hey everybody!i just wanted to say that today i took a journey on a busy bus and went clothes shopping with my mum - two things which i absolutely did not believe i could get through at this point - but i was okay!i didn't freak out!yaaaaaaay!!having lunch in a restaurant was admittedly difficult and i struggled to eat much...but getting my appetite back-well at least retraining myself to eat properly is going to be my goal for the next while...

Ok so my goals for this week are the same as the week before except I want to add one more. So four goals: 1-Spend time with hubby 2-Desensitize fear of exercise 3-Get used to being in my own bed again. 4- Get used to being in intimate close quarter situations with my husband. Up to now I think last weeks exposure work went well. I managed to step up two goals on three last week and it went well this week. For goal 1- I did exposure 5/7 days. For goal 2- I did my exposure 6/7 days and for goal 3- I did my exposure work 5/7 days. And it went well. As in I started off real anxious but felt the anxiety go down. I find that when my exposure work goes well I really feel like I am regaining parts of my life and myself. It is a real motivation for me. As for the 4th goal I added I am going to start slow it is too important for me that I want to do it right. So for this week I will be focusing more in the intimacy aspect of it then anything else, but I think if we can regain the intimacy we can regain the rest as we go. And until now I felt scared out of my tree to start this exposure plan but now with all the exposure I have been doing in having more fun time with my hubby I finally feel ready to add this in. And so I will and I will see how it goes. I did decide though to stay on week 8 this week instead of moving on to week 9. I haven't really had time to explore what I learned in week 8 because I have been super busy studying for exams. As such I will just redo week 8 lol. And except for adding one more goal since I feel ready for it. I am not moving up any of my exposure plans this week. I have to deal with two huge B-day parties with crowds and with 4 final exams in the next 11 days. I think that will be enough; I don't want to "rock the boat" so to speak. Anyway, so I am happy with my exposure work this week and up to now. I am adding one goal but maintaining all other goals at a standstill until this week and part of next week is done with. Plus I am going to stay on session 8 till I finally have time to explore what is in it! Have a good week everybody! -Diva

Thanks that means a lot to me. Plus it is nice to have confirmation that I am doing this right lol! Thanks for all the encouragement, the great website and all the great tools. This program is helping me regain my life and myself. It helps me feel stronger and more in control. Plus everybody on this forum, support specialists included are great! Thanks all :) -Take care! -Diva

Diva, Sounds like you had a good week! Lots of victories! You're doing beautifully and doing a great job of slowly increasing the level of challenges every week and consistently working on your exposure. Keep up the great progress! Danielle ______________________ The PC Support Team

Ok so I am starting this week one day late but I had a tough day yesterday lol. But anyway this week (from Thursday to Wednesday) went like this. 1-For my goal of having fun with my hubby I did my exposure 5/7. He did go out with his friend twice this week so I guess since we do this part of my exposure in the evening, 5/7 is pretty good! I am finding it easier and easier to interact more normally with my hubby since I started doing the exposure work. And even if I am anxious before doing it I kind of find myself anticipating the time with him as a good thing, knowing that once I calm down we will end up having fun. For the hubby goal, for this week, I am staying on the same exposure level; I want to be really comfortable before I move on with this one. This one is too important to me I want to do it right. 2-As for my goal of sleeping in my own bed again I did my exposure 6/7 days this week. So that went well. As for the bed thing I have found it increasingly easier to stay in my bed while doing my things. I even managed to cuddle with my hubby a few minutes here and there in the mornings. For the bed thing I am moving to the next step which is lying in the bed with no distraction but music, so no diary, no reading, no coloring. In the blankets with light music and I will see from there. This one scares me a bit...But I can do it! 3-As for my fear of exercise goal I did my exposure 4/7 days but one two of those days I did my exposure twice in the day for a total of 6 exposure sessions. So I am pretty happy with that. As for the exercise thing, I find that more and more I am associating my walking time with good music (I listen to music as I walk) and with ME time, time that is just for doing myself some good. And so I have a more and more positive outlook on my exercise period even though the bodily sensations still freak me out lol. As for the fear of exercise thing, I will continue walking briskly for 30 minutes but add another 10 minutes where I will walk slowly but roam away from the house (this is important to me because I am more afraid of exercising away from home then near home lol). So I am stepping up to 40 minutes of walking. The exercise thing often scares the **** out of me but frankly I find that weeks where I do t

Since in the last two weeks I have not really been "doing my thing" I decided to just review week seven again and take it back from last Thursday. I feel the need to get a fresh start on my CBT work but without feeling like I missed out on something important and as such I will just count this week as week seven again lol. So, as such, my current goals are my goals from last week. -Diva

Thanks, the support i get on this site really is helpful to me :) -Diva

Diva, Thanks for sharing. You should be happy with your progress, you're really starting to come along! Keep it up! Danielle _________________________ The PC Support Team

Btw i am also going to go to the next step of my exposure work plan for my number one goal. Which means i will play cards with hubby for 30 minutes instead of 15. But even when it was at 15 minutes the repetition of 6/7 days really did help with the anxiety going down. -Diva

Ok so my goals for this week (week 7) are the same as the week before: So three goals: 1-Spend time with hubby 2-Desensitize fear of exercise 3-Get used to being in my own bed again. Up to now i think last weeks exposure work went well. This week I was busier then last week and so did not have time to do as much exposure work. For goal one, I am still on the same step but I am ok with that. I did my exposure 6/7 days. For goal two, I am still on the same step of my exposure plan which is fine with me. But for next week i think i will go to the next step of my exposure plan which is half an hour of brisk to fast walking depending on what conditions permit. For this week i did my exposure work only 4/7 days for this goal because there has been freezing rain and tho i am ready to go walking everyday i am not so fond of skating. ;p For goal three, I am still on the next step from last week. I actually lie in the bed and read for 15 minutes. Up to now it has been working well, and with the repetition, even if 15 minutes is short i have noticed i am less and less anxious doing it. This week I think i will try going to the next step which is basically the same but for 30 minutes. For goal three i did my exposure work 5/7 days. I am still happy with the progres i have been making. I still find it nerve racking to attempt exposure, expecially when it is a new step of the exposure plan, but i am learning to trust that my anxiety will go down and i will make it through it. And so that sums up my exposure work and goals :) -Diva