As an outsider, let me congatulate you on all the you ARE accomplishing! Going to school, working on a thesis, working on yourself, managing to say "no" when it's needed. I personally am really inspired by all you take on. When you hit a challenge (and a valid one I might add) the fear has a way of highlighting all that we THINK we haven't done. You are living a full and active life and you happen to get overwhelmed and afraid like everyone else (: That's normal and good, even if it feels otherwise. In my research of Panic Disorder one of the books I read called "When Panic Attacks" said that Panic Disorder the disorder of nice people. Much more often than not people with this disorder are very kind and have trouble saying "no" when needed. It of course is only one aspect of this challengge but sounds like you can take on a lot of things and perhaps trimming down and focusing on small steps is just the ticket.
Breaking down what needs to get done is almost certainly going to help lessen the angst. Small steps at a time.
Write a list of what needs to get done and break each task into smaller steps. For example:
1) Find remaining documents needed for thesis.
Plan: a) Search for some references on the computer at the library
b) Print off list of references
C) Locate the first refernce
d) Skim it
e) Write a brief summary of it on a reference card.
The point is to break down an overwhelming task into small managable ones and have the satisfaction of crossing them off your "to do" list. A concentrated amount everyday. Maybe one hour and if your feeling good, maybe two.
In terms of being overly honest, this can be true. It really depends on the circumstance and certainly the person who you are confiding in. What you don't want to happen is that people begin to underestimate your abilities and strengths. I always think honesty is also good but not always full disclosure. Again, it depends on the environment. You can approach it by saying that because there are so many things on your plate your not feling like your able to give them all the time and effort they need. So you have to trim back in order to give each task the attention it needs in order to be done to your standard. I find doing a cost/benefit checklist helps.
Wow, I hope I haven't been overly preachy :quest:I just find that if we all share information that we have and tried, maybe one thing of the ten will work for our individual situation. O.K., I'm rambling and apologising now. Always a good sign that it's time to wrap it up. Your doing an amazing job by the way!
