Posted by AndyM on 28/3/2009, 12:10 am, in reply to "Hello from a new member!"

Hi, Chelsea-- I'll never forget my 20th. It's the day I went into the Army. Not an ideal place for a paruretic but fortunately that was long enough ago (the Rebels had just fired on Ft. Sumter) that it was before they started random AND OBSERVED drug testing. Somehow I muddled through. I consider Stephen Soifer's book to be not just a great first step but a necessary one. Otherwise it's kinda like getting a new band-saw and thinking you don't have to read the instructions. Three fingers later.... Want to make the most significant progress in the least amount of time? GET YE TO A WORKSHOP! I've been to 4 of them in as many years and the quality of my life has improved dramatically. Cured? There are still combinations of events that cause me to lock-up but they are greatly reduced from 4 years ago. Guess a good example of my progress is airports. They used to be about an 8.5 on the 10-scale for me. Now they're about a 4.5 tops; I don't even empty anymore before I leave the house. That's the kind of freedom you can derive from the Workshop experience. Otherwise it's like getting a new hydrogen bomb and thinking you don't need to read the instructions. VERY ill-advised! So Happy Twentieth and Have a Good Life. You deserve it. --AndyM

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