hi
i'm new to this forum and haven't recieved my tapes yet so firstly can somebody tell me why these thoughts aren't OCD symptoms. I get these frightening thoughts but have absolutley no urge to perform checking rituals or wash my hands all day long.
Secondly has anybody read David burns " Feeling good" book.In this book he states that he's never met someone with a anxiety disorder who is not an "overly nice person" and he's seen around 15 000 patients. He seems to think that this 'niceness'leads to a range of anxiety disorders such as OCD symptoms, social anxiety and panic attacks.He states that anxiety suffers are people pleasers and don't want to upset people (conflict/emotion phobia). So they may not be aware that they are upset with something or someone or think they SHOULD NOT be upset. As they are people pleasers and don't what to upset people their bodies manufacture anxiety symptoms as away of dealing with this. Once the person has worked out the problem or expressed certain feelings the anxiety symptoms disappear.He's a link to david burns site http://www.feelinggood.com/
So if anyone has anythoughts on these questions they will be greatly appreciated.

Hi Rooboy, It's very possible to have anxiety disorder or extreme panic attacks, without have OCD. Just as many with OCD don't suffer with panic. I have certain thoughts which i might obsess over, although much less now, and i might feel compulsive about one thing or another, although i have a hold on those things as well. I don't see any of this as Black and White. As for the author you mentioned, i read that book many years ago....for myself, i found it simplistic...didn't help me. Although i'm sure it's helped many! As far as people with this disorder being 'overly nice people'....well, i giggled when i read that, since that's not how i would see myself and the one other person in my life who has suffered greatly from panic disorder (he's recovered now) is DEFINATELY NOT an 'overly nice person'....i adore him, but he certainly isn't a people-pleaser! So, i don't think it's that simple...there are so many variations. There ARE a few people in my life, a couple being in my family, who i have very conflicted feelings about...where i find myself 'stuck' in patterns of behaviour which frustrate me enormously....getting better. The author you mentioned says that once we work out these issues, the anxiety disappears. Well, had we worked them out early on in life, and knew how to do that, then perhaps we wouldn't have created a buildup of unexpressed emotions, which eventually caused a severe anxiety reaction. However, most of us didn't know how to do this and so we have YEARS of habit which we now have to practice undoing. So, at THAT point, i don't see how working it out with whoever we have this dynamic with, expressing ourselves,etc... could, like magic, dissolve years of habitual ways of thinking,believing,reacting to bodily symptoms,etc.. I've always hoped that was true! The very thing that triggered my first horrific panic attacks, many years ago, was presented to me about 10 years ago and i had this magical idea that once i dealt with this, i would be free!!! Not so. I'm surprised (i can't recall the author's name right now) he suggested it could be so easy. And if it were that easy, then we would go back to being the way we always were (prior to the panic) without having practiced changing in a really meaningful way, deep down inside. Am i making sense to you? Hope i haven't rambled on too much. Are you planning to get this recovery program? I think that when you start practicing the lessons on a daily basis (hard to fit everything into a day!) that you'll just KNOW the answers to whatever you're wondering. I had so many questions when beginning to practice, which i find are being answered - by me, along the way. I wish you all the luck in the world and i'm sure we'll talk again on this Forum. God bless, Lindi

------------------
Linda