Hi everybody!
Well, I've just come back from a trip to the seaside. It was the first time I've stayed away from home on my own for many years. It was just one night, but I had been scared and anxious for several days in advance, couldn't sleep and cried quite a bit. It went ok in the end, but I'm not sure if I want to do it again in a hurry. The good bits (walking along a cliff top at sunset, a deserted pebble beach) were really good, but there were so many bad bits, too. On the way there I felt really scared, constantly looking for signs of a panic attack. This lasted for most of the evening, it was awful, there was nothing to distract me in the strange hotel room and I didn't know what to do with myself after dark. I really really wanted to be in a safe place. The second day was fine though, as usual, as soon as I am past halfway point and know I'll be going home soon I start enjoying it!
So I don't know. On the one hand I'm proud of myself for having done it, on the other hand I really hated big parts of it and think Jeeez, is it really worth all the stress? Maybe I hadn't planned it properly, I'm still at the first part of the panic program. I had felt much better recently and just thought yeah, go for it.
Marianne