Anyone order this program?

[meercat]

For a couple years now, i've been seeing Lucinda Bassett's informercial on the "Midwest Center for Stress and Anxiety" program. Just wondering if anyone has ever ordered it? Everytime i sit and watch it, i end up crying along with the ppl on there who shared their fears, phobias and anxiety disorders. I wanna know if this actually helps ppl start living a normal life again!! It's very expensive (in my opinion), but i would consider saving the money (even if takes me a year to save it) if this really DOES work!

Anyone's thoughts?

Paula

[unsureguy]

My wife has this. Expensive. My wife is too afraid of failure to really give it 100%. She has probably spent a combined week using it since Feb. '04.


Ihave gone through a lot of the material and I really think it has the ability to help.


It is an eighteen week program and it has CDs and VHS tapes to watch and listen to. It would probably take about an hour and a half per day average to use. It comes with a relaxation CD that you are supposed to listen to 3 times or more per day. All in all it is packed with a work book, CDs, VHS tapes, etc. I was honestly surprised when it arrived.


I think that I could actually benefit from it myself because it does not just just pertain to "phobias" but anxiety in general.


I too would like to find someone who has been through the 18 weeks and given it their hardest to beat this...

[gubba]

I do have the tapes...a friend gave me the cassettes to listen to about 8 years ago. I cannot lie to you, I did think that I got some great tips for anxiety, however, I did end up with chest pains and panic since it was something that I had to concentrate on all the time. It actually becomes a part of your life just like the EMET thing. The only difference it that it did not get rid of my EMET problem and so I now how 2 all consuming issues. I was constantly trying to breath and relax and get bad thoughts out of my head, but that made me think about the bad thoughts as being BAD and that made it worse. It is expensive and I don't know if it works...it was not for me.

[unsureguy]

***UPDATE***


I just read a thread called "Has anyone heard of this woman?"


The author said that the program is useless.


?????


I don't like the sound of that.

[murphy]

I have her book called From Panic to Power and I really have found it helpful in many ways. I like to refer back to myself when I am having bad anxiety b/c it reminds me that the symptoms I have are anxiety and not a sv. I too have thought about getting her program. Maybe you should start with the book. Much cheaper.


Murphy

[crimgoddess]

I agree with Murphy-


I would also say that if the program is really expensive, I would maybe put that money towards therapy or treatment. With tapes, it's easy not to finish ortake it seriously....and at the end there is no accountability. If the program is ineffective- or the person doesn't follow it properly- there is no one to answer to.


At least if you are working with a real person- you have someone to be accountable to- and if things aren't working, the program can be modified in order to be more applicable to the person. That is my problem with self help tapes/videos- it's kind of the cookie-cutter approach- one size fits all. Unfortunately, we are all different and how people experience anxiety also varies.


*amber*

[meercat]

Thanks everyone! I appreciate your time in answering my post!

I have mixed feeling about it now. I have already tried the therapy route with a psychologist a few years back, and well, it didn't really do anything for me except take a lot of money out of my pocket!!! Money i could not afford to waste! So i'm not going that route again...that's why i thought this program may help. Since posting this question, i went to the Midwest Center's website and looked on their forum...there were some good responses, and some that made me think this is also a waste of time and money! It's sad really, for ppl like us, who want help so badly. We get our hopes up when we see something like that informercial where others are sitting there crying and telling their stories and you can relate with everything they say...then the next thing you see are these same ppl SEEMINGLY living a completely different life, smiling with new ambitions, goals, and a having a new lease on life! If that is false advertising, that is CRUEL to do something like that! It's one thing to try selling an object that doesn't work knowing all the suckers are watching it's informercial...but to sell a product to individuals who have mental and emotional issues..well that's just plain wrong!!

Maybe i will get Lucinda's book to read...if anything, i may actually get something out of it, and if not, well, it's not like i wasted the $400-$500 she's asking for the whole program hehe!

Unsureguy...wow, that a shame your wife didn't go through the entire program after paying all that money for it :-( If i had it here in front of me, why not take full advantage of it? You already paid for it, may as well do it! If it doesn't work...well chock it up to a learning experience, that you can't assume everything you see on TV really works hehe! And if it DOES work...then HEY, money well spent, and begin living your new life! [img]smileys/smilies_04.gif[/img] But to have it just sitting there, without going through it all is a sad waste of money...worse than if it didn't help after you completed it..at least you can't say you didn't TRY it, right?

