Austin Thomas

HI, im Austin, and I came to The Linden Method after living most of my life with health anxiety, OCD and agoraphobia, which would come and go over the years. As a child i was always nervous and a worrier, i competed in many sports at a young age and put pressure on myself. I never knew why i felt the way i did but didnt really do anything about it becasue it would come and go in different forms over the years and i just 'got on with it'. Fear of being sick, fear of dying in my sleep, seperation anxiety from my parents , fear of school and socialising and a fear of heart attacks. In 2022 it returned severely, to the point where I couldn’t drive 10 minutes down the road, go further than my local area, or even walk around my garden without having panic attacks. I was constantly afraid of having a heart attack, collapsing, or fainting, and I struggled being left alone when my parents went out. At my lowest point, I even stopped exercising because of fear of having a heart attack or passing out, something that had been a huge part of my identity since childhood. Before finding The Linden Method, I tried CBT, hypnotherapy, stress management courses, 5 weeks of mitrazpine , but nothing brought lasting change. I was so desperate to be come well again and thought I was mentally unwell or going to die young! Every waking day was a enormous struggle and drained me completly to the point where i thought this was it and this was me forever. The Linden Method completely changed my life. It gave me clarity, confidence, and a new way of understanding anxiety that finally made sense. After completing the programme online, I chose to attend the retreat to fully cement the work and move forward with certainty. Since then, I’ve returned to living a full, active life, travelling confidently (including four holidays to the USA), driving wherever I need to go, training daily, and working without fear. It no longer controls my decisions or my life. My aim as a Linden Method Coach is to support others with lived experience, honesty, and reassurance , showing that full recovery is not only possible, but sustainable.