I have been suffering with general anxiety disorder (GAD) for almost 20 years now. The worst thing that I have found is "doing nothing at all." One of the things that has really helped me has been physical exercise, namely running. If I am able to put in about 20 miles per week, that significantly reduces my anxiety. A relatively low dose of Clonazepam at bedtime has dramatically increased my ability to sleep. Although I have read many books on anxiety, and gone through the "Attacking Anxiety and Depression" series, the relatively new therapy called ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) is a very effective general approach to relieving some of my avoidance tendencies and not letting anxiety interfere with general life. Finally, deepening a spiritual walk of life through meditation and prayer has helped heal some of my past stressors. My experience with anxiety has been that there are both biochemical and environmental aspects to this problem, but it can be managed with some mindful awareness. People who have known me for years say that I am much more "laid back" than I have been in the past. It is "work," but the payoff in living a joyous, effective life has been worth the energy.

I was the sole caregiver for both my parents and have had severe anxiety and depression since they passed away. I have had so many physical symptoms including mental confusion; thinking I was having a heart attack; headaches; pain and muscle spasms in my back, neck, shoulders, chest and arms; indigestion including almost constant burping, insomnia, and more. My doctor recognized the symptoms and prescribed Xanax and Lexapro plus lots of prayer and exercise. It rarely goes completely away, and my whole life is affected by it, but I manage to do the things that have to be done daily.

I alternated back and forth with Xanax, Ativan and Klonopin for more than 20 years and was able to function. These drugs gave me a life. I now have no health insurance and am pretty much a miserable hermit. I tried the SSRI drugs, and they only made me mentally sluggish and confused.

My 10 year old son suffered from OCD, he would have serious anxiety attacks if things were not in order. There were many times were he would walk into any room and begin to line things up uncontrollably. As he spoke to someone he was moving objects into an order. OCD had clearly taken over my child's he could not play with others because the children thought he was “weird”. In his mind he believed that if an object was not lined up perfectly something terrible would happen. It came to the point that I was physically and mentally exhausted. I had no social life and more importantly my son had no opportunity to be a kid. After attending numerous support groups and meeting at least 4 therapists I was introduced to Dr. K. Andrews. She evaluated my son and suggested that we enroll in her 4 week program. During the 4 weeks Dr. K. Andrews used ERP, CBT and special coaching techniques to assist him with his recovery. She also taught me how to help him as well as myself once our session was complete. This help to bring and maintain the new balance in his life we continue to visit Dr. K. Andrews once a week in order to continue to control OUR new found freedom.

I am 66 years old. I live with depression and anxiety all the time. I have been hospitalized and I still suffer anxiety. I have been on many drugs and now I am on an SSRI for about 5 years now. The doctor upped my dosage to 150mg. I have been thinking weird thoughts, which I have been doing most of my life. I am constantly tired. My body can only handle small doses of meds at a time. I am afraid that I will have to deal with this for the rest of my life.