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On a less serious note, anxiety sufferers can experience the same thrill not by bungee jumping, but by surviving a trip to a packed Trader Joe's!

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Picture this: About noon, mid-July 2021, and I'm tucked away in an unused bedroom wearing a heavy winter jacket, spinning around twenty or so times, and then hyperventilating for two minutes. On purpose. This is what my exposure for panic disorder looked like. I did this for about two months, while tracking how I felt before, during, after the process. You are probably asking why I would submit to such a strange, uncomfortable, and occasionally scary, task. Well, that's sort of a long story, but here is the shortened version. I've been in therapy since 2015 for anxiety, panic, and depression. One aspect of these diagnoses is that I would constantly scan my body and mind for any feeling that of anxiety, or worse, signs that a panic attack, which I rarely have had, was on the horizon. Feelings of dizziness, heart palpitations, fast breathing, which meant little to most people, meant a crisis to me. I would tense up and wait for the worst. Most of the time nothing happened, but this "crisis mode" was something I experienced many times a day, every single day for nearly six years. After performing the seemingly peculiar ERP task for around two months I can now live free from seeing odd feelings in my body and mind as signs of danger. Yes, I still have many of those feelings today, but they increasingly mean less and less to me. They have gone from feeling all-consuming to a mere annoyance that comes and goes. I wish you the best in your recovery journey. I did it and I know you can!

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Jan 17, 2022Liked by Drew Linsalata

Looking forward to tomorrow

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Jan 17, 2022Liked by Drew Linsalata

Yes, I look forward to hearing about the process with small steps. Blanket exposure therapy, I think, has done as much harm as good for me, because I tended to bite off more than I could chew, and basically just re-traumatised myself. I would end up massively relieved after surviving such an experience , but equally scared to try it again. Smaller steps and a slower pace, and maybe I'd be in a better place now.

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Jan 17, 2022Liked by Drew Linsalata

I could so easily have been one of those 61! I've resisted doing even the simple things for so long. Having read your book and followed the advice from you and your admin on Facebook, I have been doing the scary exposures for a few months and things are certainly much better for me now. I have a better understanding of my anxiety than I've had since it started many years ago. I can never thank you enough for making this possible and for all the ongoing support you have made available. You are truly a wonderful, selfless person who has changed so many people's lives and I'll always be grateful to you. Thank you.

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