Hi Amj,
I'm still dealing with GAD. However, I have made serious progress. Today, I had a set back but I know what to do for exposure. When I first started having panic attacks, I'd have about 3-5 a day. I enclosed myself in my house. After remembering what a wonderful life existed outside my home I decided to set goals for myself. Goals that felt good to me. One of my goals were to drive a little at a time, just to the corner store at first. I wouldn't go in, I just drove there. Then I decided I'd go into a public place once a day, anywhere I felt safe. Yes, sometimes I would feel dizzy, spacey, and would even vomit. Some of the thoughts that would help me were, one: I try to focus on something. For example: going into a store I'd focus on what I wanted to get and the project I had in mind. Second: I would try to find humor from my anxiety. "Whoo, feeling dizzy. May need to vomit. Just do it and get it over with. lol. No big deal. I've done it before.I'm going vomit and go on with my day." I would share this with my family in laughter. "Silly me, oh well!"
This helped me in most cases. Again, I had a panic attack today which did ruin my plans, but I don't keep myself locked in my house. I try to use this site and every episode I have as a learning experience. What happend in my day today that may have gotten me to the level of anxiety? What thoughts did I NOT go through to help prevent things from happening?
This may or may not help you, but this is what has helped me progress.
Whatever you do, remember life outside and what intrigues you. Remember you want to enjoy these things. Hopefully, this will give you some motivation to fight back. Remember, the forums are an awesome outlet.
My next goal is to go on the treadmill whether to walk or run in the morning, but my intentions are to exert the overwhelming energy I have and get my endorphines to kick in. Hopefully, this will help. Maybe it'll help you.
Good luck. Feel free to email me anytime. I don't have answers, but I can tell you my experiences and its always helpful to bounce things off someone who is going through the same thing. Keep your head up :O) We'll get through this.
