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Hello! My name is Lucinda Bassett.

The Attacking Anxiety program is a result of my personal struggles with anxiety. My initial experiences with anxiety began when I was 9 years old as scary thoughts and feelings of unreality. As I got older my problems progressed. I had bouts of irritable bowel syndrome, "nervous stomach", I developed eating disorders and I worried constantly about everything.

FOR DECADES I SUFFERED SEVERE PANIC ATTACKS. It was in my twenties that I began to experience panic attacks. I became extremely fearful and began limiting my activities in an attempt to eliminate the feelings of anxiety. I had difficulty driving, flying and even sitting in meetings. I visited doctor after doctor and spent a small fortune looking for the cause of my feelings. I literally thought I was going insane.

Late one night I was extremely depressed and I prayed to God asking him to show me one person who had survived these feelings. I promised I would serve Him the rest of my life, although I wasn't quite sure how.

The next morning I was getting ready for work and had turned the television on. I wasn't really watching but I began to tune in. There was a woman talking about anxiety and panic, she was describing the personality characteristics: analytical thinking, perfectionism, emotionally sensitive, and negative thinking. She talked about the fear of losing control and dying, of constantly being afraid of embarrassing yourself and the fear of strange body symptoms. She was talking about me. For the first time I knew what was affecting me and thus began my journey to solve my problem.

I went immediately to the library and book stores taking home every book I could find about anxiety and panic. Unfortunately it was the early 1980's and little was known about this condition at that time. Just knowing that my problem was anxiety was a great relief. The more I learned I slowly began to take control of my life.

I went to my doctor, Phillip Fisher M.D. and he was amazed at the difference in me. I was calm, confident and all of my symptoms had disappeared. I told him about my experience and all of my research and how much better I felt. He explained that he had dozens of people in his practice suffering with the same symptoms and asked if I would consider assisting him with self help groups.

This was in 1984 and the beginning of the Midwest Center for Stress and Anxiety, Inc.

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