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tattybear
19-09-05, 12:52
Tues 13th September 2005

Ok, today is my first session of anxiety management….Help!

I woke at about 6.45 am (not due to worrying but because someone had rung my doorbell…but no one was at the door!). Anyway, I had hoped for a bit of a lay in so I didn’t have to much time to sit and worry in the morning but never mind!

Managed to get ready quite quickly, had a few wobbly moments…’don’t wanna go’….’whats the point’…bla bla and spent about ½ on the loo (sorry!) but managed to think as positively as I could about the course!

My parents picked me up about 10.10, the course starts at 10.30 and only takes 5mins to get there from mine (in the car of course!). The drive there was too quick! As soon as we pulled up outside my mum got out and came into the building with me and as soon as I had signed in I didn’t have time to think and was wished off by one of the counsellors into the room where the course was taking place.

I thought my heart was going to pop out of my chest!

As soon as I walked in (I was 2nd to last to arrive!) and I saw everyone, I could see they were ‘normal’. I know this sounds silly but it was a comfort to know that we are all ‘normal’ and don’t look like aliens!!

We sat round in a semi circle on (not so) comfortable chairs! I was next to one of the counsellers at the end. We started the session with the 2 counsellers saying that they recognise that going there today and been a big thing for many of us and they thank us for going. Then we had to just say our names to the rest of the group (phew not too daunting!) but now my heart was slowing down (YAY!) but still felt very dizzy.

We all got given a folder for us to keep each session’s handouts in for reference etc.
We touched lightly on the subject of food / drink which can affect our anxiety and were given some handouts.

We next then discussed what effect anxiety has on us..ie the symptoms and feelings we feel and the counsellor wrote these on the flip chart…it was easy to be able to list how we felt – and strange also that the people sitting in front of you also go through the same or similar experiences that I do. Half way through going through all the symptoms etc my heart started up again and I felt really really dizzy, I think it is because talking of how we feel when anxious/panic brought the feelings to a head for me. I managed to keep it together and still contribute to the list (although I felt panicky – I probably wasn’t the only one – but looking around you couldn’t tell anyone was anxious).

We then had some more handouts and then had a 5 min break where we chatted to the person sitting next to us, which was good as it broke the session up a bit.

We spoke about the ‘Fight or Flight’ response, about how our body reacts to panic etc.

We then did a breathing exercise. I was feeling still anxious but thought this would help. We had to sit with eyes closed and focus of our breathing and certain parts of our body – I really was not comfortable with this – I don’t like focusing n my breathing since I’ve started to have panic attacks, and I think as I had my eyes closed it didn’t help. I worked my way through it though. They asked everyone in the group how it made them feel – a few said it felt good, but others , me included!, said we weren’t comfortable with it – I think this may also be down to the fact I am not good at relaxing.

We then chatted generally a bit more and given a few more handouts.

We then carried out another breathing / relaxation exercise – I wasn’t looking forward to it, but it was slightly different in that we tensed certain parts of our body up then relaxed. I did this with my eyes open this time (but just focusing on the ground) and I found I was able to relax a bit more this way.

We then spoke generally about how we felt the session went and how we were feeling. The counsellors said they felt our group was positive and had got a lot from it.

It was a relief to get out as it was quite intense – but I think it was a good thing – it showed that I felt panicky in a new situation but I dea

leo05
19-09-05, 16:34
well done on going i know it was hard for you but you came through it and now you know what to expect it will be a bit easier 4 u
keep me posted on how it goes
t.c - s.w - t.p

Piglet
19-09-05, 17:51
Tatty,

That was well interesting I hope you find time to tell us how it goes each week. I wish I had something like that here but hopefully I might hear from NOpanic soon as I am on the list.

Well done!!

Love Piglet xx

"Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?" said Piglet.
"Supposing it didn't," said Pooh after careful thought.

tracyp584
19-09-05, 18:39
Hey Tatty,

Glad its going okay, look forward to hearing how it all goes over the next few weeks.

