Lets take the example of someone who feels aggrieved at the way the whole family rely on them to act as an unpaid chauffeur.

Something unforeseen might hap that I cant cope with. Medication damed them down but did not cure the problem in any way, shape or form. The medication that my GP had initially prescribed were giving me horrible side effects, they were actually making my symptoms feel worse, not better. Spiritual: you may be dissatisfied with life, or feel that life has no meaning. Countering negative self-talk. Like all Anxiety sufferers, your first steps in exposure work will be mainly a test, to see if it is really true that these awful feelings are caused by Anxiety and that Anxiety can go down. I thought I was weird, not normal. My first experience of anxiety was when I was 13, in the 1950s. Start by doing this exercise when you are sitting comfortably and when you are not particularly anxious. If youve had a panic attack in a crowded bus, you will associate crowded buses with panic and start to dread getting on the bus if it looks full. Read cartoons, in a newspaper or book. Ways of countering distorted intuition and self-reproach Distorted intuition and self-reproach are all about how you see yourself in relation to the world, and other people. If your attempts to do more are constantly interrupted by worry, you can create an exposure ladder to help you reduce the time you sd worrying. It can seem impossibly hard to take exercise if your Anxiety has made you housebound, but in fact there are plenty of options. Yes to any of questions 3-7 indicates different types of phobia. ABOUT THE RECOVERY PROCESS Ive now come to realise that no magic wand or quick fix exists. Im very up and down, sometimes I feel Ill never get better. We dont mind if you get angry with us - anger gives you energy, just what you need right now. It seems likely that the agoraphobic will find the weekend away the hardest to do, and either the bus journey or the corner shop the easiest. When the crisis is over, we breathe a sigh of relief and assume that things will soon get back to normal. Hold it, then relax and feel the difference. Those people who are very sensitive to caffeine would be best to give it up permanently. You may not always achieve the outcome you would like in the short- term, but as you develop the habit of communicating assertively, other people will start to treat you with more respect.