Need advice on coping with anxiety in busy places

[Dean 2200]

Hi everyone. (this post got longer which i didn't intend =] i'll post cliffs at bottom if people are kind enough to reply )

I've been suffering from anxiety for about a year almost. It started really bad and i had the worst panic attacks. I would literally be on the floor and couldn't bring myself to my feet. I can't highlight how horrific it was. Sometimes it wasn't as bad although i needed diazepam to get through the day (if only it was natural and not addictive =] )

Now i knew 100% that this won't cure me so i searched everything on-line and tried everything. Hypnotherapy, CBT, changing diet etc etc Eventually i started the linden method and after listening to the panic tracks a couple of times, i never had another panic attack. So great, i don't get panic attacks which is mind-blowing since i went from really bad ones, to having none.

But going out was still a problem. I couldn't go to the local petrol garage without Diazepam and when i tried my head just started to spin and lost focus. I'm now on ADs which most definitely take the edge off it but it's still bad. I've made a lot of progress in the sense that i can walk around supermarkets for a short period of time, i recently went for my first meal in almost a year. But i'm still getting these anxious feelings if i'm in somewhere busy for a decent amount of time.

I know if i can beat panic attacks, i can beat anxiety because PAs are so horrific. I know beating anxiety will take longer but has anyone got any experience on how they made the last steps into recovery? Like do people just take baby steps and take each day as it comes?

I'm really looking for positive stories and any tips/advice that can help getting back into busy places and feel relaxed enough to stay and enjoy what i'm doing.

I apologise for writing my life story just now when i didn't intend too =]


cliffs : Need tips/advice/success stories on people beating anxiety in busy places.

[willitstop]

i havnt really got any advice for you but by the sound of it your doing fantastic :)
may i ask how you got the lindem method i have looked online but its so expensive :(

[Dean 2200]

Hi

Thanks; i've without doubt made a lot of progress but still a long way to go :)

Yeah i decided to bite the bullet and pay for it and tbh i'm not sure if i'd r/m the full course as theres nothing groundbreaking in it that you can't find on-line. However it was worth the money for me personally as it did kill my panic attacks but i'm sure i could have found audio with similar theory on panic attacks and how i can beat them etc.

I'm sure you can d/l his series from a torrent site also although i'm not saying you should =] With the membership you also get access to support online and on the telephone and they did come in handy for me. So it was worth the money for me personally although if it didn't kill my attacks then i'd probably say don't go near it as you can find most info on-line for free.

[willitstop]

thank you so much.
i wish you all the sucess in controling your anxiety :)

[Martin Burridge]

Yes it is all about baby steps. If your brain has learnt for many years that there is a danger in busy places then it will create some level of anxiety response.
Each time you don't run away it will learn that there cant really be a danger there and stop activating the fight of flight response.
Just like riding a bike it takes a while to learn and occasionally you will fall off. But persist. Build up to gradually busier and busier places. Use grounding to cope with the anxiety (which hopefully you were taught in CBT).