Early this morning i had my first growth spurt.. I had previously been 3 weeks without any anxiety or panic.. I had gotten very good about keeping stress from becoming anxiesty.. This morning was minor.. I had the thoughts and my mind was racing, but i concentrated on my breathing and made it through ok.. I kept it from hitting the next level, it was torture yes but i think i did a good job of keeping the adrenaline down when i knew how badly it wanted to come out.. Eventually i just wore myself out and fell asleep.. Since i woke up, ive done ok.. Normally in the past this wouldve ruined my day because i wouldve been worried sick when i woke up... Im doing much better overall i think.. I definitely know im not where i was 6 weeks ago.. I was just wondering if someone could throw out some suggestions to help get to the next step, and any words of encouragement that one might share..

Good for you!! I am on week 10. I am in the middle of a growth spurt that I am resisting. Don't know all the underlying issues - just that my mind seems to be resisting change. I am coping by talking with others and using lots of positive messages so I can accept myself for who I am. The great folks in the chat encouraged me to take one day at a time and to be sure I am making time for me. I also was reminded through the forum to set task lists and goals, but not to add tasks to the list. Be proud of yourself for getting through, know that there are others who understand, and keep using positive messages.

Great job of using the skills to get past panic. Even if you'd had a panic attack, it would have been fine - just darn unpleasant. When you can get to the point where you stop fearing the adrenaline rush, you will stop it in its tracks because it will have nothing to build on. Keep up the good work!

Ive gotten good at using the skills to keep it from escalating to panic.. The only problem is that im struggling to shake the thougths.. When i was working out today running my two miles on the treadmill i started talking to myself , telling myself that fear wasnt welcome and that im my own person and all the positive talk. The next thing i know half hour has gone by and ive gone way beyond my original goal.. It was an uplifting experience.. But then later after the euphoria had worn off the same old thoughts returned.. I seem to be getting a good handle on the panic symptoms, im just struggling with gettin these thoughts out of my head in general

Hi. I don't believe that I can force my negative thougths to go away. For me, it works better to just let them flow through me and counter them with gentle reminders of the truth. I do it almost like a mother comforting her child. For example, if I have a negative thought criticizing myself because I didn't get enough done that day, I will say something like, "It's OK. You can start again tomorrow. You're still a great person even though you didn't meet your goals, and you can work on your goals tomorrow too."

This is a skill I have to work on a lot, but I've really improved on it in the last year. It doesn't really matter if I have negative thoughts because I know they are an old habit that I can just counter with positive ones. It took me 40 some years to get so good at negative thinking, so I'm going to be patient with developing the positive thinking. I should be an expert when I'm 80!

Hi Everyone:

I just want to share my growth spirt. I became very anxious while waiting for my daughter at her gymnastics club. I was with my neighbour,she was waiting for her daughter. I was working myself up. I did the deep breathing and tryed very hard to accept and to relax (that part I still find difficult)._ I think I became more anxious because my neighbour was talking to me, feeling trapped. I finally told her what was wrong with me, I think that relived some pressure but also made me more anxious. I feel so uncomfortable telling people. But anyway, I did have to leave and go outside a couple of times. But I was able to keep it from becoming a full blown panic attack, a 10 score. It stayed around 7 or 8. That is real progress for me. Usually a 10 score means I'm throwing up and feel sick for a couple of hours. So if I can prevent it from getting to that point I'm really happy. After gymnastics, I was able to go home and have dinner and enjoy the rest of the evening.

Hurray!!

Carol

Wonderful job, Carol. It's so great that you were able to use those skills to keep your anxiety at a manageable level.