How to overcome anxiety and take
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Katie came as close as is possible to having it all. Great job, loving family, boyfriend, social life… That was until she developed anxiety…
“There were rumours of redundancy in our department. Just rumours. But that was enough to start me off. I became very anxious. Every Monday, I’d head for work, convinced I was about to be told to go. I started worrying about what I’d do if I was made redundant – and despite years of experience in my field, I convinced myself that I was unemployable, that no other company would consider me. I felt useless”
Katie now recognises that the irrational thoughts were all part of the anxiety. “Gradually, it was robbing me of all my confidence, first in my professional self, then in me as a person. It’s bizarre but had I been made redundant, I’d have just gotten on with it and I’d have probably been OK. But the stress of my job and the worry over IF my name was on the list, that was enough to trigger the anxiety.”
After six months, Katie’s self esteem hit an all-time low. “I no longer felt confident in my abilities. I felt a fraud… that I was about to be caught out and sacked. Travelling became an issue. The big sales conferences and international exhibitions that I’d have breezed through previously were now sheer hell. I became agoraphobic, looking for reasons not to attend. It affected my work and how I was looked upon by my colleagues and bosses.”
As her anxiety grew, so her relationships became affected. “I felt nobody understood what I was going through. Not even my boyfriend. He tried to be supportive but neither he nor my family could really understand. That’s why it’s so important to people with anxiety to talk to somebody like Charles, somebody who KNOWS what it’s like. It’s only people who’ve lived through it who actually know how awful it is that can help you overcome anxiety!”
Katie became agoraphobic, adding to her sense of isolation. “By the time my anxiety was at its worst, I became scared of my own shadow! I can’t describe it really. You wake up feeling scared and anxious and it stays with you all day. Like a feeling of dread. And even if you’re with people… even if you’re involved in doing something, it’s like a blanket of fear that stays with you. You might kid yourself sometimes that it’s under control, but it never is. I just felt constantly scared. My comfort zone was getting smaller and smaller.”
Katie was prescribed medication, but this only served to make her feel as though she was losing her grip on reality: “Yes I got some relief from the medication. But only ever temporary. This fear was with me constantly. I stopped making decisions and planning for the future… because I was avoiding putting myself in vulnerable positions, I felt I was protecting myself. But I’d feel angry at not being dynamic, like how I used to be. And then that would make me feel bad about myself… that I was totally useless… and so it just got worse and worse. Looking back now, I saw that I was retreating into a shell. I couldn’t pick the phone up… even when I knew who was calling! I spent days locked away in my room. I just wanted to sleep all the time, because it’s the only time I really felt safe.”
Katie’s anxiety led her to start missing work. “It’s ironic really… but I was never made redundant! Far from it, the company I work for were actually really supportive and agreed to let me have time off. In some ways that was the worst thing that they could have done! Don’t get me wrong, I’m really grateful… but the fact was I had days and days of growing increasingly obsessed about my anxiety… and spent hours trawling the internet for a miracle cure.”
Katie found The Linden Method… and although initially skeptical about some of the claims, decided to give it a try. “When I read the website, at first I couldn’t believe the claims. I mean, I KNEW how bad I felt, knew how awful it was. And here was this man telling me I could be BETTER in a matter of days. I thought it was too good to be true to be honest…. But I called the number and when I spoke to Charles, he didn’t try any hard sales tactics. He just told me HIS story… and I thought, well, if he can go through what he’s been through and come out the other end sounding so calm and confident, then what did I really have to lose?”
… and Katie’s faith in Charles paid off! “I couldn’t believe the effect The Linden Method had on me. Something clicked straight away… it was the way it’s written. It doesn’t confuse you with loads of science. Charles isn’t a doctor… but in my opinion he’s better qualified because he’s been there. For the first time in my anxiety, somebody understood. The Method just makes common sense. I realised that I wasn’t ill. I hadn’t developed a mental condition. And I wasn’t going mad! My anxiety stemmed from a bad behavioural habit that had gone out of control – in my case, it was a constant need to prove myself – both to myself and everybody around me. I was constantly stressing about what people thought of me. Charles told me that over the years my amygdala had become sensitised to a higher than normal level, because of the stress I’d been under. I was probably on the edge of being anxious for years. In the end, the talk of redundancy was the nudge that tipped me over… but that trigger could have been anything.”
Katie has now returned to work full time and is planning on starting a family in the next year or so. “Years ago, I couldn’t have imagined taking time out to have a family. I put that much pressure on myself, it would have been totally out of the question. But because of what I’ve learned using The Linden Method, I’m so much more chilled about my work and what people think of me. I no longer measure myself as a human being by how I’m performing 9 to 5. Yes, that’s a part of my life, but not the most important part by any means.”
“I went from being this go-getter to hiding away behind my bedroom door! I’d been used to living at a certain level, being this dynamic career girl. I would be responsible for making really vital decisions for the company… but when I became anxious, I couldn’t even decide what to wear! I’d still be hiding now, if it wasn’t for Charles. He really knows exactly what it’s like to face your fears! He’s not just a name or a photograph on a website!”
To go to The Linden Method Main Page and learn how to overcome anxiety Click HERE
