Hi I'm Pat

[cassie141]

Hi, I'm Pat and am a new to this forum. I was agoraphobic about 18 yrs ago and have suffered anxiety and panic since before then. I have had cognitive behaviour therapy twice and also took part in a research study at the Maudesley Hospital here in London, which was CBT plus a computer programme. All were extremely helpful and successful. Although I would say I am never completely relaxed (who is!):D I've learnt to deal with the panic particularly. Having said that, I am under extreme stress at this time due to a new job so am suffering anxiety/panic. I am working through it though and am determined to succeed! This forum is great and I have spent ages just reading through the topics and the No More Panic site is just the best. Sorry to have gone on! Bye, XXX

[honeybee3939]

Hi Pat

A BIG warm welcome to you, lovely to see you here.

Glad you like the site, and great to hear you are managing to control the anxiety, would be great if you could share some of your experiences with us on the therapys you have had.

Love

Andrea
xxxx

[Southern_Belle]

Hi Pat,

Welcome to NMP. You will make many new friends here and get loads of advice at the same time. Please come into the chat room for a visit and share your experiences.

Bel

"Our thoughts are our reality"

[nomorepanic]

Hi Pat

Lovely to see you here and a big welcome aboard.

Hope we can be of some help to you on here.

Glad you like the website and this forum

People will forget what you said
People will forget what you did
But people will never forget how you made them feel

Nicola

[cassie141]

I think that , by far the most useful therapy I have had is cognitive behaviour therapy. When you suffer from anxiety and panic it is so easy to get sucked in by the awful feelings and physical sensations that seem to appear out of nowhere. I learnt to recognise that with me it's a negative thought that I react to. At first I didn't even realise this but after repeated attacks you end up examining every thought and feeling and my therapist helped me to recognise this. Also, understanding the fight or flight response helped me realise that the way to get back to 'normal' (ie without panic) is to accept the horrible feelings and not to run away from them. Once I accepted that there was no danger, I wasn't about to go mad or embarrass myself or fall down with a heart attack at the checkout, it made me less impressed by my feelings. On paper it looks easy :) but it takes a lot of practising and also because you feel so exhausted a lot of the time, it does take time. But I found it was the answer for me. At one time I did take Prozac for about a year, this was mainly due to a close family bereavement and other things. Diazepam took the edge off the anxiety a bit but it was me being a stronger person and knowing the facts about the disorder which really empowered me. Oh, and books by Claire Weekes were an enormous help in knowing that I wasn't on my own or going mad! Sites like this really help as when I was first ill I felt very isolated. Hope this helps. Bye, Pat XXX

[bubba]

Welcome Pat

You will make some good friends here

We all understand what your going through

From Bubba

[yorkylover]

hi Pat and welcome.Your not alone and you will get some helpfull advise here.
Take care;)

Ellen XX

[Lynnann]

Hi Pat,

Welcome to the forum, tou will make some good friends here and get great advice and a shoulder when neccesary.

Hugs to you

Lynnann

[manmoor]

Hi Pat,

A big warm welcome to you.

Take Care

Mandyxx

[trac67]

Hi Pat,

Welcome to the forum, you will get a lot of good advice here and make some new friends.

Take care

Trac xx

'Live your life with arms wide open, today is where your book begins, the rest is still unwritten'