newbie

Minnesota, Welcome to the PC and congratulations on pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone a bit. Continue to set challenges like this up for yourself and reward yourself for your successes. Take some time to look around the site and get started on the programs. We are always here if you have any questions and the members are a great source of support and advice. Brenna, Bilingual Health Educator

Did You Know?

It is estimated that some 2 million Canadians suffer from panic disorder. Of those who have sought treatment for their symptoms, approximately two-thirds are women. Panic disorder typically begins in a person's late teen years, or early 2Os, but children are known to suffer from the disorder. Research is discovering more information about genetic causes of panic disorder. Studies have also shown that the occurrence or anticipation of stressful life events, anxiety in childhood, over-protective parental behaviour and substance abuse are common among people with panic disorder. Brenna, Bilingual Health Educator

Order in introductions

Birdie, Welcome to the PC and our support community! Continue to work your way through the sessions and read and challenge your current behaviour patterns. The moderators are always around to answer your questions and the members are full of advice, support and knowledge as well. We look forward to learning more about you. Brenna, Bilingual Health Educator

Help!

Flo, You are a strong and smart individual! Next time you find yourself in a similar situation work on challenging your negative thoughts and focus on the physical symptoms you are experiencing. Are they real? Where are they coming from? Take some deep breathes and focus on your breathing. Continue to work through the session and learn about your anxiety. Brenna, Bilingual Health Educator

Help!

This message has moved to a [url=viewmessages.aspx?Forum=30&Topic=54334&ForumName=@NewForumName&TopicTitle=Help!]new location[/url]

medication

Minnesota, Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about your concerns regarding your medication. He/she should have some to discuss why it is being prescribed and how it will help you. There are many other alternative therapies that can help with anxiety and can be used alone or in conjunction with medication. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (the weekly sessions) is one example. Maybe our other members can share what techniques they have used to help with their anxiety. Brenna, Bilingual Health Educator

medication

Dolphin4me, See if you can move your doctors appointment up so you can discuss the side effects that you're experiencing with him as soon as possible. You can also go to your pharmacist and speak with them. In the mean time, make sure you are writing all of your symptoms down and recording their intensity and duration so you can present it when you speak with your doctor. Brenna, Bilingual Health Educator

Did You Know?

Panic disorders are commonly associated with anxiety attacks and are in fact closely related to anxiety attacks. Panic disorders actually are a type of anxiety disorder. Panic disorder itself is the fear of having a spontaneous panic attack. Such an attack occurs with no warning and may occur in either morning or night. In most cases, there appears to be no link to what the person is doing and the appearance of the attack. In fact, some people even claim that they felt quite calm just before the attack. Brenna, Bilingual Health Educator

Disputes II

On Thursday we discussed the stages of a dispute. Today we will take a look at what can cause a dispute and how to work with people during one. People can have disputes in their relationships about just about anything including: €¢ Violence €¢ Anger €¢ Physical abuse €¢ Verbal abuse €¢ In-laws €¢ Loyalty €¢ Trust €¢ Betrayal €¢ Infidelity €¢ Disappointment €¢ Jealousy €¢ Resentment €¢ Finances €¢ Parenting €¢ Sex €¢ Intimacy No matter what the content of the dispute is, it€™s more important to understand what is going on (the pattern) during a dispute. Take the time to review [url=http://sg.paniccenter.net/support/viewmessages.aspx?forum=35&topic=54324&ForumName=Mod's%20Corner&TopicTitle=CBT%20day%20-%20Diputes%201]Thursday's post[/url] about stages before you move ahead. There are a number of very productive techniques that you can use to resolve disputes. Here are a few: Thought Records Why not? Thought Records can be used for any situation that changes your mood. What you€™re thinking about is probably affecting how you are feeling and how you behave. See if there€™s some negative thinking going on - and see if you can challenge it. Communication Skills You can try to use the information about communication style, communication skills and assertive communication that you we€™ve discussed previously to improve your situation. Being more direct and assertive in your communication with the other person is a great start. Let them know what you€™re thinking and feeling and let them know what you need and want from them (your expectations). Ask them what they need and want from you (their expectations). Try to understand the other person€™s perspective as best as you can by asking questions. By practicing new communication skills and being assertive, you can often help keep the dispute in the negotiation stage. Problem Solving One way to help solve problems in relationships is to use problem solving techniques that. - Break big problems into smaller steps. - What advice would you give to other people in a similar situation? Follow your own advice. - Think about how you€™ve solved or coped with similar problems in the past. What worked and what didn€™t work? - What are you going to try if plan A doesn€™t work? What if plan B doesn€™t work either? - When you€™re planning on how to solve a certain problem, try to imagine, rehearse, or walk through the solution with as much detail as possible. - Expect to fail sometimes. When a solution doesn€™t work, think of the experience as feedback or advice that will help you develop a better solution to the problem. - Talk to others about your problem and get as much feedback from them as possible. A great place for this is our anonymous Online Support Group €“ especially because you€™ll be communicating with others who are going through the program. Expectation Start by reviewing the relationship that you€™re working on. After learning more about the dispute, ask yourself if there is anything you€™d like to change about expectations in the relationship, either your own and/or the other person€™s. Stay Tuned for Sunday€™s discussion when we will talk analyzing communication styles and skills. Brenna, Bilingual Health Educator

Weekend Prep!

Need more time? What a great way to get the most out of your week-end and the upcoming weeks. We are always looking to free up some time and use the extra to relax, vacation, journal and concentrate on ourselves and family. Get a jump on the week and prepare whatever you can! Make dinner meals for the week Make Lunches every night before bed Cloths for the morning Do a small Laundry load everyday, so the clothes don€™t pile up Do dishes right after you eat Plan for a weekend activity and leave lots of time Plan your time and stick to it! Use this extra time to work on your exposure therapy and read through the program. By preparing in advance, you will have lots of extra time to do things with loved ones and most importantly do something for you. Brenna, Bilingual Health Educator