone, now I have some more motivation to find the time and spend the money.