You may start wonderfully, going off like a rocket, and then grind to a halt.

Travelling by bus Take the bus for one stop, at a quiet time, sitting near the door with helper beside you. You can face life anew. In the Gains column list all the benefits from taking the risk, and in the Losses column list every disadvantage of taking the risk. I will look through my notebook and see how many good days I had, because they are just as important. At first your Anxiety may well send nagging thoughts (just like a child in a car repeating are we nearly there yet? endlessly) but all you need to do is give your chosen response and keep on with your planned session. Something as simple as patting your pocket, or looking in your bag, tells any onlooker that youve forgotten something and explains why youve turned back. The extra oxygen that you are taking in is being rushed to your muscles to pump them up ready for action. Dont let yourself slide back into the hopeless black hole. Do exposure frequently, at least once a day. ABOUT CAFFEINE Ive never felt that caffeine was a factor in my anxiety - I have tried cutting down and it made no difference, although I am aware of the effects if I have too much coffee. I gave up caffeine and it helped me quite a lot. I know I drink too much coffee. Will my heart stop beating? They must do - they wouldnt run helplines just for me. Ill never find someone to love me. All-or-nothing thinking I got one thing wrong and that ruined everything. Everything else was OK, so I did pretty well. People with this disorder often think of themselves as ugly or disfigured, and have problems controlling negative thoughts about their appearance, even when reassured by others that they look fine and that the minor or perceived flaws arent noticeable or excessive. Keeping a diary was a great idea, because I felt obliged to tell the truth in it, and the only way I could record improvements in the diary was by doing the work and making the improvements. . My mother worried but she kept it all inside her, I never knew till later on when I was caring for her. Changing negative core beliefs is a slow process but worth the effort. They dont need to understand the nature of Anxiety disorders, as long as they can accept that you need to do exposure in a certain way. You must understand that your helper isnt a saint - just someone who is trying to do their best for you. If you have depression, whatever has caused it, you will have to decide whether to work on the depression before you turn your attention to your Anxiety.