Today I was asked whether medications, supplements, therapy or other things were used in my process of recovery. It made me realize I have never really described how Daily Living Support Services helped me. So here is a little more on that subject.
This has all been done through desensitization and practicing situations. NO medications, NO supplements. I did have a therapist during some of this time BUT that did not play any direct role and I feel I would have come just as far without it.
The process of learning to deal with any situation starts with discussing a situation that causes anxiety. Example: shopping at a particular store. If I know specifically what it is about that situation I am having problems with, it is very important for me to let my worker know that. Examples: “I’m uncomfortable in that store because I don’t know the layout and I feel I will appear stupid hunting for what I want” or “I know I will have to ask a store employee for assistance but I don’t feel comfortable with that” or “I don’t know, I just feel like I’m going to panic for no known reason.”
Then we formulate a plan based on the situation, my level of anxiety, and my needs. Sometimes it may be a big step. Example: we plan to go into the store and I am going to buy something. Other times the first step might be smaller. Example: we are going to walk into the store, stay for 10 seconds, then leave. If I’m totally freaked out about a place we might just walk by it the first time! It is all about taking steps that push my limits without going too far and creating a full blown anxiety/panic attack.
There is always a safety valve. If we are in the process of carrying out a plan and I feel the anxiety is too much or I’m starting to panic I can give my worker a sign and she will help me get out of the situation immediately. The reason for this is to prevent a runaway situation from becoming a strike against me rather than a positive experience. I have used the safety valve on many occasions.
After executing the plan the next step is to talk about how it went with my worker. Sometimes this may be immediate. Other times we may wait a few days and then talk about the experience. Or we may do both. It all depends on the situation and how I am feeling about it. The purpose of this is to process how the experience felt and decide what to do next. What was my level of anxiety? Was there anything unexpected about it that caused anxiety to be higher than I anticipated? Am I ready to try the next step? Do I need more practice on the current step? Do we need to modify the plan or go back a step? Do I need to just set this aside for a while and come back to it later?
One more thing. It is very important to get a good match of worker and client. For this to be effective, one has to be very comfortable with the worker (and vice versa to some extent, I expect). There is no escaping the fact that a good deal of emotional intimacy is involved. Usually there is a period of getting to know each other between worker and client before any work on difficult issues can begin. I was lucky. I got someone with whom all of this came easily. The most difficult thing about this for me is knowing that when our time working together is over it will be like losing a close friend. I’m just going to have to deal with that. I would not have come this far, nor even started this journey, without this invaluable help.