Living with anxiety is not easy. I can make that statement because I lived with anxiety for years. Sometimes it was anxiety over going to or visiting new places. Or meeting new people. Or doing something different "for the first time." I can't tell you how many job interviews I never showed up for. I would drive there, that wasn't the problem. But I just couldn't seem to get out of my car. I'd sit there for an hour, frozen, only to drive off.

I'll share a secret with you. I self-medicated by drinking alcohol. For years. From 16 to 30 years old, I would "loosen up" or get "comfortable" in social situations by drinking. Mostly beer, but I wasn't a stranger to doing shots. Frankly, most people thought I was the "life of the party." Only it was a party I couldn't remember half the time.

Waking up with hangovers got old. Fast. At thirty, I decided to stop drinking. But, now I had to face the problem I had been running from for all those years. Needless to say, it wasn't easy. So I "coped." I guess that's what lots of people do.

Over time I did my best to face my "fears." I would force myself to go to new places, try new things. It worked, sort of. Then circumstances led me into business. I'd go to networking events, but would be so "nervous" that it was nearly impossible to discuss business, or what I did. I barely added any new clients. Not surprising, when you come to think about it.

Then I met this guy who does NLP. I didn't really know what that was, or meant, but he talked about a "reluctant sales" seminar he was doing, and if I wanted to come by and sit in for a 4 hour seminar he'd give me a ticket. Seems a couple registrations backed out at the last minute. Well, given my level of income (or lack thereof), I decided to attend.

It was great. I overcame my "call reluctance" by using one single, simple technique. Turns out my problem was the power of my imaginative mind creating worst case scenarios. My body was reacting to an "internal representation," basically a picture, of a future event as if it was happening.

I know, it sounds simple. Well, after the seminar I thanked Mark, and he said I had a follow up session if I wanted it. So I figured why not. I followed that up by working with him 1 on 1 for a day, and we cleared up lots of stuff. I can't really describe the process to you, but it was profound. Life changing.

By the way, you can learn more neuro-linguising programming (NLP) by checking out my new blog.

Now, it might come as no surprise, but over the past year or so I've been helping Mark with marketing his business, to make it more available for folks unlucky enough not to be living in the greater New Haven, CT area. And I've been challenging him to come up with a range of "programs" to make NLP more understandable to people with problems.

One treatment for anxiety has helped a number of people already. And it works. Quickly. Is it the only program you'll ever need?

Well, I don't know. Lots of people have said so.

In my case, other stuff came up that had to be cleared. So even though I started with his "Reluctant Sales" course, I needed more help and hands on experience. In fact, I'm studying NLP right now and hope to get certified in the next month or two so I can help other people as well.

So, even if this one technique isn't all you need to clear your anxiety, it is an excellent first step toward a brighter future. And I hope sharing my "secret" with you proved helpful as well.