I had dinner with a male friend the other night and he opened up to me about the anxiety he was facing. More women seem to experience anxiety but men certainly do too. On the surface he appears as a very successful salesman but inside he suffers from a ton of anxiety. He recently became a single father of 3 girls and has a lot of pressure in his sales job, constantly striving to be more and more successful. I understand that men have a lot of pressure to bring home the bacon whether for themselves or their family but when he confided in me that he suffers panic attacks when at home by himself I really wanted to help him.
He now has the girls 50% of the time and hates that his family is broken apart. It’s difficult being a single parent but he tries his very ideal to give the girls stabilty, laughter and fun. When he doesn’t have the girls he is working hard trying to meet his quota. He told me that if numbers are down, his sense of worth takes a fall as well. He constantly measures his value by how much he sells. When sales are up he’s really happy but when sales are down he’s down too. You wouldn’t know it to look at him, he appears very confident, handsome and self assured. He attends many social functions, charity events, has several good friends and a very nice home. But he admitted those quiet nights at home can be terrifying. The thoughts that swirl around his head are “what if I lose it all?” He came from a very poor upbringing and worked hard to be where he is but with sales it’s never a sure thing. To him losing it all sends him into a say of frenzy. He feels sick to his stomach and gets so wound up that he told me on several occasions he has literally trembled with crazy thoughts going through his mind like “what if I die?”
I’ve to admit he was a little hesitant when I introduced the Panic Away program. Even though he told me he wanted to deal with it by himself, he couldn’t answer when I asked him if he’s done anything to try and conquer his anxiety . I reassured him that Barry Joe McDonaugh’s Panic Away program has helped many, many people and to just give it a try. He finally concurred because he was getting more and more anxious as time went by.
Now he’s ready to deal with it and wants to conquer his anxiety - Super!