Thank you for helping me to get my life back...

I just don’t know where the weeks have gone.  Not least because of my jam packed social life since overcoming my anxiety!  For which, by the way,  I am most grateful to both yourselves and to the entire team at the retreat.  I genuinely cannot tell you how much my life has changed, and I will always be so thankful to you all. I hope you don’t mind, but I thought that I would give you an update on things, since I attended the retreat in March 2016.

Anxiety and me – one year on.

Well, the first thing to say is that it is no longer ‘anxiety and me’.  It is now just ‘me’ – there is no anxiety and my life has totally changed as a result.  I attended the retreat in March 2016 in a desperate bid to learn how to become ‘better’.  Well actually, it was my Mum who was so desperate for change. 

After spending around 6 months in a constant and hyper state of anxiety, I had resigned myself to the fact that this was just how life was going to be, and that I would never be relaxed or happy ever again  I remember arriving at the retreat like it was just yesterday.  And I remember specifically thinking ‘why are all these other people here – they don’t look remotely anxious’.  My anxiety manifested itself in many, many physical symptoms and I was at the point where I barely wanted to speak or even look at anyone else.  All the other clients appeared to be chatting freely and openly and I remember thinking that it wasn’t going to do anything for me.  After all, how could it when I was so much worse than anyone else?!!! Well, how wrong could I have been!  Now I am not saying that I came away completely cured – that process took a few weeks, but straight away I contacted my boss about returning to work on a phased return and on the 4 May 2017 I will have been back in work for a year.  Yes a whole year!  And since I returned to work I haven’t experienced one panic attack or one episode of inappropriate anxiety. 

So what has changed?

Ben and I have been on holiday together with friends and their children and on a separate occasion have been away with my parents.  We have one holiday booked for this year and am currently looking at booking another.  I am meeting and seeing friends all the time and enjoying every moment of all of it.  Of course horses still play a big part and I can really feel the difference when I haven’t ridden.  It is absolutely my therapy and I just love it.  I am still working on getting Ben to buy me one – although that might take a bit longer to achieve!! But probably most significant of all we have just re-started the (long) process of IVF in a bid to have our own family. 

We had just started this when I was then signed off of work and I couldn’t bear the thought of going through it.  In fact, our struggle to have a family was very much a part of the driving force behind my anxiety. Now however, I cannot wait to start the process and am positive and excited about what it might bring.  And successful or not, I know that I will never return to being the anxious person that I once was. I know that our life will be fulfilled  And for that I am incredibly and truly, truly grateful to you all.  I would absolutely love to come back to the retreat and spend some time with clients, showing them just what can be achieved when you put into practice what you learn over those few days.  If you would be happy to have me then please just let me know when I could come. It is something that I would very much like to do.  I passionately agree with all that you teach and 100% believe in it. I hope you both, and the rest of the team are well, and I look forward to hearing from you. 

But in the meantime please pass on my thanks to all at the retreat for the amazing work you do, and for helping me to get my life back!

Kind Regards

Sarah Masters