Thanks again everyone!

Paula

[crystalmom]

Hey Paula....Yes, I had this program. Very expensive. My mom got it for me when I was younger, and I also got her book "From Panic to Power". Honestly, the only thing I found really useful in her program was the 'relaxation' tape. I lost all the program during a move many years ago, and I, Personally, wouldn't even bother buying a new own...that is only my personal opinion, and personal experience with it.


Crystal

[tayda]

Perhaps you could go to your library and look into the psychology journals and so forth.. or a phobia one.


There are TOOONNSSS of books on anxiety and panic attacks.. so choose wisely.. or maybe speak to a librarian. I've read a few books about what they are and how they are caused... and now I can skim books for different information.. b/c many say similar things.. but have extra content....


meditation is good.. but it was a little difficult for me to figure out at first... the trick is really not to work.. but hey.. live and learn.


Maybe a public library in your area has this and you can just check it out from a library

[meercat]

Crystal, thank you for your imput, i appreciate it! I am leary now, and i surely cannot afford spending that much money on something without a decent guarentee, so i'm killing the idea of ordering it.

Tayda, good advice! I just may do that.

Thanks again you guys! [img]smileys/smilies_01.gif[/img]

[*mandi*]

Paula...Ive been wanting to order this program...but sadly I am afraid to spend that much money on something that might not even work! They did send me a free cassette tape with some stuff on it...but nothing that would help you. Ive tried looking for it on ebay...but even on ebay its so much!


I always see the commercial for it late at night...and Im always like..."those people are just like me" but i just odnt know if it would work! So I have a lot of panic attakc/anxiety books that I find useful in helping out my anxiety. but nohting really helps the emet. But being able to control the panic attacks helps somewhat. Maybe you should pick up a few books

[meercat]

Thanks Mandi [img]smileys/smilies_01.gif[/img]

That commercial really sucks you in, doesn't it? hehe!
Yep, i think i'll also check out books about it instead. One can never learn too much, right?

Ya know!! Let's just say that program DOES work? WHY would anyone who knows how to help people...i mean TRULY HELP PEOPLE...want to charge so much for their knowledge??? It's not right! If "I" had secrets that could honestly change a person's life for the better, i would practically GIVE IT AWAY so that others (especially those with limited incomes) could benefit from it. That's called GREED!

[crystalmom]

Hi again...just b/c it didn't work for me, doesn't necessarily mean it won't work for you. Although, if it was a GREAT thing it wouldn't be on late at night still (I got mine in 1996). I went to a conference (my mom had to literally pick me up and put me in the car b/c of my agoraphobia) and it seemed like a great thing at the time. My mom was willing to pay anything to get her 19 year old daughter back into life. Unfortunetly, it didn't help all that much....only time and learning about my self and my body and how it reacts to stress seemed to help me. I hope you find something that will work for you!


Crystal

[meercat]

Crystal, sounds like you have yourself a terrific mother! That's so great how far she was willing to go to help her daughter! [img]smileys/smilies_04.gif[/img] I tip my hat to her! Mine's the same way!

Yes i know what works for one, may not work for another (and vise-versa), but i decided against it only because of how expensive it is. I can't afford that when i can't be sure it would even help in the slightest! I have to watch my $$ cuz i'm on a lay-off from work right now.
I'm collecting unemployment at the moment. Man this sucks! lol

You guys are all great though!!! Love ya!

[lilyann]

I know there are some therapists who provide services on a sliding fee scale, which is based on your income if you do not have health insurance that will pay for counseling. There are also some community health insurances out there at little to no cost.

[sage]

Bourne's book "Anxiety and Phobia Workbook" is just as good, and takes just as much time, and is only like $20, not $1500. Again, it's HELPFUL, (helped me a lot) but it isn't a CURE. No matter how you look at it, one of the contributing factors to developing this phobia was human relationships, and how they somehow failed you (not saying your parents did something on purpose, but perhaps one or the other was anxious, depressed, died, divorced, got sick, or was in some other way unavailable to you) THEREFORE the idea that you could treat this phobia OUTSIDE OF A HUMAN RELATIONSHIP (with a therapist) is crazy. YES, you can get a lot of help from books, and you can get a lot better. If you work hard, you can probably get better enough to function very well without fear. But if you want to erradicate it, you're going to need to do it in a relationship that works.


Good discussion, guys! (And don't pay more thana few dollars/poundsfor anything you're not sure about!)