The Trustworthy
June 2000 Issue

Trust Information and Support for People with Anxiety Disorders
http://www.geocities.com/anxietyhelp
Email me at trustweb@ihug.com.au

1.Welcome
2. Newsletter Competition.
3. Poem
4. June Anxiety Article - Real Life Desensitization
5. Poem
6. New to trust
7 Poem
8. June Inspiration
9. Coming to Trust.
10. Thanks

WELCOME TO TRUST ISSUE 3.
Please accept my apologies about being a couple of days late with this month's newsletter - we've had a few dramas here lately. But all is well now. Well it's getting chilly here, heading into winter. I realize a lot of you are getting ready for the heat instead. Something strange that I personally find is that the warmer it gets the less depressed I feel but I become more anxious, and with cold weather I am more depressed but less anxious. I have no idea why- do any of you have similar reactions to weather? I know depression in the cooler months is common. Anyhow I'm already rambling and it's only the welcome J This month in Trust Newsletter I have included some wonderful poems on social anxiety by Gonzo Turtle, an article on Real life Desensitization, a competition and much more. Hope you enjoy the issue and any feedback, suggestions or input are most welcome. …………………………..<*>…………………………………………………………..
NEWSLETTER COMPETITION.
This Month I am please to announce a competition for a new name for the Trust Newsletter. It can be anything at all, as long as it somehow ties into the theme of the letter- being anxiety or the site - Trust. I will be excepting entries for 2 months and the winner will win their choice of book from the 'Books' page on Trust. I will be also be adding more books over the next week so the range will be even bigger. Send all entries to trustweb@ihug.com.au just include in your entry - 1. Your name 2. Your email address 3. The suggested name for the newsletter I will be contacting the winner via email to find out which book you would like and also where I can send it around the 30th of July. All entries are only viewed and judged by me- and the winner and the new name of the newsletter will be advertised in the Trust Newsletter (well the newly named newsletter) issue August. So all entries must be in by the 25th of July. J This competition is only open to subscribers of this newsletter and entrants can be worldwide. Get your entries in fast! …………………………..<*>…………………………………………………………..

POEM
Locked Inside Even with People all Around
Such a Fool Don't even Reach out
Touch Closed off Alone Never letting Anyone Near
Conversation Swirling around Yet I Draw further Away
Always Quiet Loner All the Way
Written by Gonzo Turtle More wonderful poetry like this can be found at http://www.gonzoturtle.com

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ARTICLE - Real Life Desensitization.
Real life desensitization is a useful tool for people with agoraphobia to start expanding their boundaries. It doesn't matter if one is housebound, or if one feels they can't drive as far as the next town. Whatever stage one is at with agoraphobia, if 'safe' boundaries are affecting quality of life, the situation can be improved with desensitization. Agoraphobia is a fear based on anxiety, or the experience of anxiety in certain situations. One begins to avoid due to how they feel in those places, whether it is general anxiousness or if panic attacks occur. As agoraphobia is a fear, it needs to be treated as such. If one had a phobia of spiders, to help them overcome the fear you wouldn't begin by putting them in a room full of them. This system would probably only reinforce their fear. You would begin by perhaps showing them a picture of a spider. Once they are comfortable with that, you might then move them onto playing with a toy spider, and so on and so forth. This progressive system is to gradually expose the phobic to the situation, only moving on once they are comfortable with the previous step. In this way the fear can be controlled in a non-threatening and gentle way that aids recovery, not a step back, Real life desensitization for agoraphobics is a similar way to overcome fears. To begin desensitization it is often helpful to write a list of situations in which you fear being in. Beginning with what would bring the least anxiety, and moving towards the situation one most fears. Write down this big list. For example, for a house bound person, the least anxiety-provoking situation might be to go to the letterbox. This might bring a little anxiety, but not so much as to cause a full-blown panic attack. Your last situation might be to go on a holiday interstate. Begin with the first situation. Desensitization is to be done in the smallest steps possible, so for starters, one may go to out to the letterbox and stay there for 5 minutes. If the situation brings about a little fear, but not a large amount, this is the right place to start. While at the letterbox, practice some relaxation techniques or even have some one home while you do it if it makes you feel more comfortable. Then move on to staying out there for 10 minutes, then 15 and so on. Only moving on, or increasing in time, when you feel quite comfortable with the first step. Your first step may even involve having someone stand with you. This is o.k. Then progressively move on to them being inside, then while you are home alone. Once being out at the letterbox feels comfortable then move onto walking to the next house, perhaps with someone first, then on your own, then increase the time spent then until you feel you are ready to move on to two houses. Naturally people are at different stages with their agoraphobia, from being house or even room bound to being anxious about driving to the next suburb, or next town.
Whichever situation, you can improve it if you cut down your tasks into small enough steps. Steps that you can begin to build your confidence with. Desensitization to begin with, is a time consuming task, however you will find that once you tackle your first few tasks, the rest will come a lot easier. This Article was taking from my Contributing Editor- Agoraphobia page at Suite101. http://www.suite101.com More of my agoraphobia articles can be found at http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/6906 …………………………..<*>…………………………………………………………..

