The Thrive Programme

The Thrive Programme is an unconventional form of therapy, but one that is highly effective and personable.

Originally created for those who suffer from Emetophobia, this programme aims to cure and reduce symptoms of anxiety as well as boost your overall style of thinking. “After completing the programme, 55 out of 62 participants rated their symptoms as having little to no impact upon their lives”. That’s a great set of odds that are encouraging enough for everyone to give it a go, whether you’re suffering or not.

Not only have they published a programme to help those with Emetophobia, they have also released a generalized thrive book, to unlock the best version of yourself, a programme to help battle vaginismus, smoking and fear of flying. The programme aims to change your bad thinking styles, ultimately impacting every aspect of your life for the positive.

Now, let’s get into the nit and grit of it all. Firstly the book can be purchased on their website or on Amazon. Once the book is purchased you are asked to fill out a questionnaire. It only takes 20 minutes or so and is actually really insightful. You will be asked questions you perhaps have never thought about, challenging your opinions on how you see the world. Once you have completed the questionnaire, a report will be emailed to you giving you an overall score on different aspects of your thinking style, such as self-esteem, locus of control and belief systems.

You can choose to do this programme alone, or opt for a coach to help guide you through with weekly zoom sessions to discuss learnings and offer advice. The coach isnt a therapist. They will question you and challenge you which is amazing. Rather than someone saying ‘well how does that make you feel’, they will challenge your thoughts and amend them in a way you didn’t necessarily see before. However, doing the programme alone is also extremely beneficial but remember this: It’s about how much effort you put in! If you don’t put in the effort, you won’t reap the awards. The programme is something you must implement into your daily lives, practicing their methods all throughout the day.

That may seem daunting, however, the programme is aimed to be straightforward and fun. It’s not overbearing, it’s simply learning about how your mind functions.

The programme is split into 14 chapters, all of which are different aspects of thinking styles. To name a few: Cognition, personality types, mind your language and thriving. There is also a tear out section for significant others to help you through the programme and offer support. I would love to get into every single chapter and summarize it all but I’m pretty sure I would be sued and I also encourage you to read it for yourself! It’s amazing what you learn and how your outlook on life changes for the better.

My experience with this programme was life changing. I began the programme in April 2023. I was at a point with my anxiety where I desperately wanted to get better and was willing to put in all my energy in doing so. I think that the most important thing about this programme is that you have to be absolutely willing to do everything and absorb everything the book is telling you. I suggest that if you don’t think you are quite there yet, to take a few weeks of being kind to yourself and preparing to be focused. Doing small tasks daily that require some sort of drive and focus can really help in the build up to committing to a mental health programme. Something like starting a painting and finishing it, going on small walks, watching a small series – the list is endless! Just anything that requires focus and produces enjoyment as long as it’s healthy and beneficial to you.

I worked alongside a female coach who is possibly one of the most amazing women I’ve ever had the pleasure of speaking to. Everything she said was so clear, concise and without the added bullshit. Every week I worked through a new chapter, reading the words, doing the exercises and recalling what was said to me in our zoom sessions. I spoke about what I had learnt with my peers. It’s kind of like revising for an exam. Before the exam, talking about what you have revised is the best way to recall information (in my opinion). It solidifies what you have learnt and gives you confidence in knowing the information is deep in your subconscious.

As each week went by I noticed my self confidence going up, I was able to build up trust within myself and my symptoms of my phobia began to dull. I was learning how my brain worked and so in time, my anxiety became less scary as I knew why it was being created. ‘These thoughts aren’t happening to you, they are being created by you. If you can make it, you can unmake it.’

This programme wasn’t a fix all pill that i could take to immediately stop my anxiety, it was a slow process that took every ounce of effort i had within me.

Now here’s where maybe I went wrong. After doing the programme for around 12 weeks I began to focus too much on what was going well in my life externally. One of the things the Thrive programme teaches you is to become more internal. To focus on the internalized positives rather than the external. That can be said about the negatives too, whereby learning to take away the focus on why external situations are making you feel crap and how you can internally change your thinking styles towards them. 

Once the external glitz and glam began to fade and I was presented with physical health problems, tough choices and shit situations I began to fall back into the blip. This was because I was only thriving on 80% capacity rather than 100%. You have to get yourself to become somewhat mentally bullet proof to deal with the external shit in life in a healthy way. Even though I am in a blip (and that’s what we’ll call it because it isn’t the end of the world) I know that I can put in that extra 20% even if it means going back to beginning and rereading and re practicing the things i learnt along the way of recovery.

All in all, don’t just take my word and try it out for yourself! It really is amazing, but remember it’s all about how much effort you’re willing to put in to get better and continue your healing journey to being anxiety free.
If you need any extra advice before starting the programme, DM me on Instagram or send an email to Mind0verMatter@gmail.com and I will answer any questions you have 🙂