If you are having anxiety/panic attacks and are thinking about consulting with a doctor, psychiatrist, psychologist, or therapist, then let me be honest with you from the get-go... Based on my personal experience, these people can't help you.
I hope from the bottom of my heart that you will believe me. I don't want you to experience what I went through for 14 years of my life.
Trust me, medications like Xanax or Lexapro or anxiety-alleviating techniques like deep breathing, positive affirmations, or distraction that you will get from medical professionals or mainstream therapists might help you cope with your anxiety symptoms, but won't put an end to your anxiety and panic attacks. Chances are that you have already tried them and will agree with me.
The purpose of maintaining and writing this blog is to tell you my story, and hopefully have you take the right path toward the solution, which gave me my life and self-confidence back.
I will tell you exactly why medication did not fix my problem; why mainstream therapists failed at ending my anxiety; and how I finally overcame my panic attacks with a unique anxiety solution called The Linden Method.
My name is Julie Stevenson and I spent 14 years of my life desperately trying to find an effective solution to permanently end my panic attacks.
I had a good life, great parents and family, an amazing husband, terrific kids, and super-supportive friends. There was absolutely nothing that could warn me about what was about to happen next in my life.
I developed anxiety out of the blue.
I had my first panic attack at the age of 24, and I absolutely don't know what triggered it. Actually, at that time, I did not even know what was happening, but I knew I was losing control of myself, and I was definitely experiencing all the scary body sensations that come with a panic attack.
I was having lightheadedness and my chest was tightening, and I felt like I could not breathe. My heart was racing and I had shortness of breath. This feeling was getting worse and worse each time I had a panic attack, to the point of being totally terrifying.
I felt as if I was about to die. I was scared that I would reach the point of no return and that this state would be irreversible.
An irrelevant thought, like giving a hug to my nephew during a family gathering, was enough to start the whole thing. These thoughts were repeating themselves in my head over and over again. So I was there, alone in my house, having this thought repeating itself in my head over and over again, making me more and more anxious. Why could such a simple thought get me into such a state of distress? I thought I was going crazy.
I also developed this fear of driving through a tunnel or underground parking lot. When you are on the passenger side and you are not in control of where the car is going, this can be a very scary experience.
A friend was driving toward a tunnel, which was farther away down the road, not yet in sight. Just the anticipation of maybe having to go through that tunnel made my heartbeat accelerate and my hands moist. I was scared.
Luckily for me, she used another route. And you know what? When you think about it, going through that tunnel was really not the best option. But that did not matter, the anticipation of maybe having to go through that tunnel was just enough and there was nothing I could do to stop the anxiety from kicking in.
The inability to control this anticipation or this fear of having my next panic attack was sometimes unbearable and might even have been worse than an actual attack. There was nothing I could do about it, it was there. I felt anxious, I was unhappy, life was horrible. You go to bed thinking that tomorrow is another day, only to wake up with that same anxious feeling and that fear of an imminent full-blown panic attack.
My problem eventually got worse. It got to a point where I could not drive or fly and I was also avoiding social gatherings. I was then spending much of my time at home. I can get very emotional when I am talking about those years of panic attacks, since not only did I suffer from it, but it also affected my family, my friends, my husband, and my kids.
That's when I first realized that the people around me were also affected by my behavior, that I decided to do something about it.
The help I got from the doctor was not what I had hoped for.
He told me I had generalized anxiety disorder and social anxiety disorder. He said that what I was experiencing was all in my head. Then he prescribed an anti-anxiety medication called Xanax, 0.25 mg, which was the dose to start with.
I was hesitant to take it. I was scared that I would get addicted. But the anxiety was intolerable. I really wanted to get relief, so I started taking it.
I had some bad side effects. I suffered from drowsiness, short-term memory loss, irritability, and dizziness. I would get very upset for no reason. The dizziness got to a point where I could not nod my head or be in a car without feeling dizzy.
The doctor took me off Xanax and prescribed Klonopin. He explained that sometimes a trial and error process was required before they could find the right medication for a patient. At $90 for 30 pills, I hoped that this would be the right medication for me.
I had some side effects, but they were tolerable. It kind of helped me with my anxiety, but taking it over a long period of time took my emotions and personality away. I had problems with concentration, which I am sure impacted my decision-making ability.
Even after taking this for a while, I was still having panic attacks. I realized that the medication would never cure my anxiety. It just masked the problem. I was getting more and more addicted and I did not want to depend on this anti-anxiety medication for the rest of my life.
I wanted to be medication-free.
I tried to consult with a therapist and failed.
I consulted with a mental health worker. She was very nice to me. I experienced relief just by having her listen to me and understand my situation.
She focused on my childhood traumas and other aspects of my life in order to figure out what was causing my anxiety. God I cried during some of those sessions.
She also gave me some good advice. That's where I learned anxiety-relieving techniques like deep breathing and positive affirmations.
But at the end of the day, I did not really care to know what triggered my anxiety if it did not help me to end it.
The anxiety techniques were useful once a panic attack was already started. But in no way did her advice help me to prevent or overcome my anxiety and panic attack symptoms.
I eventually stopped seeing her.
In despair I finally found something that worked.
Knowing that I was still having panic attacks after spending so many years, money, and energy desperately trying to succeed with pills, breathing techniques, positive thinking, and therapists did not improve my situation.
I had nothing left in me to want to battle. I even thought that my case was not curable, and that no anxiety treatment would work. I was praying to God for a miracle. One night I visited The Linden Method website on the Internet.
I had never heard of it before and because of my past experiences I was definitely skeptical. I read some extremely complimentary reviews and I learned that the cost was minimal and that the product came with a money-back guarantee.
That program seemed to be unique. It was not based on mainstream anxiety techniques, and it was a leading all natural and medication-free anxiety treatment.
I said to myself, "There is nothing I can do about my anxiety. Nothing works anyway. I can't get any relief from anything. I wasted so much money for so many years. So let me buy it, try it, and fail again."
Even if I was not too enthusiastic, I bought it, and today I am glad I did so.
Here's why I recommend it.
| I recommend it because this program literally saved my life. I got out from hell and I owe it all to Charles Linden and his book, The Linden Method. I will never be able to hug him or thank him enough for it. This book is easy to understand and the techniques are very easy to learn. Sometimes the best solutions are overlooked because of their simplicity. That's the thought I had while reading this book. The relief was not immediate like the website mentioned, though. I had to read the book and learn how to apply the techniques first. I was on my seventh day when I realized that almost all my anxiety was gone, and that no panic attack was occurring. That was a huge relief for me. I could not believe it. For once, overcoming anxiety was at reach. |  |
From that point, the panic attacks occurrence and intensity quickly diminished.
Today I am back to my old confident self. I wake up in the morning confident and not afraid anymore of having a panic attack. I now know that I can control my emotions, so the panic attacks don't even start anymore.
I am planning on buying my own car. My next milestone is to fly. I still need to plan that trip first though, but I know I will get through that flight anxiety free.
But best of all, and there is absolutely no price to this, my relationship with my husband, kids, friends, and family has improved. I am back in their lives and I can laugh and have fun with them again.
I very much wish I had found this at least 10 years ago. Doctors and therapists did their best at helping me, but in the end The Linden Method got the last word.
My mission is to inform people living with anxiety and panic attacks about this program, so they can also cure themselves and overcome anxiety.
Just knowing that I can reach out and provide relief to even one person makes the effort of maintaining and writing this blog worth it. You might feel like doing the same after you have tried The Linden Method.
