Latest News & Free Linden Method

I wish i could come on here sounding happy and positive all the time but i guess that isn't reality is it.

I haven't been out. I have been spending A LOT of time in my room, on my own. When i wake in the morning i go grab some cereal and coffee and return straight to my room. It's where i am most comfortable, and it's where i am surrounded by the things i need, i.e my laptop and mobile phone. I can sit there all day, untill i go get dinner and then its back to my bedroom on my own unless i'm seeing my boyfriend.

This has been happening for a while and it started to get to me. I realised i NEEDED to get back out. I began to obsess thinkin... Oh no thats me back to being housebound, Is this me getting worse, am i never going to feel strong enough to tackle this.

So i made myself sit in the garden the next day. I wasnt there for long really but i think i just needed to prove to myself that i am not scared of being there. The next day my friend came round and when she left i decided to walk her home a little. I didnt get far, only about 5 minutes away when it started to pour with rain, and since i had no jacket i just headed for home.

I felt proud in having done it. But the negative thoughts are still there. I feel a knot in my stomach telling me i am not doing enough. On the other hand i tell myself that it wont ever get too bad because i clearly get to a stage where i MAKE myself get up and do something...anything. So i am having this little battle of postives and negatives a lot at the moment.

Obviously my problems are due to agoraphobia but i also think i am basically just stuck in rut! I have NO routine. I dont do anything outside my home. So its difficult to force myself to go out and do something different. My life is an indoor one. And i am perfectly happy that way. BUT i realise this life isnt for me. I want to be out socialising, shopping etc so this needs tackled. I have called my doctor to be re-referred to the commuinity psychiatric nurse for CBT and Graded Exposure. I think the graded exposure is basically what i need most.

Also i have a friend who is a nurse and she is now being trained in EMDR. This is the therapy i have been most interested in trying out. The women herself told me she watched a man performing EMDR for a few days in his surgery and she was blown away by the results. Now that she herself is training i am going to be her first patient. It could work or it could fail but what harm is there in trying? Her training will be rather long so it could be the end of the year before she is qualified to work with me. The women whose name is Alison is a nurse at present and she is interested in learning all sorts of therapies and she seems to have a genuine interest in how i am doing. She called the other night i and i explained i have been shutting myself away again and she has offered to come and go out walking with me. This is a great help. I am helping Alison gain experience in working with people with phobias and i feel better doing that than asking my friends or my mum all the time.

An online friend told me about a website she had found called www.thinkrightnow.com. The website offers a recording that can be sent to you at a small fee. Like most of these sites there are statements on there from previous users who claim the cds have helped them to deal with their anxiety. My friend bought the CDs and sent them straight on to me. I would like to offer anyone who is interested in recieving the CD to get in touch. I am more than happy to forward this on to you. It is in 4 parts. 2 parts are relaxation and the other 2 parts are basically positive affirmations being repeated over and over again. Obviously the more you listen to the CD the better chance there is of it working. Like with any of these things i always say... it's worth a try!

I have said before that i am a fan of Dr Weekes, her books and her recordings. I have a 4 part recording with Dr Weekes talking about Anxiety and Agoraphobia and how she thinks it should be dealt with. I felt full of hope and excitment the first time i listened as Dr Weekes explains that no matter how severe your anxiety, or how long you have had your problems, you CAN beat it.

I have often heard of the Linden Method as a way to cure panic attacks and anxiety. U have even spoken to someone who claimed it worked on them. The Linden Method if avaiable online but is expensive to buy. Once again i have these recordings on my computer, including the manual and all that comes with it.

Finally i have a book called 'Panic Away'. Like all i have mentioned before this book is avaiable online at a price.

I am listing these recordings here as each of them have success stories behind them and it may be the one that works for you. I can't comment on them all as yet as i am still working with the 'Think Right Now' recordings. But i am more than happy to forward any of these recordings on to anyone who wishes to give them a try.

Homelife.... well it's ok. My mum is getting concerned about my hermit behaviour, which makes me feel guilty. I had the kids most of last week so that kept me busy. Luke is continuing to recover from his operation and its 99% better. Chris and i are great, he makes me happy and i love when he is here... i do still worry that he is gonna get bored of me soon though. All i can do is continue to make an effort so he can see i am at least trying! He is taking a week off from work in May and plans to devote that week to helping me. He wants us to go out in the car and try to drive past my safety limit. He realises it will be tough and we will be going back and forward most of the time but its great that hes willing to try.

Anyway i feel like i am rambling now. I hope that everyone is in good spirits. Sorry i am not inspiring people with news of an amazing recovery but i wrote this blog to tell the truth and i don't think it would be realistic to be cured over night. Once again feel free to email me if you want any of the recordings or for any other reason at all.

The Do's & Don'ts

I found this chapter in 'Self Help For Your Nerves' by Dr Claire Weekes. For those who haven't got the book i thought i would share it as i find it helpful.

1. Do not run away from fear. Analyse it and see it as no more than a physical feeling. Don't be bluffed by a physical feeling.


2. Accept all the strange sensations connected with you panic. Do not fight them, float past them. Recognise that they are temporary.


3. Let there be no self-pity.


4. Settle your problem as quickly as you can, if not by action, then by accepting a new point of view.


5. Waste no time on 'What mighth have been' and 'If Only...'


6. Face sorrow and know that time will bring relief


7. Be occupied. Do not lie in bed brooding. Be occupied calmly, not feverishly trying to forget yourself.


8. Remember that strength in a muscle may depend on the confidence with which it is used.


9. Accept your obssessions and be prepared to live with them temporarily. Do not fight them by trying to push them away. Let time do that.


10. Remember your recovery does not depend entirely on you, as so many people are so ready to tell you. You may need help, accept it willingly and without shame.


11. Do not be discouraged if you cannot make decisions while you are ill. When you are well it will be easy enough to make decisions.


12. Do not measure your progress day to day. Don't count the days, months, years you have been ill and despair at the thought of them. Once your on the road to recovery, recovery is inevitable, HOWEVER PROTRACTED YOUR ILLNESS MAY HAVE BEEN.


13. Never accept defeat. Remember it is never too late to give yourself another chance.


14. FACE. ACCEPT. FLOAT. LET TIME PASS

IF YOU DO THIS YOU WILL GET WELL

Your thoughts????

Dr Weekes

(Above - Dr Claire Weekes)



http://www.controllinganxiety.com/dsp_downloads.php

A few people having read my blog have got in touch to tell me about Dr Claire Weekes. I have listened to her recordings on the website linked above.

In the last year i have noticed a shift in the way i think and they way i approch my illness. It is in my OWN opinion that therapies don't really work. But i want to stress that this is my own opinion. If there are people out there who have used therapies and have found success then i congratulate them and i am glad they have found what works for them.

However, i have spoken to so many people who have over come their anxiety or their agoraphobia and that is due to feeling the fear, but facing it anyway. This is how i plan to get my life back. I am going to put myself in the situations that will cause me to panic but instead of running for home i am going to stand there and accept the sensations no matter how horrific they may be. I know this is not going to be an easy task.... but it will be worth it.

Having spoken to various people i have learned that this may take 6 months, 8 months or a year, but really that is nothing compaired to the years we could spend suffering and giving into our situation.

This year it is my goal to face my fears and to BEAT them. Who know's i may go out tomorrow and panic and run straight home but instead of feeling defeated i will try again and again untill i have mastered it.

I would love to hear from ANYONE who has gone through this. Wish me luck