So I gave up on CBT after four sessions, it would work well for those with a specific phobia, such as spiders or water but anxiety is just to complex. I put myself forward for NHS CBT, however, the waiting times are so long I decided to go private. I found myself worrying about going to each of the meetings, sitting in the small room, face to face with someone I didn't know, talking about what I am worried about. On my fourth meeting I actually had a panic attack in my meeting as I had worked myself up so much before I entered the room. I cancelled my meetings as soon as I came across the Charles Linden Method and my anxiety dropped quiet considerably after a few hour of reading. CBT requires you to analyse yourself and record your before, during and after thoughts into a notebook, which I did for a month. I stressed about not recording everything and it caused me to really focus on my ever changing issues both mentally and physically all the time. To get over anxiety you need to ignore your SENSATIONS and how can you do that while writing about them and discussing them all the time. It might work for some people but it was too much for me.
Charles Linden
I came across the Charles Linden Method when I Googled Anxiety Retreats, as I was looking for somewhere I could go and have my hand held through getting out of Anxiety. The retreats look amazing, a large number of celebrities have used the retreats and within 4 days state to be anxiety free. However, they cost about £2700. I came across their printed version you can do at home for about £100 and decided to invest. Its brilliant visit this link: http://www.charles-linden.com/books/. Once I started to read it I felt inspired and it totally made complete sense, its not just for General Anxiety Disorder but Panic Attacks, Social Phobia, Acrophobia, OCD, Eating Disorders and more. The method is very simple and I have started to see immediate results. I would love to go to the retreat but the same results can come from the home pack so it seemed best to start there. SOOOO WORTH IT!One of the requirements is to not talk about your anxiety and this is why I haven't wrote on my blog for a long time.
My experience of the Charles Linden Diet was interesting I actually managed it for a month. As the whole method is about keeping your body in balance it requires you to remove anything that causes your body from creating highs and lows, such as sugar, potatoes, white bread, rice, pasta, flour. Basically I ate the world's healthiest diet. I took it very seriously, however, as I wasn't enjoying food anymore it made me feel really down so I have now decided to be more relaxed and eat a mix of both.
Medication (I am not a Doctor this is only my experience.
I began by taking once 40mg tablet of Propananol once a day (A Beta Blocker which stops hyperventilation). It felt great to be on medication as I thought it would really help, unfortunately it wasn't a magic pill. I was allowed to take up to three a day if necessary, and I quickly started to take one morning, lunch and evening. For the first week I felt light headed and dizzy which is perfectly normal and it eased. I was worried about it so went to Loyids Pharmacy for a blood pressure check but I was reassured to see mine was perfect. I found I would wake up in the morning and feel very anxious and would take a tablet as soon as I woke up which would immediately calm me down. Then it would increase again about 10am and I would need to hang on until lunch, then I would take one before bed so I didn't risk waking up in the night. Please never try to come off three a day and go straight to one apparently its really dangerous and I tried this and really struggled with my anxiety and went straight back to three. A little later on I went to a mental health nurse and she suggested I went onto an 80mg slow release Propanonol, and I would highly recommend it. I take it in the evening so I wake up in the morning without any problems and it lasts me until about 6pm of the evening after I take it. In the first week of taking it I would get pins and needles in my arms when I slept and I am still prone to this along with cold hand but its worth it. I was aloud to take one of my 40mg quick release tablets if I really really needed to as well and I have used them twice, once when I went to the dentist as I really worked myself up and it really helped and then once again a week later but it didn't have the effect it had the time before and I didn't feel any different so I no longer rely on it. After reading the Charles Linden method it became clear that I needed to keep my body in a state of balance, therefore by taking three quick release doses my body was out of balance experiencing highs and lows, where as the slow release tablet keeps everything balanced and calm.
When I get stressed I get really bad acid reflex and indigestion I take an anti acid tablet which kind of helps but the best thing I have found is using breathing exercises during and after when I have eaten
For those ladies out there you have probably found that your anxiety becomes out of control when you are at the time of the month, this is because your hormones are all over the place. Your body is less able to cope, and this tends to be the time I loose all the progress I have made. In order to keep my body in balance I have taken to using the Pill its brilliant the more months that go by using it the better I am able to cope.
If you can use the Charles Linden Method for at least a week before considering using medication as you become very reliant on it and it takes a which to ease yourself off of it.
Never Make Solid Plans
One of my biggest tips is to be very go with the flow, if you make a plan you might worry about it where as a vague or spontaneous plan is much easier to deal with.
Set Backs
I go through stages where I make serious progress, I might be out and about by myself, paying at checkouts, eating the food I want to eat one week then the next I wont want to leave the house and just being awake is difficult. However, once I feel better again I progress more and more each time and this is very positive.
Tips
I often struggled with the feeling I cant breath, I start trying to control my breathing rate, get worried I am not doing it right and cant ignore it enough to just let my body do it. The real fact is my body can breath without me, think to the time you last held your breath after a certain amount of time you will suddenly need to inhale and your body will naturally inhale the right amount without you needing to do anything. My tip though which really works for me is to sing in my head 'Nellie the Elephant packed her trunk And said goodbye to the circus, Off she went with a trumpety-trump Trump, trump, trump' Over and over again. I often find it works really well if your having a conversation with someone and panic over rides you and you don't know what to do, just sing it a few times and it goes off.
Drink Chamomile
Tea 4x a days its a natural sedative and is amazing, you have to ignore the taste its sweet which helps but is no hot chocolate.
Was Deferring the Year the right thing to do?
Yes, it really was I was trying to complete my final year at university while battling with severe anxiety. I should have deferred the month before when problems began but I personally needed to reach that point myself when I thought enough was enough and that I had done everything I could. My biggest problem is I feel guilty giving myself time off, and as I didn't in the summer holidays I wasn't ready to go back to uni refreshed. I push myself to do the best that I can, which became difficult as I started to see this as I need to be super perfect all the time. I also like to be on top of things and that is impossible in third year, you need to be working night and day in order to do this and that is where you need to prioritize. I have been home from uni for about two months now I have improved, however, I still struggle to go outside and am still in no state to get any work done as I still need more recovery time. If your anxiety is getting worse not better and you are really pushing yourself to the absolute maximum and are struggling to reach your potential, your actually doing some real damage to your brains nerve endings and the more you push the more damage you are causing. I am going to need all the time I can get to recover before going back to uni, so deferring sooner is going to be better. You will know when the time is right as you will suddenly admit to yourself this is stupid I need to stop.
If you want to know more information or want some advice please don't hesitate to ask me I would really be glad of it
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