Hi Matilda! I would also like to congratulate you. I remember doing some exposure work a month or two ago and being motivated by the fact that I wanted to be able to post good news about my experience. It feels great doesn't it - to be able to accomplish your goals and share it with a community who can celebrate your success with you. Well done!
Thanks for all your messages of support. I just thought I would let you know that I made it to the city and I am now home watching TV. I am glad that I have got it out of the way. I used some of the tips, visualising and chatting to my friends in the car. I also woke with a slightly new attitude in the fact that I knew that I was going to be anxious today, so I said "Bring it on" and I got through it. Phew
Good luck Matilda. Just think how good you will feel when you've accomplished your goal. What reward can you give yourself when you get home again? A nice long bubble bath, a great drink, chocolate, some kind of special treat?
Sometimes when something is tough to do, I think about how much time it will take. Let's say it's 3 hours long. Well, I look at it as a block of time which might or might not be 100% uncomfortable, but I know that it won't go on forever, I know that it will end.
Davit made some great suggestions. Do some visualizations tonight before going to bed. Think of the plus side - you are not alone on the trip. You can spend time in the car talking to the people you'll be traveling with to get your mind off of things. Breathing is key as well, if you need to while you're in the car, relax close your eyes and do some deep breathing techniques.
The best way to deal with a song that won't get out of your head is to play something else.
The best way to deal with a situation that bothers you is to think of something else. You know you can make the trip, you know you can do the course. You can do both of these on auto pilot and spend your thinking time elsewhere. Use some distractions to keep your mind from going where you don't want it too. Use visualizations. In a crowd visualize everyone as types of dogs or funny animals. During panic thoughts slow down so it is hard to think of two things at a time. This is why panic is hard to stop. Use visualizations to keep from thinking panic. It actually works. And smile. Smiling takes work and you can't panic and smile at the same time.
Staring at the floor like you are concentrating but actually thinking something else works too.
Don't forget to breath too. In fact count as you do so you won't forget to. The object is to get through the day so you can put a positive experience in your memory. More on this in previous posts.
I have already had some help with this, but I am still scared about my trip to the city tomorrow. It is 15 miles away and I have to do a training course for work so I cannot get out of going, but I really wish it wasn't happening. I have thought about little else than travelling there for the last few weeks, that I feel really quite low. It doesn't help that I have only been taking my celexa for 2 weeks and I still don't think they have kicked in yet. I am lucky that I have a supportive family and I am getting a lift tomorrow with friends, but I still have this fear of jumping out of the car whilst it is moving or that I am going to panic in my training session and when I panic i can feel the adrenaline pumping around me, I hope that I am not going mad, I am worried that I will still be feeling like this at Christmas, which is normally my favourite time of year.
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