I have been through session 3 three times. I have been sucessful at replacing negative thoughts with positive thoughts, but my anxiety
is still relentless. It seems like everyday I will find one thing to obsess about. The anxiety attacks my stomach. I get a terrible pain right in the pit of my stomach. I tried all day yesterday to talk myself out of the pain, but I just couldnt do it. The pain gets so bad that I have been using alcohol and klonopin to relieve the anxiety. Am I too early in the program to see results? Should I keep moving forward with the program?
I also have OCD(mostly scary thoughts)...will the program help with this? Has anybody had any sucess with prozac?

John 67: If you've "been through session 3 three times" then you must have heard them speak of a future session which talks about scary thoughts. Session 3 is about replacing negative thoughts w/ positive statements.
I do not believe it to be a good idea to use alcohol & klonopin to relieve pain in the pit of your stomach. You might go see your doctor about it: my son(15 years old) was having pain near the stomach early in August 2k7:school starts early here. Saw the doctor/nurse practioner. Said possible Irritable Bowel Syndrom: stay away from spicy foods for a bit. Gave him a prescription(I don't remember the name off hand) to take when he had the pain. It helped. He doesn't take it all the time, only when his stomach hurts.
I do not recommend prozac due to all the problems noted in the past in the news/newspapers.
Obsess, if you must, about good thoughts.
God's grace to you.
I hope this might help.

John 67 --

What you're going through sounds really hard. I hope you don't beat yourself up about it, on top of everything else. You might try gently acknowledging how hard things are: it's reasonable that I'm anxious because ... Maybe there are REAL reasons you're anxious. Positive self-talk isn't about helping us ignore the reality of our lives. It may be necessary for you to risk lookin at what is actually scaring you: someone you're afraid to confront, something that doesn't suit you (relationship, work), something you need to do that you've been avoiding. I often find that anxiety is a "cue" I need to pay attention to something. When I pay attention to it -- paying a bill, talking to a work colleague about their behavior, whatever -- then I feel better.

It's important not to entirely dismiss your concerns and paper them over with made-up cheerful talk. That's not the point.

My guess is you may need someone to talk to -- possibly a therapist, close friend, spouse. This summer I had a hard time confronting a work colleague, and didn't even know I needed to do so; I was seeing a therapist and didn't want to go see him, starting having anxiety about seeing the therapist, because I knew he would push me to do the thing I'd been avoiding. I pushed through, saw the therapist, heard his "terrible frightening" advice which turned out to be not so bad. I took the steps I needed to take, and the anxiety abated.

Good luck. Trust yourself. Be kind to yourself. Find a way to listen to the still small voice inside: there is probably a message that you need to hear.

Missouri gal

I know how bad anxiety can get, but whatever you do stick to the program....just give it a chance.....
"If I wouldn't be going through this I wouldn't have the chance to learn about myself, become aware on my own feelings and actually be closer to realize what happiness really is". This is what I tell myself now everyday......Love!
Liz

Your pain, John, is not the anxiety. Your pain is your resistance to it. Stop trying to make it go away and be with it. Breathe into it. I know it's scary but the more you do it (without judgment) the more you will feel it subside. Get into the habit of allowing it in. Gently be with it, John. Do your best to keep out of your head by bringing your attention back to your breath. Practice, practice, practice. You must distract yourself. Sing, whistle, go for a walk or run. Ride your bike. Talk to someone about the weather. Distract. Use your STOP SIGN and your breath work. Then get busy with something outside of yourself. Allow the anxious feelings. "Oh, this is just anxiety. I can handle this."

C'mon, John. You can do it. Practice this 100 times.

Great advice from Boon. It works. I have used the same advice and it works wonders. Focus on all that was said by Boon, and you will see it start to work. Just do it. Practice practice helps it become a regular response.