Dear Friends,

I am delighted to have this opportunity to communicate with you on Dear Barbara. My private practice is named Serenity Services. I named it that because serenity is what I hope to help my clients obtain in their daily lives. That is my hope for you too. It is my belief that you deserve to have the peace that passes understanding. It is my belief that you can have the peace that passes understanding, no matter what you have done or what you have failed to do.

The three areas a person needs to acknowledge and honor is their emotional, physical and spiritual natures. We all have those three natures and all three need to be nurtured and balanced. Working on one, without the others cannot create wholeness.

I think it is important for you to know that I too suffered for nine and a half years with severe anxiety and panic attacks, as well as some aspects of agoraphobia. I was never completely housebound, however, there were days that I simply could not or would not go out.

I understand the fear of waiting for the next attack to occur, or the fear of having a heart attack because my heart was pounding so hard in my chest that I thought I would burst or blow up. I remember thinking weir d or negative thoughts. I remember obsessing upon those unwanted thoughts, trying so hard to put them out of m y mind. I thought I was going crazy. I felt suicidal every day during the last year of my illness. I wanted to die and I wanted to live.

After 20 years of recovery, I am very happy that I chose life. Many times I wanted to choose death because the pain was so great. I believe that I was allowed to live in order to assist fellow sufferers. My past pain is now my gift. It is my purpose to pass hope, help, and recovery to other people.

I welcome you to Dear Barbara. I invite you to send in questions relating to fear, stress, worry, anxiety and panic attacks, and agoraphobia. Any problem that may be bothering you is worth asking about. I'll be waiting to hear from you.

I wish you love,