Building motivation

Thinking about the problem and beginning to work on the goals you have set. On a 0-100 scale rate:

How much impact does the problem have on my life currently? 0 not at all 50 100 affects everything

How important is it for me to reach my goals? 0 not at all 50 100 totally important

How willing and able am I to set aside enough time to get better? 0 not at all 50 100 totally willing

How much of a priority is getting better for me at the moment? 0 not at all 50 100 complete priority

Activity:

Some people find it helpful to complete the following exercise. This is useful if you are struggling with your motivation because of how you are feeling. Write two short letters to yourself. In the first letter, you are writing to yourself now as if it is five years into the future and you haven’t set aside the time to get better or improve your panic disorder symptoms. What would life be like? What would you like to say to your current self, to get you to set some time aside now for feeling better? Next, in the second short letter to yourself. It’s five years in the future and you have made the changes to break the vicious cycle and feel better by using exposure and habituation. How pleased are you? What changes has it opened up in your life? What would you be doing? Where would you be going? Visualise your life improved as a result. Turn to the next page to get going towards that now. Every step is a step in the right direction.

Alison: “I found it hard to imagine leaving the house again, to get back to doing the things I couldn’t do with this. I missed going to the beach so much. I wanted to get a dog again and be able to walk him there. That really helped to motivate me. I wanted to get my degree and be able to work in the job I always dreamed about helping others. I certainly didn’t want to bring on my symptoms, but I also didn’t want to stay the same anymore, stuck spending my in my own living room. The pros of doing it, really did outweigh any cons.”