Important- info about the forums and me!

Hi All,

I wanted to say hi to everyone and tell you a little bit about who the final owner of the forum turned out to be, I know it was a spam nightmare around here for a bit so I’m glad I was able to get all that cleared up about as good as it can be.

First let me start off with letting you know why the forums themselves changed. The forums used to run on a free open source platform that didn’t have the type of spam management we needed to do a good job keeping the spammers at bay. With a smaller forum, spammers can be deleted manually, but when you have fifty spam posts a day it gets overwhelming and we needed something more aggressive from the software.

To control spam and provide an overall better experience to everyone long term, we migrated to a non-free software platform that is used by many of the larger forums online. Once I became involved in the site this was the first thing I focused on, but it took about two days to move, so I apologize the board was down during that time, it’s just how long it takes to move 100,000 members.

Also, since passwords were encrypted, they need to be reset on the new software, so if you’re having any problems logging in, that is why. All you should need to do is click the “Forgot Password” link and you can reset it via email. Again, you should only have to do this once. I know it’s a bit of a pain in the neck, but it’s unavoidable if we want to kick the spammers out of here, so I think it’s very much for the best and worth the few minutes of inconvenience.

If you have any problems, please let me know using the contact form on the forum, not this thread, and I will do my best to make sure you get your issue resolved.

Now a little about me...

My name is Rich Presta and I used to suffer with anxiety and panic disorder for many years, and a little over 10 years ago overcame my anxiety and panic attacks. Sine then I’ve written several books and programs on overcoming anxiety disorders such as The Panic Puzzle, The Driving Fear Program, and others.

When I was struggling with anxiety, having forums and a place to talk to others who understood what I was going through was tremendously helpful. Because of that, I want to ensure that people who are where I used to be continue to have places to go online to share stories, get advice, and just not feel so alone. I wanted to get involved in this forum so I could make sure it was taken good care of and remained operational for everyone that needs it.

I don’t have a lot of rules regarding the forum except be nice to one another, no spam, and no blatant advertising. What do I mean by blatant advertising? If you’re reading a book or seeing a therapist that you think is great and you’ve been here for awhile, go ahead and post about it, whether it’s my programs or someone else’s. However, if you have one or two posts and you’re posting links, that’s probably going to be deleted, so please contribute first and add some value.

Yes, it’s absolutely fine to talk about ANYONE’S material or programs that you find helpful, not just mine. This is YOUR forum, not mine, so talk about whatever you want.

You can also find a link to a chat room in the forums, just look down the page, it’s a link within the main forum structure.

I generally won’t be posting in the forums, I’ll leave it to the mods to do what they think best, I trust their judgment, so please don’t ask me questions via the forums, I won’t see them.

If anyone has been here for a while and would like to be considered for a mod position, please let me know via the contact form on the website.

If anyone wants to read my blog and get a sense for what I do, it is here:

http://www.RichPresta.com.

One last thing...

Spammers and anyone who mistreats anyone else on the forums DO NOT get second chances. If you don’t know how to behave on a forum, you get banned forever, it’s very simple and very permanent.

Thanks everyone, I appreciate your patience during the transition and I look forward to giving you the tools you need to have the best possible forum!

Thanks!

Rich Presta

thank you for making this site possible

thanks so much this forum is v helpful

Is the chat room used at all. I checked in a couple times and no one is there.

Hi Daisy - I have been into the chat room and it's been empty also. I figured because I was on the other side of the world with the time difference. Hopefully there are people in there the next time I go in and we can all chat to each other.

J

Been in the rooms and they are always empty

The chat room is always empty , doesn't seem to work :-(

I was in the chat room but it stopped working after a while

Can someone please tell me how to add a pic to my profile? Thank u.

Thank you for this forum, but I am not impressed with action not being taken when complaints are e-mailed to "Contact us" about posts which are abusive and rude. Please can you take action when reports of this sort are made please.

I want to say thank you Rich. I appreciate this forum. I am new here, but see lots of great information. This is such a huge contribution to people.

thx for making this forum/chat site. ^_^

Thank you for this forum. I have been reading through most of the thread for weeks now and only recently brave enough to register. My embarrassment towards my anxiety and panic episode had me cowering in the dark corner for the past 5 years. I'm looking forward to share my episodes and also read through everyone's posts and perhaps help as much as I can.

Thank you for the information and help you provide.

Thank you for making this forum. The people in this forum are friendly and has helped me overcome my anxieties. It is wonderful to have everyone support each other and meet people who understand what we are going through.

excellent site!

Thank you admin for adding me to this forum!! i see people on the chat but no one seems to reply.

