Hello friends! I just wanted to share some positive here with everyone. I am a 32 year old female and have dealt with GAD/OCD pure O for the most part the better part of 12 years. I had been doing a lot better with anxiety but around March my panic disorder started with a full blown panic attack out of no where after years of not having one. I was so scared, lost, felt like I was back to square one. I decided I would try medication (it made the panic worse as well as the intrusive thoughts) and I decided to get off of it after the full 6 weeks waiting it out. I was googling everything, every symptom and asking if it was normal anxiety. I would then give myself more panic and was in fear I was going to lose myself and lose my mind to insanity and never return. It had completely ruined me. I quit my job, became agoraphobic, wouldn’t leave or stay alone.
I was at a place I didn’t know what to do, even debated on taking myself to the mental hospital to see if they could fix me. When I would feel the panic I would call my dad or husband or even my mom to “save me” from going insane or into full panic. I was tired and felt like I was never going to get better and doomed to hurting myself or someone else because the intrusive thoughts were so loud and so scary. 4 months ago I stumbled upon the podcast The Anxious Truth ran by a man named Drew who gives a new understanding and a real tell you about yourself approach to things. The first episode I thought this man is CRAZY there is no way this will work. You want me to sit with the panic? You want me to stop calling safe people and to know there is nothing to be saved from!? I didn’t believe it! Fast forward a few weeks laters I got to that point that I said I would rather DIE than to live like this anymore! The next panic attack I had, I sat with it. I relaxed my body and I didn’t call a safe person. The panic attack was shorter than normal I felt it rise, peak and end. I felt like I was tough shit 😂 from there I slowly started to leave my
House again, drive alone again, sleep alone at night again. Once I realized all the things I was afraid of were actually one fear. The fear of fear it made it so much easier. I wasn’t afraid to drive alone, I was afraid to panic while driving. I wasn’t afraid to be alone at night, I was afraid of the fear if I panicked. It was the fear of feeling fear that was driving my entire life. I was taught the fear with panic and anxiety is real but the threat is not. I’m now back to working, driving, living. I do still sometimes panic and  have anxiety but the way I react is so different. I literally provoke it and tell it to do it’s best. There is hope! You are capable, you can heal, you can recover! If I can do it and keep doing it anyone can. You got this, friends. ♥️