I'm Meghan, and I'm 29 years old. I have been having anxiety/panic attacks for about 6 months, and as soon as they started I went to a therapist who guided me through CBT. After I finished that program my panic attacks became much less frequent, but something still isn't clicking, because I still have high anxiety each day, and am becoming more agoraphobic each day simply because of my own thoughts/worry. I'm hoping this program as well as seeing my therapist weekly will finally help me overcome this difficult problem.
Around 6 months ago I started to have panic attacks again (haven't had for 5 years), and pretty much from the first attack I knew I wanted to see a therapist to get this sorted before it got out of control.
I was on a CBT program with her for 18 weeks, and the panic attacks did come less frequently. The problem is that they are not eliminated and neither is the fear of panic/anxiety. I thought that I was doing really well with the program, and then when we got to the end and I wasn't completely better I felt like I failed, and the cycle started all over again.
I know that everyone can take a different amount of time to overcome this, I guess it would just be comforting going into this new program having some reassurance that something is not wrong with me.
During my program I did pretty much the same things outlined here, but I think I distracted myself most of the time rather than actually accepting and trying to move on. Now that I learned that do I have a better chance of succeeding this time around?
Hi again. Im not sure if this site is very active anymore, but im patiently awaiting any response. I feel like my emotions are all over the place right now. I was happy to find this site with so much great information, but I had a pretty anxious day and now tonight Im feeling depressed. Also I am extremely dependent on my husband and i would like to change that. I feel like I'm going to lose it every day when he leaves for work. I'm working on a way to challenge this...such as counting the good days i have when hes at work or asking myself whats the worst that can happen. Its just very hard because Im 29 and have been a pretty negative thinker my whole life.
I know that I am committed. I guess the only way to ensure I stay committed is to write in my blog about all of my bad feelings and experiences. That way if I get too comfortable and think I can stop I will have a very real reminder of why I need to see it through to the end.
Thanks Ashley- Sorry...I did not mean to sound impatient or anything. I was just having a really bad day.
lovestrees- Thank you for the response. Now that you mention it I don't think my therapist ever went over core beliefs. I know that we did core fears, but even that was just one session. I think I just felt down, because the program was over, and I felt like much more work was needed to be done to overcome this. When I said that to her she wanted to start a few sessions working on self esteem, and that may have worked with core beliefs, but I said I wanted to redo the program from the start, because I thought maybe I missed some things or some things did not fully process. I have learned that maybe my mindset was not right the first time with CBT. I was just focussing on ending the panic so much that I don't think I dealt with the underlying problems. It was just "ok, i feel panic...let me distract my mind, and not deal with it"....Of course distraction is a wonderful tool, but for me it became a crutch I guess. Of course I would love to hear any of your experiences. Thanks for offering.
Are there any specific parts in the program that deal with core beliefs that I can read? I finished part 1 last night and printed out the pages so I'm ready to start homework.
They say Valentines Day is for lovers, but I make sure EVERYONE in my house feels loved. Even our dog. :) I get little treats for my son and the dog. My husband and I don't go out, because I'm still kind of afraid of going out to crowded restaurants/movies. I guess for our family it's just a regular day with a little extra love.
Wow! I feel like your post is my life. Scary, but good. Maybe it helps us both to know we are not alone. When my husband goes to work it's a daily struggle for me. The hours feel like days...I feel out of my mind some days, too...
I can say from firsthand experience that you should try to keep your
husband on his normal schedule, because if he keeps staying home you are
just avoiding the issue, and eventually you might start to feel guilty.
Then that sometimes creates a whole new set of panic.
I have been working with my therapist on this for about a month, because this wasn't a problem until recently. A few things that help me are when he leaves and I start to panic I say to myself "what are you afraid of?" Usually the answer is just panic, and then I say to myself "ok, i might panic, but then what? and keep going from there until you realize you CAN cope with whatever happens. It's uncomfortable, but not unmanageable.
I don't have much advice to offer on this post, but I can tell you that my experience is kind of similar to yours. 5 years ago I had the attacks start and I was put on Prozac...did not do CBT and the anxiety/attacks did go away and I stopped taking Prozac after about 6 months. Now years later it has come back, and I am trying to only do CBT because I have read it's better for long term. I felt like as soon as I started I felt some relief, because I felt like I had some control over what was going on. I still have things that I can't do, and I still have a lot of work to do, but I haven't been doing it very long yet.
I think if you start this program you will get better. I only joined yesterday, but I'm fairly sure there are some successful members on this site that will hopefully be along soon to share with you.
Hugs- Thanks. You may be right, and I may be better off than I'm thinking. Especially the way I was thinking yesterday after a very bad day. But I am still struggling on a daily basis, so I am happy to have found some support. :)
Ashley- I feel okay today. I had some negative thoughts as my husband left for work, and almost did panic again, but I'm trying to think of it in a more positive way. For example, I will tell myself that him going to work and me dealing with the anxiety on my own is a great learning experience.
Davit- Thank you for your response as well. I sincerely appreciate it. I am practicing each day, but it's nice to have a reminder that it takes time and practice to change the way I think. I also like the way you mentioned how triggers can cause positive thought or negative...and how you should have a choice leaning towards the positive. It makes my goal seem a little more clear if that makes sense. I completely understand that CBT is a process and I have to put the work in --and I'm okay with that. I just wish that my therapist would not have put a time stamp on how long it would take, because that's when my progress started to decline.
I'm also in the early stages of a 2nd attempt at beating this. Since we are kind of in the same boat I don't have much advice to give, but this CBT program on this site in conjunction with your meds may give you great results. I just started meds last week, and this site is a plethora of great tools. You're definitely not alone. Good luck!
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