European
18-09-10, 20:17
.... I just thought I'd introduce myself. I'm a guy in his late forties and have been suffering from panic attacks and general anxiety for almost 15 years. Over the years I've tried everything, from medication to therapy to group therapy, with mixed results.... and then I discovered some CBT self-help books, mainly the ones by Dr. David Burns. As I was reading those books and engaged with the exercises therein on a daily basis, I managed to get remarkably better over the last couple of years or so. I am generally panic free these days, although I still have my moments every now and again.
That's all good news, you might think, and yet there is a down side to this, namely that I lost half of my friends on account of improving and feeling better and being more confident. Getting better didn't go down well at all with some people, who - to my utter surprise! - didn't like it one bit that my condition was improving.
Also, having improved considerably in view of my previous self-defeating thoughts and behaviour, I'm almost feeling like a former addict these days, who is now surrounded by people still indulging in all kinds of negative and self-defeating attitudes, whilst calling this 'normal'. And they're right, it might be normal indeed, but that doesn't mean that it is constructive, or making anybody happy or even remotely content at all. Frankly, I don't want any more glib and undermining negativity in my life, and I've worked pretty hard to acquire some awareness in this respect and leave this largely behind.
I suppose I'm in some kind of in-between state of being right now, which is why I thought I'd spread myself out a bit and try something new. And taking part in a forum inhabited by people who are more or less in the same shoes, or know at least to some degree what I'm talking about and where I'm coming from, might be a step in the right direction.
Well, that's me and my motivation in a nutshell - thanks for reading!
That's all good news, you might think, and yet there is a down side to this, namely that I lost half of my friends on account of improving and feeling better and being more confident. Getting better didn't go down well at all with some people, who - to my utter surprise! - didn't like it one bit that my condition was improving.
Also, having improved considerably in view of my previous self-defeating thoughts and behaviour, I'm almost feeling like a former addict these days, who is now surrounded by people still indulging in all kinds of negative and self-defeating attitudes, whilst calling this 'normal'. And they're right, it might be normal indeed, but that doesn't mean that it is constructive, or making anybody happy or even remotely content at all. Frankly, I don't want any more glib and undermining negativity in my life, and I've worked pretty hard to acquire some awareness in this respect and leave this largely behind.
I suppose I'm in some kind of in-between state of being right now, which is why I thought I'd spread myself out a bit and try something new. And taking part in a forum inhabited by people who are more or less in the same shoes, or know at least to some degree what I'm talking about and where I'm coming from, might be a step in the right direction.
Well, that's me and my motivation in a nutshell - thanks for reading!