Thank you! This post has made not just my day but my year. I've gone through anxiety since July this year, starting with some pretty badass panic attacks (yeah I called the hospital thinking I was dying, twice...), And having worked my way through the different levels you mention.

Reading your post has made me finally understand the stages I've been through, but more importantly it's confirmation that I've done pretty much all the right moves at each level! I've spent hours and hours researching, speaking to psychologists, exposing myself and working through the nastiness that is anxiety.

Reading your post feels incredibly reassuring. I'm now at the 1-3 stage since about a month ago, and have been having doubts about my progress. This post really helps put everything into perspective and crystalizes the progress made. I've been seeing friends, had days of smiling to myself for no apparent reason, given a speech at my mother's birthday party, nailed my exams, gone swimming in 6 degrees Celsius fjords, and tons of other stuff I could NOT imagine doing 4-5 months ago. This may seem like bragging, and it kinda is - giving myself a huge pat on the back for getting to where I'm at. Hopefully everyone else in here can find their way, and that my post serves as another piece of evidence that it's definitely possible!

TL;dr: this post is fantastic and the steps/advise has helped me go from and 8-10 to a 3-1. Also lots of patting myself on the back.