Take care,


tracy x x

tattybear
19-09-05, 19:21
Thanks Leo Piglet & Tracy,

Next session is tomorrow, trying not to think about it too much, and even when Ido Im not feeling too anxious about it ...But i will keep posting how each session goes.

Thanks for your support.

xx

Tatty B xx

desperate
19-09-05, 19:23
Hi Tatty,

I'm starting something like that soon, glad yours is going so well!

First Anxiety...then panic attacks...now GAD and depression

tattybear
19-09-05, 19:28
Thank you.

I was nervous to start with but I got through it and so will you. :D

Tatty B xx

Meg
20-09-05, 14:51
Good for you Tatty,

Onwards .. Looking forward to hearing about it week on week.


Meg
www.anxietymanagementltd.com

Your anxiety is the human representation of the pictures that you paint using your many vivid colours of revolving and reoccurring thoughts.
How big is your gallery ?

nomorepanic
20-09-05, 15:10
Thanks for the update - it is really useful for others to read and see what sort of things they may have to go through if they go.

Please keep it up for us.

Cheers.

Nicola

"Nearly all happiness comes into our lives through doors we don't even remember leaving open"

pips
20-09-05, 15:59
Hi Tatty B.

Well Done for going hun you did so well. I'm pleased it went ok for you. Good luck for tomorrow.

All the Best.

Take care,

Love PIP'S X X X X

tattybear
20-09-05, 16:50
Thanks Meg Nic & Pips..

Today's session was amzing and it went so so well. I will write it up and post about it tomorrow :D

Tatty B xx

Karen
20-09-05, 18:11
Great that you are doing so well with this Tatty B.

Karen



It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere.

tattybear
22-09-05, 13:17
(((Sorry Guys - Its a long post!!)))

Well on Tuesday 20th September I had my 2nd Anxiety Management session.

I woke up feeling a little apprehensive but also positive about going, I wasn’t as nervous as last time because I knew partly what to expect – ie. The place/people etc.

My parents picked me up again and as usual I left my house with my trustee bottle of water!
When we pulled up outside the building, I actually managed to get out of the car and go into the building by myself – this may not sound much but to me it was a really big achievement – I also had a good day on Sunday – managed a forest walk and to go into homebase – so after going into the Mind building by myself, I was already feeling really really positive.

Again I was 2nd to last to arrive and this time sat next to different people to last time. I couldn’t believe that my heart wasn’t pounding like last time! I actually felt a little relaxed, which is such a good feeling as normally when I’m out I am constantly on edge!

We started the session going round and just saying a few words on how our week had been – it was lovely to see that everyone had had a good week, and just by looking around I could see that everyone was more at ease than last week.

This weeks session was about our thoughts and negative thinking – I know I do this a lot so I was really looking forward to learning about our thought processes and ways of coping with them and rationalising them.

First off we did a small exercise – we closed our eyes, or in my case looked down at the floor, and had ‘The lemon Experience!’ the counsellor slowly talked us though what we were to imagine – we had to imagine going to our fridge and taking out a lemon and imagine holding it, we then had to imagine cutting it and then lick our fingers and taste the lemon and then take a bite of the lemon and then put it away – it was very weird as you could actually taste the lemon in your mouth and smell it – they did this exercise to show us what the power of our mind can do!

We then discussed ‘Common Thinking Distortions’ – the main different ways of thinking –

‘All or Nothing’ – you see things in black or white/good or bad with no middle ground and you judge people using general labels eg ‘ he/she’s an idiot’

Catastrophizing – magnifying and exaggerating events and overestimating the chances of a disaster. – This is what I’m good at!!

Personalizing – taking responsibility/ blame for things which aren’t your fault (you could also be known as a people pleaser – the example our counsellor gave of this is when your out shopping and someone bumps into you…do you also say sorry? I know I do!

Negative Focus – Focusing on negatives and ignoring the positives – you focus more of your weaknesses then your positives – I am good at this too!

