There is hope

[adubya30]

I just wanted to tell everyone out there looking for hope that there is hope! This is an illness that we have or had. Which means it is like having a cold. Our bodies can recover from a cold because it is not chronic. We may get a cold sometimes down the line but we know how to get over them by sleeping, nutrition, seeing the doctor etc. Panic, anxiety, depression and all that is included in the subcatergories are illnesses that we can recover from. When we recover from it we may be exposed to it again in life but once we learn how to overcome and recover from it we can do it again in life just like we do with a cold. I was miserable for quite some time but never giving up, believing it would get better, and constantly reading, researching and trying new things helped me recover today. I may not be fully 100% but I am not at the bottom which is a long way for me. Stick in there and don't give up. You can feel better.

[rejanette]

I really like your positive attitude about anxiety... And yes we will feel better no matter how long it takes...
I have had those panic attacks since October and some days are good some not... I' m trying to keep positive.
Well i did started having them I was not doing good at all and the bottle of Xanax was m best friend... I' m learning everyday how to take control of it...
Thanks for your positive attitude

[DDiaz]

Yes thanks for your positive attitude.

Our thoughts play a big part in how we feel. When you are feeling like there is no hope, you have to imagine a world with no hope, you create a mental picture of hopelessness.

On the other flip of the coin, when you think that there is a hope, that someday you may feel better, your mind must translate that thought into a mental image. And that images looks and feels much better than the first one.

Positive thoughts may sound corny but its a starting point at least.

[Robbed]

I just wanted to tell everyone out there looking for hope that there is hope! This is an illness that we have or had. Which means it is like having a cold. Our bodies can recover from a cold because it is not chronic. We may get a cold sometimes down the line but we know how to get over them by sleeping, nutrition, seeing the doctor etc. Panic, anxiety, depression and all that is included in the subcatergories are illnesses that we can recover from. When we recover from it we may be exposed to it again in life but once we learn how to overcome and recover from it we can do it again in life just like we do with a cold. I was miserable for quite some time but never giving up, believing it would get better, and constantly reading, researching and trying new things helped me recover today. I may not be fully 100% but I am not at the bottom which is a long way for me. Stick in there and don't give up. You can feel better.

All of this is true. I myself am certainly not at 100%. But I am MUCH, MUCH, MUCH better off than I was, say, a year or two ago. I personally think a BIG part of the problem when it comes to recovery is the very people who should be helping us. When all this started for me somewhat over two years ago, I actually saw a couple of doctors and tried seeing a handful of therapists. Almost all of them basically told me that anxiety is an incurable condition that I would have to live with for the rest of my life, and that I could probably only hope to manage it with lifelong medication and therapy. I am sure that MANY other people have been told this as well. But the truth of the matter is that, for most of us here, it is a temporary condition that will pass with time.

I should add that I don't really agree with those people who talk about 'learning to bring it under control'. I have certainly not done this, and don't see how it is possible. Rather, I believe the true key to recovery is to learn to live with anxiety disorder and how to not provoke it while you wait for it to dissipate on its own accord. So rather than MAKING yourself recover, you simply ALLOW it to happen.

[PanicFree81]

Very good attitude to have! I agree that this illness can be overcome for I have overcome it. I believe it is 100% cured. I have gone over a month without any attack when before I found my cause for this illness I had them many times a day. I now am in the process to change my lifestyle to a better one (gym, eating right, being more active with friends, etc.) I have never felt so good so please understand that you can beat the illness. You have to have hope and also give yourself the strength to find your cure (what had first started the illness, and change it)! Good luck!!