ebayles;
1. you are not stupid
2. what characters do you have?
3. are you being surrounded all the time? Keep next to the hills to prevent this.
4. set difficulty level to novice (if it isnt already)
5. I found the swamp area hard also but not to the extent you are experiencing. It may be too soon for you. My av level was about 12. There are some tough monsters in the swamp. I found shielding spells very useful.
6. If you have at least three good melee fighters in your party initate battle first and run up to them (have your spell casters prepare their shield spells first). If your initiative is high enough you will get a couple of hits in first and your spell casters will cast before the enemy knows what hit them. This tactic worked for me most of the time and still does. (I have made it to Rapax Rift so far)
Knip