The other night I met a great group of girls from my anxiety support group for dinner. One of them brought another friend whom I was just meeting for the first time. She had suffered with anxiety as well. When she walked into the room she held herself so beautifully, her confidence radiated and I wanted whatever it was that made her that way. I wanted to ask her if the Panic Away Program helped her to become so confident? I finally had the courage to ask her what her secret was after we’d been talking all night. She laughed and told me I wouldn’t believe it but not even a year earlier she was a totally different girl. This is what she told me:

After being laid off from her job of 5 years she began to feel overwhelmed with anxiety and was not able to find another job. She said her anxiety became so intense that it began to affect every single area of her life! Eventually it came to the point where she thought she would never be able to experience any relief.. After losing her job her self esteem dropped remarkably, she had always been quiet and reserved but now she started to shy away from friends and family. She covered up her pain by eating and gained 50lbs! She cried every time she looked in the mirror.

She didn’t tell anyone about her fierce anxiety attacks because she was ashamed and embarrassed and she didn’t know how to make it better on her own. She still felt no relief even after trying a few herbal treatments. She woudn’t take the medication her doctor suggested even though she felt desperate. As more time passed the attacks got worse and she couldn’t bear when the next one would occur.

Her mother finally approached her and said she wanted to talk about ‘anxiety’ after seeing her daughter seem so overwhelmed and stressed. As soon as she said the word anxiety she burst into tears, but a part of her was glad it was finally out in the open. She said she came across an anxiety program that she thought could really help - and that’s when she told her about Barry Joe McDonagh’s Panic Away Program.

That was 10 months ago….now she’s lost the 50lbs and she’s won the battle against anxiety! When she starts to feel the odd bout of anxiety she is now able to handle it calmly and it quickly dissipates when she applies the things that she learned through the Panic Away Program. And as an added bonus she has gained a whole new self-acceptance and self confidence!

Now she’s so passionate about helping other people with anxiety and providing them with support and encouragement! If she can do it anybody can – you just have to commit to loving yourself enough to see the journey through!