Attacking Anxiety and Depression (Cognitive Behavior Therapy

April 24, 2006

God place a Fight or Flight mechanism in each one of us. It not only helped the 'cave men' physically protect themselves from wild predators, but kept them mentally alert to protect their families and friends. The modern term used for the Fight or Flight response is PANIC ATTACK!

If you suffer from anxiety when placed in certain situations or possibly daily, as some do, you may not realize what it is that is bothering you. We are conditioned to have a racing/pounding heart, quick/scary thoughts, shortness/difficulty breathing, sweating, dry mouth, foggy/dazed/zoned-in-on-one-thing feeling, when our mind tells us we need to protect ourselves or others. There could be a real, impending danger, or just the thought of danger.

But we should not be like this in our normal daily lives. Some people have such high anxiety (agoraphobia) the fear keeps them from feeling safe enough to leave their homes. One might start out avoiding social outings, then avoid malls, then begin to drive less, then only make it to their mailbox, ultimately becoming trapped in their own homes and bodies by their own thoughts, which they allow to control them!

You might remember having a foggy mind, and many of these other feelings whenever asked to stand up in front of class or a large group. This is a cognitive(thinking)behavior issue, meaning it is caused by what we train our minds to tell us at certain times. For example, when your children are small you might be so focused on them when you are anywhere other than home that you would not be truly aware of your other surroundings.

After reading about child-proofing and the accidents of others, I felt it was up to me to keep my children safe, and I took that job seriously! When visiting with family, twice a year, in their homes, I realized (only after I left their house) that I hadn't relaxed and enjoyed their company as I had planned, but I thought it was normal, due to having to watch the kids.

It was actually that foggy feeling I'd have in my mind, caused from the anxiety, that kind of blurs out everything else around me, so I may appear to be distant and careless when in reality I had a moderate case of anxiety causing me to be in a constant state of fight or flight or mild panic, and could not make myself think as clearly as I (at the time) thought I was.

Not until I learned what was happening could I put my finger on what was making me 'different from everyone else'. I thought I had a mental problem that couldn't be helped. I started taking 150 mg Wellbutrin every morning, which helped.

Some people had called me uptight and selfish. I did not understand how they could see me that way when all I did was worry about my kid's safety and try my best to make everyone around me happy all the time. I was
concerned with their comfort, how they felt about me, if they thought I was a good mother, if my children thought I was a good mother, what my husband was thinking.

At least I thought I was doing the right thing for everyone, but I was being over-protective and stressing out my children, myself, and not thinking of others in ways such as showing concern for their thoughts and health, etc, cause I was too overwhelmed with what I thought I had to control with my own family. It was all in my mind- Thoughts, just thoughts.

I still have negative/scary thoughts at times, but I now know how to replace them with positive, happy thoughts.

I was on my bed crying one day, after a long awaited visit to someone's house ended in a huge misunderstanding. I had decided not to ever visit there again. Due to my anxiety and neither of us knowing what my problem was, the person told me not to come back until I 'changed'. I had already said Goodbye, possibly Forever, on my way home. I had no desire to return, and be treated that way, ever again. It wasn't the first time!

As I sat on my bed crying, after returning home from that last visit, I prayed for GOD to show me WHAT was wrong with me. Tell me HOW to change! If I even CAN! Quietly sitting there, I caught a glimpse of an infomercial with a woman describing a CD/DVD/workbook set used in an 'Attacking Anxiety and Depression' program. It sounded interesting, so I continued to watch it...

A group of people told their personal histories, following up with how this program had helped them. Each of them had been thinking something wrong with them, but no one could put a name to it. Some had these feelings for a few years, some for 30+ years! Some spoke of panic attacks or phobias. Most had anxiety and/or depression, which I learned is often just a result of negative thinking.

After completing this program they each had a feeling of freedom, happiness and the confidence to do anything they wanted to do. They often spoke of prayer and thanked God, which really caught my attention because it was then that I realized I had just been asking God to show me what I needed and there weren't many infomercials where they mention God, prayer and the exact feelings I'd been having!!

I felt a warm, slow stream of tears trickling down my cheeks. I was so happy. I held out my hand for God to grasp, sitting there on my bed. I knew He was sitting right next to me, talking to me and I was hearing Him!

I didn't have a mental problem which couldn't be cured, but anxiety and negative thinking causing slight panic attacks!

I called the 800 number to ask more questions about the program. My hubby is a physician, so I asked him to look into this product for me. It cost $400, so I didn't want to take any chances on wasting that kind of money. After he researched this product and read the case studies on the effects of cognitive behavior therapy, he told me how this program benefited people even more than seeing a psychiatrist in person. Also, it often costs at least $150 for each visit to a psychiatrist and you never go to them just once!

There are many benefits to this program. You can listen to any of the 15 Cd's in your car, your shower, on your ipod, anytime you want to remind yourself of your goals and accomplishments. You can hear how it helped others, like you, who thought they were all alone. There is a journal-like workbook that you can use to dig deeper into your thoughts and subconscious. Writing out your personal thoughts and experiences helps you realize how your life experiences and the people around you have developed and are still developing/guiding/shaping who you are and what you think.

The Cd's are very entertaining and easy to listen to. Lucinda asks you to listen to one Cd a week, do that week's lesson in the workbook and then throughout your day/week remind yourself of that weeks lesson and APPLY
it, so by the following week you WILL have the previous lesson secured into your subconscious and are ready to conquer the next weeks lesson. The lessons are easy but work wonders.

Some of the Cd topics covered are 1)Replacing negative thoughts with positive, 2) Getting rid of guilt and worry, 3) Never having another panic attack by learning what it is, it won't hurt you and to just ignore it and it will stop!
4) how to eat and exercise to feel better mentally 5) what anxiety and depression is and how to know if you have it. 6) how to be assertive vs aggressive. You can check out the website for the other topics.:)

There are about five short videos you can watch at the beginning that allow you to see Lucinda Basset (an RN who, along with Dr. Fischer in Toledo, OH. designed this) speaking to you, encouraging you to follow this program for the whole 15 weeks, the way they designed it, so you can benefit the most from it.

Having listened to each of the 15 Cd's probably 6 times each, I have benefited greatly from this program. I can actually sit down and post on my blog (I always wanted to write!) or actually sit through an entire movie snuggled up on the couch with my children without thinking "I should be straightening or cleaning!"

I am NOT spending my Saturday morning (actually it's afternoon now) on here to sell you something that I will benefit monetarily from. I WILL benefit mentally and spiritually IF you leave me a comment letting me know how you are now FREED from the bonds of anxiety and negative thinking (both of which cause depression, addictions, etc.) after buying and using this TRULY LIFE CHANGING product that has ALREADY given hundreds of thousands of people a new life for themselves. WHICH ultimately BENEFITS their family life, employers, employees, friends..

I would have paid $5,000+ had I known it would be this helpful. Once you have used it, you can share it with your spouse, children or pass it on to relatives and friends that would benefit from it also. Everyone has some
degree of anxiety and/or depression.

I have no reason to sit here, back aching, telling you all about this except that I care about each and every person living in my computer. I want us all to be the loving, creative, thoughtful, confident, successful people God designed us to be.

Please, tell others about this wonderful program. You can email this post by clicking on the little envelope at the end. Everyone should have the same opportunity you and I are being given from God and Lucinda Basset to change!

Thank you so much for your time, I really hope I am able to help anyone who is looking for answers! Lucinda's staff is happy to answer any other questions you might have. You can contact them at www.stresscenter.com