View Full Version : Our Progress for 2005
Just thought it would be cool to hear what progress we’ve all made over the past twelve months.
If like me, you’ve found Christmas a bit tough, think back the previous Christmas and think how you felt then.
One year ago, I was two months into my psychotherapy treatment and wasn’t getting any other help really. The fact that my employment situation had not been finalised did not help either, and I spent a dreadful Christmas 2004 with aches all over the place!
This year I have continued with the therapy and also found this site, which has given me new friends and increased value in life. I’ve also had help from an Occupational Therapist and all this has given me a greater understanding of anxiety, which in turn takes the pressure off. And this Christmas was far better.
I could not have envisaged a year ago that I could really manage to work a few hours a week in a shop or put my hand up to run a self-help group. I do not have the shakes very much now, which were an everyday symptom a year ago. However, I still have bad mornings with lethargy and this is my biggest stumbling block.
My house is in a state, and getting it right seems like a mountain to climb. As a goal, I’d like to get my study sorted with new shelves and cupboards before April and even invest in one of those s****y flatscreen monitors, as mine is six years old.
Hopefully, once I see that New Year has been established, I’ll come out of my current low ebb and chip away at the demise of Mr Anxiety.
So, what progress have you made this year?
Ray
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance.
~Mark Sanders and Tia Sillers
Big hug to one of my first friends on here who made me feel so welcome and that's you Ray :D
I have made progress in several areas,
1. I am beginning to learn acceptance - which is making it easier to admit to other people that I suffer from anxiety.
2. I am getting out regularly albeit still accompanied and some of the times I don't feel panicky:)
4. I now do exercise most days to get out of breath and raise my heart rate without getting scared.
3. I have found several different new interests, I am studying to be a complimentary therapist and I am an administrator on this site, both things I had no idea I would be doing this time last year. I have also rediscovered my love of reading too.
Love Piglet xx
eeyorelover
30-12-05, 23:17
I didn't realize the progress that I had made since last year until I really sat down and thought about it.
I am having panic alot less frequently cuz I have adopted the attitude, so what. I had decided that I was going to do things even if I felt panicy and if I felt for instance that I might pass out - I started to tell myself so what if I pass out, it won't kill me.
And anybody who knows me knows that I am usually a person who doesn't care what others think of me so I started to say so what if people think I am crazy (most that know me think I am a little off anyway - haha)
I have a job now which I never thought I would be able to work again and I have.
My husband and I are doing well and we even go out from time to time without me having a meltdown and fighting panic the whole night.
And I have a grandson now - my little Peanut- who I was scared to death that my anxiety would cause me not to be able to take him overnight and care for him. I have never had one episode of panic when he stays overnight.
I have new bestest buds on here who are helping to keep me sane and on the right track and putting up with me!! Thanx Andrea and Jeff!! I luv you guys! //16
Sandy
(eeyorelover)
If the world didn't suck... we'd all fall off :)
Hi this is one of those posts that I feel I should reply, as soon as I saw it I got an immediate buzz(even though I knew it was coming:D) but I also feel I will prob edit again and again.
This time last year I had no idea what was happening to me.I knew things werent right but didnt know why, I was convinced I was going to die, although saying that things were harder this year, but only since Dec 22nd.For those of you that know me and my circumstances I choose to forget about that.
Anyway it was about March I seeked professional advice and Im not here to bore anyone but the next few months were hard but I now know so much about anxiety and depression. I was told the best way to recover was to learn about it.
I have made so many friends from here and gained so much support for something I was convinced was in my head for months.
I have done so much, travelling to stay with a special friend from the site was a big event only to attend a meetup the next day, not having a clue who was who.
Then to go to London, when I cant even go in local pubs and restaurants, was a big step forward.
I have moved forwards from being happy to sit at home all day to wanting to be out and about and at work.
Sometimes we need to look past yesterday to see our success. Although I feel I have got the depression under control, the anxiety still needs a lot of fighting and 2006 will hopefully get this cured or controlled.
I carry on making friends from here , i appreciate and look forward to getting to know the new better, but thanks for the old and all support and many of hours msn support I have received.
Thanks Nic and Alex for the site. Nic for your friendship and caring also Trac.Sue 5 your continued compliments from the first day of joining.
Special thanks to Meg, words cannot express my thanks to you.
Kairen I cant say enough to you, just thanks pet, for your room , your alcohol , your time, your straight talking, your text, your humour and your hugs.For being my special friend.
Click, thanks for your patience and tolerance, for being there, for many hours talking, for being such a good friend... etc..xxx
love from Alexisxx
If I help one person today it was worth getting up.
I guess last year i was just plain angry with myself.
This year although i still get down on myself i have learnt to be a bit gentler on myself and understand greatly what happened to me and have learnt a lot.
Hopefully i can put it all into action this year
Sarah
Progress?