POEM
Holding so Much In Afraid of Confrontation
Anger Rejection Hiding Myself from All Locked Inside Away from Everyone
So different Radical Off the wall Probably wouldn't Find any Difference in Speaking up
Most would Recoil or Attack Laugh at all my Outrageous Thoughts
Feelings Better to Skip to the End Accept my Place
Outcast Alone
Written by Gonzo Turtle More wonderful poetry like this can be found at http://www.gonzoturtle.com

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NEW TO TRUST.
This month I have been busy behind the scenes with Trust. I have added us to a Top 50 Self Help Website list and we are currently coming fourth. Thanks to all who have clicked on the voting icon at the bottom of the homepage. I appreciate it. I have also just been adding us to lots of search engines and doing general advertising for our site. This month I made some changes to the message board. If you have posted there over the past couple of months I apologize but in order for the upgrade I had to lose some messages. I tried my best to keep them. Please feel free to come and repost- or if you have never posted in the message board before just come by and ask a question or just say hello. You may have already noticed I have also added an anxiety poll to the site. The main reason for this is so that you can see how other people with anxiety disorders are similar or different to yourself. It also gives me a chance to see where people need the most help- then I can adjust and add pages and topics accordingly. Another feature that I'm quite excited about is Human Click. Now all users can come by and either leave me a message if I'm offline, or if I'm online click and chat with me. Feel free to use it anytime. If it says 'talk to a real person' then I'm free to chat. You can find the Human Click on all of the Trust pages in the menu on the left.

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POEM So many Seeking Longing only to Escape the Pain
Crying out in the Night Wishing to be Held Comforted Yet only Finding More Isolation
Alienation Wandering the Streets Listening to the Silent Screams
Hopelessly Trying to Find peace in Gods and other Opiates
Written by Gonzo Turtle More wonderful poetry like this can be found at http://www.gonzoturtle.com
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JUNE INSPIRATION.
"When written in Chinese the word 'crisis' is composed of two characters. One represents danger, and the other represents opportunity." --John Kennedy

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GENERAL THANKS AND INFO.
Thanks to all who have support Trust over the last month either by just coming by and visiting, signing the guest book, adding to the forum, chatting, adding yourself to the email lost or by writing me emails with suggestions and questions- don't forget you can email me anytime. A special thanks to Gonzo Turtle for sharing your poems with us. You can find more of Gonzo's poems at http://www.gonzoturtle.com As always I welcome any suggestion on the site or the newsletter and if you'd like to contribute to the newsletter in anyway- poetry, stories, panic tips, journal entries, inspirations- anything at all please just email me your submission and I'll add it to the next issue. I look forward to having you come back and visit Trust and I hope you have found this newsletter helpful. May June be the month in which you head onto the path of recovery. Love and Light, Jen.