Hi everyone!! I haven’t been on here much because I’ve been daring away! Before I read dare, I thought my life was over as my anxiety dictated everything I did and thought.
I honestly had no hope of functioning “normally” again. Since implementing Dare, my husband and I bought a house and moved, I go places alone and with my family, I have friends over without panicking! It has been a difficult road with exposures but I try to push myself most days whether I feel like it or not.
If you wait until you feel good/strong/unafraid you’ll never go.
The change really happened when I applied the tools and techniques that DARE teaches.
I tried doing exposure therapy, meditation, and even talk therapy for years all to no avail because I was still scared. When taught to stop fighting my adrenaline and that it was truly safe if I made a huge shift in my thinking, it allowed me to do productive exposure therapy, rather than white knuckling and rushing my outings.
This gave my body the opportunity to calm down and gain confidence in the situations I feared. The defuse steps helped me to stop getting so worked up at the first onset of adrenaline.
The allow step helped me to stop trying to control everything within me, trying to stop the sensations only made things worse. I got comfortable even when I felt panic rising. The run towards step helped me to see that I wasn’t a helpless victim to panic like I had believed.
I was able to call anxiety’s bluff and I would not let it bully me around anymore! The engage step was so helpful too, because it broke the anxiety loop that I had always gotten stuck in prior to DARE. It has helped me to be a participant in my own life and enjoy things I did before panic had debilitated me.
The Facebook group has been extremely helpful and I can’t stress enough how beneficial it is to have people who understand what you are going through, to be able to ask questions and to have the members cheer you on with each little success.
I am forever grateful to Barry, Suzane and all of the people in the Facebook group for all their work and dedication to changing people’s lives for the better.
I read a quote today that said, “Jump and the net will appear”.
Trust in the process. Do the things the book recommends even if it doesn’t make sense and your body is telling you that you are in danger. Give it your 100% so that you can be free and live a life without regrets. I’m not completely recovered but I know I’m well on my way as through practice the Dare technique is becoming second nature.
My next goals are family day trips, and doctor appointments. You all can do this too! I believe in you! Just start, and don’t over think it.
Gwen M.