My Anxiety Story
I first noticed that I had anxiety when I was about six years old. It started when my parents divorced. I began to feel uneasy all of the time, and to fixate on the small chores that I had to complete each evening. For instance, I worried about brushing my teeth well enough to prevent the germs from growing that would give me cavities. I would imagine the germs overtaking my mouth, turning my teeth black and causing them to rot and fall out. Sometimes I would worry so much that I would have to get up and look in the mirror just to make sure that my teeth were still white and perfect.
As I got older, my anxiety really began to take over my life. I would worry about what my friends thought about me and whether that special guy would ask me out. Sure, every teen worries about those things, but I worried so much that it was difficult to concentrate on everyday tasks, like doing homework or working at my after school job. My grades began to suffer and I had to quit my part-time job to focus more on my studies. Nothing seemed to help, though. The more time I had on my hands, the more I seemed to fixate.
My parents told me that my worrying would get better as I got older. All teens fretted about their social lives, and eventually this feeling of dread and fear would pass. But it didn’t pass, even when I grew into an adult. In my twenties, I traded my social anxiety for anxiety about my career, my marriage, and later, my children.
I knew that my worry was out of proportion to the problems that I had, but knowing that didn’t give me any comfort. I simply couldn’t stop myself from fretting about anything and everything. My anxiety became more generalized and I felt trapped. There was no “safe” topic or situation that I wouldn’t worry about. That is when I decided to seek help. I didn’t want to live this way anymore, and I knew I couldn’t do it by myself. I needed professionals to help me find a way to break the cycle.
I did my research. I looked at several treatment programs, both in-patient and out-patient. I began by going to anxiety support groups, and those did help me learn some valuable coping skills. However, these groups had a cookie cutter approach that seemed to advocate the same steps and methods for everyone. Because my anxiety had changed focus over the years and become more diffuse, I knew I needed a treatment plan that grew and changed when I did. I wanted more individualized attention. That is when I found The Anxiety Treatment Center.
The therapists and staff at the Anxiety Treatment Center really listened to me. They cared about my needs and my goals for recovery, and they developed a personalized treatment plan that fit my unique needs. I didn’t feel like anyone was trying to force a treatment on me. Instead, my therapist and I worked together to develop strategies that helped break my fixations and help me find new, more effective coping strategies that I could apply to stressful situations in my daily life.
The Anxiety Treatment Center I attended focused on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. This therapy helped me learn to identify the patterns and behaviors that triggered my anxiety and to change my way of thinking. Though guided exposures, I learned to confront situations, such as social situations like cocktail parties; I realized, these situation used to trigger my anxiety. Over time, I became used to these situations and eventually I began to stop feeling anxious.
After I completed my program at the Anxiety Treatment Center, I felt more confident. I was not only able to recognize when my thinking was going off the rails, but I was also able to stop myself from panicking or from indulging in patterns of thought that would increase my anxiety. Instead, I was able to employ the coping strategies that I learned. These strategies have allowed me to redirect my thoughts and behave as a “normal” person, or someone without anxiety, would act. Instead of letting my anxiety paralyze me and prevent me from enjoying my life, I am now able to confront my fears head-on.
The Anxiety Treatment Center gave me my life back. I live my life to the fullest, each and every day. Seeking treatment is one of the most important decisions I have ever made.
