Frances’s GAD Recovery Story

Hi my name is Frances and I overcame Generalised Anxiety Disorder

“EVERYTHING CHANGED AFTER MY FIRST PANIC ATTACK”

My name is Frances and my anxiety started when I fell pregnant with my daughter back in 2010. At the time I had a fantastic job, travelling the country by car, plane, train and I was even chairing our company’s meetings. My husband and me had just bought our first home and everything in my life felt great

I was always very social, out with friends and I was very active. My parents live in France and I used to spend a lot of time visiting them and having holidays. Then everything changed, after my first panic attack, it was though my life had changed over night.

It happened when I was stood up on a train, commuting to my office in Bristol. I was five months pregnant at the time and I started to feel very warm. I thought by taking off my scarf and coat it would help me but then I began to notice that my palms were very sweaty and my feet had start to tingle. The next thing I knew I had fainted.

As I began to come around, the passengers on the train found me a seat. When it was my stop, another passenger saw me off the train, walked me to my office, and saw me in safely. Now, the logical scenario would be you are pregnant and it is all just hormones. I was rushing around, forgot my breakfast and that’s probably why I fainted.

However, I started to over think and over the next few weeks I began to panic every day when I was on the train. I literally wanted to jump off every single time we stopped at a station. I was so anxious that I decided the best option would be to drive to the nearest park and ride and get the bus to my office everyday. Eventually it got the point that even that made me panic.

I began to call in sick on meeting days. I would run out of the shops leaving a trolley full of food behind. I started cancelling all my social events, I hardly saw my friends. My world was getting smaller and smaller by the minute.

I got the courage and went to the doctors and they diagnosed me with acute panic disorder. There wasn’t much they could do at the time because of my pregnancy, I wasn’t allowed any of the medication so I just had to battle on. I finally had my beautiful daughter in the March so I was able to go back to my doctors in hope for a solution. All I got was handfuls of different tablets that made me feel like a complete zombie.

I tried my very best to enjoy my time with my new baby but I was only ever happy when we were at home. This was the only time I could relax because it was the only place that I felt safe. My doctor suggested that I tried other avenues to help with my anxiety. I tried CBT, hypnoses, private therapy, the list was endless and the cost was extortionate considering I showed no improvement, if anything I was getting worse!

“I CAN HONESTLY SAY THAT IT WAS THE BEST CHOICE I HAVE EVER MADE”

Luckily for me, I heard about a family friend who’s daughter around my age had suffered and she’d gone on TLM’s Four Day Retreat and it completely changed her life. So I began my research and started to look into The Linden Method and everything they offered. I started by ordering the Home Learning Programme and I was hooked, it all made so much sense. I was beginning to show progress so my husband decided that I should go to The Retreat. At this time I could barely leave my house, how an earth would I get there and stay away from home for four days
 

“It was such a simplistic model to follow and if you comply to every aspect of it, you will recover!”

 

We all went to The Retreat together; by this time, I also had a son who was still a baby. As soon as I walked through the door at The Retreat, I was made to feel a part of the wider TLM family. Over the four days my children had an amazing time, everyone made a fuss over them. My husband got to take part in the loved ones sessions, which gave him the chance to talk about how he was feeling and coping with my anxiety

The Linden Method changed my life completely. It was such a simplistic model to follow and if you comply to every aspect of it, you will recover! I cant thank all the team at The Linden Centre enough, they gave me my life back. I can honestly say that it was the best choice I have ever made.

My children have a fun filled mother and my husband got his wife back. I see my friends all the time, I go and do all the things I did before and so much more. My life has completely changed and I can’t explain how I wish I had done it sooner.

Please do not suffer alone, reach out to The Linden Method team and they will guide you in the right direction.

They don’t want to see you suffer and neither does your family. You can do this, if I can then so can you! Good luck and take that leap of faith.

 

Hi, my name is Beth, I am director of Linden Tree Education.

You will receive unlimited, qualified support from amazing Recovery Specialists when you start the courses.

If you wish to receive guidance or support, please contact the support team through the TLM  Members Portal

If you wish to book a course, please contact beth@thelindencentre.org Beth is director of Linden Recovery and course director of the Anxiety Recovery Retreat programmes.

Beth Linden. Director.
Linden Tree Edu.