Each day I feel like I'm moving closer to what I was when I was 15. Maybe going backwards, but I see it as a good thing :D
mico
'Security is mostly superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding Danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.'
RobyBaggio18
31-12-05, 15:24
I think 12 months ago I was on the way down in to depletion, anxiety/panic hit me in June/July.
In the last 6 months Ive begun to get myself on the way back up and believe that Im worthwhile. Ive also learnt to think differently, discovered how to relax through hypnosis, learnt not to take my health for granted and started exercise.
Ive learnt a hell of a lot about myself and how my actions have damaged my health, now im reversing the trend.
2006 will mean recovery and a happier me. :D
I think I've made great progress in controlling my panic attacks. I have also been able to help others with my technique. I still have my bad days but they have lessen up. I need to improve on getting my meds before they run out. I'm still afraid to go out by myself and need to work in this area. I now dare to ask my therapist for help and she too thinks I’ve come a long way. I also was able to ask for something that I wanted for Christmas. Something I would never had done in the past. I was able to let go of the pain and baggage I’ve carried most my life. YAY I’ve spent many hours researching disorders and have learned a lot. I think the future 2006 will be a time of strengthening. Happy New Year!
Lotta
"One Oneness One"
I think Ive made lots of progress, Im sure I have well then why is it Im sat here tonight feeling exactly the same as I did last New Year when everybody else is out and texting me.. """where are you"" Maybe not much progress???!
love from Alexisxx
If I help one person today it was worth getting up.
...and why am I typing here at 4.25am when I've made so much progress too.
It's the time of year, and tonight my muscles don't want to relax.
Good Night!
Ray
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance.
~Mark Sanders and Tia Sillers
Quote: I have new bestest buds on here who are helping to keep me sane and on the right track and putting up with me!! Thanx Andrea and Jeff!! I luv you guys! //16
Sandy!! That was sooo sweet! Thank you!! (((((((((((hugs)))))))))))) and smooches!!
Ray,
As for progress.. I didn't start panicking 'till June. But January this past year, I was angry with my doctor for not doing anything about all of my medical symptoms. I just KNEW there was something seriously wrong with me!! I had less than 1/2 the energy of my peers and could not seem to keep up with the pace of the rest of the world. Even so, I trudged on, trying to manage being "upbeat", parenting our 3 children to the best of my ability, and wondering when someone would "put the pieces together" and "connect the dots" so that I could start living again. I was pregnant in March and miscarried in April. Still sure that there was something seriously wrong with me, I saw an endocrinologist, ob/gyn, family physician, and a family therapist. The endocrinologist noticed my thyroid level was not right to carry a pregnancy and adjusted my medication for me. The other doctors tested everything they could think of and came up with nothing. Their only answers were "Eat less, exercise more, learn to relax." In May I went to an urgent care center with a severe headache and was told to go the emergency room in case I had an anurism (sp?). I had my first true panic attack in the ER after being hooked up to an IV. I didn't understand what it was. I could only guess that I had a brain tumor or something. Knowing that I already have high blood pressure, I became acutely aware of any and all physical symptoms that might include heart attack pains or stroke. By June, everything had spiraled out of control. It felt like I was losing my mind!! I'd made another trip to the ER. I'd phoned my mother several times begging her to help me. I put my husband through hell, not knowing whether I was going insane or dying. Finally, an ER doctor put me straight on all my troubling symptoms. "You have classic Panic/Anxiety Disorder." But even then I was still frightened out of my mind!! I thought I'd gone over the edge. Now I was truly crazy, or so I thought. I sought help from my family doctor and was prescribed medication for anxiety and depression. It seemed like FOREVER before it started helping me. If it weren't for the love of my husband, the love of my family and my strong faith in God, I would not have known how to survive this. In August I found this site. I slowly started posting and realizing that other people were going through these same hellish symptoms that I was. I realized that alot of these people were really wonderful, intelligent people. By September, the panics were subsiding and I found a psychologist to start CBT with. In addition, I'd read an excellent book which explained everything in detail about this disorder (statistics, therapies, medications, self-help, support, how the Central Nervous System works, how the messengers in your brain operate, etc.), called "The Anxiety Cure" by Archibald Hart. I went through several high-anxiety situations, one of these situations I even asked my NMP buddies to send me emails throughout the day, to help me take my mind off the intensity of it all. I've been chatting regularly in the chat room here, with Antipodes, Eeyorelover, and several other wonderful people. It's AMAZING to have this kind of support! I think my new friends have been part of the process that keeps me from coming apart with anxiety.
And now, here it is 12:12am on the first day of 2006 and I can happily say I have more energy and less anxiety and life is worth living to the fullest again!!
Thank you all at this site for the friendship and help you've extended to me. I wish all of you the very best in the New Year and I am praying for all of you who are going through the heat of the battle with panic.
Jeff and Sandy.. I LOVE YOU!!!!! XOXOXOXOXOXOXO
Best wishes and ... I hope you dance!
Love,
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