Hi is the site still being updated and are there any mods still left I don't see any that are still coming here and is there a chatroom?? I am unable to find a chatroom and I am seeing a lot on the forum that is very old so what is actually going on?? Rich very nice site thanks but are you still around??
Thanks

Don't know about any mods, but the forum seems to be pretty active and there's a lot of information and advice being posted daily.

yes it is a very nice site

Very good to be here and thanks for that!

This is amazing. This will be very helpful for me since I "suffer" from a few mental "illnesses".

Does anyone have any recommendations for helpful books about coping with depression? I've been through dozens and most of the information is old, repeated, or gets me discourage when I don't get the same results the author does.

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Originally Posted by Benjamin88

Does anyone have any recommendations for helpful books about coping with depression? I've been through dozens and most of the information is old, repeated, or gets me discourage when I don't get the same results the author does.

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I never get the same result when I actively engage in seeking out nuggets of gold from the same old books and or authors who write about the same old stuff. For me, I reinvent the message as I know it's all to do with my approach and little with what the author wants. That is to say it means little as to the authors intent if I am not willing to create the images for myself. It took years for me to digest what Eckhart Tolle had to say in his book the Power Of Now. Each time I revisited the book, the more I began to see.

I would suggest it's not so much what's happening for the author, but more what's going on inside myself as I read. Depending on the level of Anxiety and Depression with all its associated byproduct, it can take 'time' for healing messages to sink it. Like a hard rock that's looking to soften its skin.
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That said ... it was not until reading self help books of a spiritual nature that I was able to filter out the dry clinical process of abbreviated methods that have sold many books. My list of disorders is quite extensive 'rolls eyes' My list is more more to satisfy the system than it is for me. Books like 'A New Earth' 'Power of Now' 'Wherever You Go There You Are' 'Full Catastrophe Living' and so on pretty much all say the same thing. Yet they are renowned despite the message being repeated over and over again not only in previous editions but also within the pages of each rendition. Rendition being the operative word as to how many of us would do well to appreciate such a skill ... skillful writing that requires proportional focus in hearing what's really being said. Words that take on new meaning with repeated listening.

Try processing the books in different ways. If you read all the time, try listening to an audio sample instead. If you listen all the time, try reading instead. Reflect what your intention is with the absorbing of said text? Are you open to whatever comes? Are you able to let go of conflicting information and still take on what feels inline with your way of being? The latter requires one even knows that there way of being is ... which is why people suffering ... require more self reflection to understand why many of these books sound like nothing more than marbles bounding around in ones head as oppose to any kind of healing text.

I hear man ... I really do. Thankfully I have learned after more than a decade of deep soul searching with above listed books that there is always something new waiting in those old message. It really is just a matter of accepting the changes that do or do not take place within myself. Many of the answers that heal have been around for thousands of years. For sure it helps in the telling, but nothing beats having ears to hear.

It's all about the process ... As we evolve so do the messages. Coming to understand this allows us to create one line of text that has infinite meaning. Once you get to this stage, one can repeat themselves like a monk chanting in a cave as they make their way to the land of bliss. lol

Not sure if any of that helps ... I'm just telling myself the same old thing. :)

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Originally Posted by Benjamin88

Does anyone have any recommendations for helpful books about coping with depression?

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How about these books ... I have not read them myself and will have to source elsewhere. They do seem to have good reviews though.

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I might of just found myself a source for the first Book - Undoing Depression. Hopefully I will be able to give my own review soon enough.

Additionally I found a website dedicated to his books on depression:
http://undoingdepression.com/

Some more books of his on the bottom of page.

Thank you Ponder. I will check out your recommendations. I can't say enough how I appreciate the thought you put into your response, and the advice is beyond what I was expecting. But "expecting" does speak to how I am approaching this as you put so eloquently. If I expect nothing but open to everything I will get more out of the books I have tired. I believe that. Odd how sometimes a thought or an expression is just waiting to come out, then someone like yourself puts these thoughts or expressions into words and it's like, that's it! I try to stay present like Tolle tells us is the only place we can exist. I get to the end of "Power of Now" and go right back to the beginning, I really like his work. Mainly because I believe his story about his depression and how one night it was like a plug was pulled and his ego went down the drain. Putting that into words allowed me to express the feelings I had about my ego for a long time. Anyway, thanks Ponder

Why hasn't my thread been approved yet in almost 24 hours. Is it because the moderators were last seen around 2013 ? What's going on here..

Hi. This forum is self moderated. Just the way many of us like it. Until you make 25 posts you cannot use links and limited only to so many words/characters.

Keep posting short posts with no links. Respond where ever and as much as you like. The long time members do a good job addressing troll like posts. Freedom of expression is what makes this forum special. There are no mental health inustrialzed or marketing agendas here.

This forum is not popularised. Another great thing we older members love. Enjoy your stay!

thank you for making this forum - long term sufferer