Jumping to Conclusions – making negative interpretations even though you don’t have any facts – you become a ‘mind reader’!

Living by fixed rules – You have fixed rules and unrealistic expectations – regularly using words like ‘should’ ‘ought’ ‘cant’ etc. This leads to unnecessary guilt and disappointment.

I think most of us will be able to relate to some of the above – I know I defiantly do! To talk about this in the group was brilliant – it made me feel normal and that I am not the only one who has these thoughts.

We then read a story of Mr W (!) which basically tells of how he went out, slipped on a banana skin, which lead him to be scared of going out because of his fear of banana skins – the story was written in a comical way, but really rang true as to why I do avoid certain situations because my mind recalls any bad experiences I may have had there.

One of the main points of the session was to be able to recognise these negative thoughts we were having and the impact they are having on how we live. It is about retraining our minds to cope with the negative thoughts and rationalise them and move on.

We were given a sheet of positive statements for coping with anxiety which we can refer to and keep in our minds and use then f

nomorepanic
22-09-05, 15:11
Tatty

That was so lovely to read so thank you for that.:D

I am so pleased that it is all beginning to make sense to you now and I am sure that with all this new found information you can pass it on to anyone on this forum and reassure them as well.

I look forward to reading the next installment.

Nicola

"Nearly all happiness comes into our lives through doors we don't even remember leaving open"

tattybear
22-09-05, 15:15
Thanks Nic,

It does feel like a relief to begin to understand my thought process and deal with it and change it - and starting this course is one of the best things I couldve done.

And i look forward to outting all the info into practise - it has been a week or so now that ive not spent much time focusing on my breathing which is good and there has been a couple of times i have felt that i couldve panicked but i got passed it :D

Tatty B xx

Piglet
22-09-05, 15:22
Well done Tatty.

You sound like you are really gaining from the course and it's great to watch your progress and it really is progress!!!!!

Love Piglet :)

Meg
22-09-05, 17:02
Tatty ,


Thats excellent news indeed.

Realy glad to hear you are seeing real practical benefits already.


Meg
www.anxietymanagementltd.com

Your anxiety is the human representation of the pictures that you paint using your many vivid colours of revolving and reoccurring thoughts.
How big is your gallery ?

Karen
22-09-05, 19:40
Great to hear how the course is benefitting you so much already Tatty. Well done.

Karen



It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere.

Meg
22-09-05, 20:40
Nigel

Think you may be particularly interested in Chapter 3 of David Burns - Feeling Good book with lots of examples and explanations of the variety of different thinking distortions.


Meg
www.anxietymanagementltd.com

Your anxiety is the human representation of the pictures that you paint using your many vivid colours of revolving and reoccurring thoughts.
How big is your gallery ?

tracyp584
22-09-05, 21:18
Hey Tatty,

I'm so glad to hear everything is going well!!
Well Done!!!

Take care,


tracy x x

sal
22-09-05, 22:41
Great news mate and i apoligise for not texting you to see how it went.

Love Sal xx


Dont mess up the best things in your life, just because at present you are unsure who you are.


"Life is a distance and to travel that distance you were given the strength and guidance to do so".

tattybear
23-09-05, 08:48
Thanks Meg Karen Nigel Tracy & Sal for all your messages :D

Nigel - what a really interesting and true post - and you are compleatly right and it has given me somting else to use and work on, so thank you :D and yes - I give u permission to cut out the thinking distrotions!:D

Sal - no need to appologise at all - i know you've had a lot on your plate lately :) Hope things are ok.

Tatty B xx

Lucy36
26-09-05, 09:37
hi tatty, the course sounds absolutely great, cant wait now till i start mine soon in november, keep up the good work love, and i will keep up to date wats happening with your course and how your doing, well done xxxxxx

tattybear
03-10-05, 15:17
Hi guys,

soz i havnt written up about last weeks course as yet - its been a pretty hard week esp the past few days, but wil write it up soon about my last session.

Tatty B xx