Be Aware of th Triple C!
If there is one thing that a person with anxiety disorders doesn’t need… it’s a promise of a quick fix. What I have dubbed the promise of the Triple C: Cookie Cutter Cure. But the problem is we're not alike. Everyone is different. We are all made with a different genetic, chemical, environmental, and personality makeup. What works for one person may not work for the next. But it doesn’t stop the hype: Try new (insert the latest craze) and be cured of panic attacks forever! Just read all these testimonies… and send $$$$$ !
Maybe the program, medication, system works for a few people. Maybe it doesn’t. Maybe the people it works for don’t have anxiety disorders to the degree that others who are seeking help do. For example, a person who has experienced a panic attack or two does not have an anxiety disorder. While I can’t say that something “out there” is total hype, what I can say with absolute confidence is that there is nothing out there right now that is a 100% cure for all people with anxiety disorders. Let me stress that again. There is NOTHING out there right now that is a 100% cure for all people with anxiety disorders this side of heaven.
There are assistive and preventive tools, encouragements, and insights. There are some medical situations that can mimic anxiety disorders that can be brought under control. There are some people who have experienced an anxiety disorder that say that are cured. That may be true but before we advertise that lets define very precisely two things: 1) exactly what is the professional diagnosis of the person being cured and to what extent is their disorder 2) lets also agree on a definition of the word cure.
If a person is nervous and takes a tranquilizer are we saying they are ‘cured’ of their anxiousness? If one person has two panic attacks in a month and follows a program that ‘cures’ them is that sufficient enough to say that someone with panic attacks several times a day can also be ‘cured’? And what is cured anyway? Cured to me means that it is completely gone. That means there are no remissions, zero tolerance for return. If you are cured from panic attacks that means you will never experience one again. Ever.
When someone truly has an anxiety disorder that interferes with his or her life there is nothing as cruel then to build up their expectations to be 100% fixed and then it not happening. It hurts the bank balance and it takes away another piece of self-esteem. It’s that much harder to try again that next time.
Before trying the latest craze or the advertisement that seems too good to be true… before paying all that money and investment of your time and hopes, do a few things first:
- Lookup the company on the Better Business Bureau website and check for complaints
- Do some consumer review research that is not related to the website that sells the product/program
- Check out the product/program with your doctor. What do they think about it?
- Does it promise things that seem too good to be true? Are they offering the "Triple C"? Beware. If there was a website that said it could cure diabetes 100% is there proof outside of that website and independent of their call list that you can see these results? Are the results as advertised? If there was something that could cure diabetes 100% don’t you think all the hospitals, doctors, etc. would be jumping on the band wagon? It would be all over the news and every place you look. Expect nothing less when talking about a cure for Agoraphobia, panic attacks, OCD, etc. These are just as real and let no one tell you differntly.
Be informed and be alert when it comes to investing your money and your hopes in a cure. Proceed with your eyes wide-open and your checkbook closed until you have thoroughly researched and scrutinized the claims. You’ll save yourself money, heartache, and wasted time. Be aware of the Triple C threat!