Anxiety and Depression Workbook For Dummies. Laura L. Smith

sees his primary care doctor, Tyler complains of fatigue, recent weight gain, and a noticeable loss in his sex drive. These feelings predated the pandemic but became more noticeable while he was quarantined. After ruling out physical causes, the doctor suggests that he may be depressed. He reluctantly agrees to meet with a social worker.

When Tyler fills out his Personal Problems Profile (see Worksheet 1-10), he lists the following top ten symptoms and notes whether they indicate anxiety or depression (A or D).

As you can see, Tyler suffers primarily from symptoms of depression. And most of these symptoms are physical in nature. Filling out his Personal Problems Profile helps Tyler see that he has a depression he wasn’t even consciously aware of. He reflects on his discovery (see Worksheet 1-11).

      

This is the Anxiety & Depression Workbook For Dummies. You can’t feel better without doing a little work. Don’t worry; the work isn’t that difficult. Of course, you can skip a few exercises, but the more of them you complete, the sooner you’ll start feeling better. Odd as it may seem, writing things down does a world of good. Writing helps you remember, clarifies your thinking, and increases focus and reflection.

Worksheet 1-10 Tyler’s Personal Problems Profile

1. I have no energy lately. (D)2. Every move I make takes more effort lately. (D)3. I’ve lost my sex drive. (D)4. I’ve been eating all the time lately. (D)5. I don’t feel like being with anyone. (D)6. I don’t look forward to much of anything. (D)7. I find it impossible to make decisions. (D)8. I worry about my health all the time. (A)9. I feel shaky all over. (A)10. Sometimes I can’t make myself get out of bed. (D)

Worksheet 1-11 Tyler’s Reflections

I can see that I do have signs of depression. I didn’t realize that before. And I see that depression particularly shows up in my body. It’s affecting my energy, sex drive, and appetite. It’s also making me withdraw from my girlfriend, which I can see from my loss of sex drive and lack of desire to be with her. Apparently, I also have a few symptoms of anxiety, and I think I always have. It’s time to do something about this.

Complete your own Personal Problems Profile in Worksheet 1-12. Look back at the quizzes earlier in this chapter and underline the most problematic thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and relationship issues you have. Then choose up to ten of the most significant items you’ve underlined and write them in the My Personal Problems Profile space that’s provided.

      In addition, put an A by the symptoms that are most indicative of anxiety (even-numbered items in the preceding quizzes) and a D by symptoms that are most consistent with depression (odd-numbered items).

Do your symptoms mostly involve anxiety, depression, or a mix of the two? And do they seem to mostly affect your thoughts, feelings, behaviors, or relationships? Take some time to reflect on your profile. What conclusions can you draw? Record them in Worksheet 1-13.

Worksheet 1-12 My Personal Problems Profile

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Worksheet 1-13 My Reflections

Choosing Your Challenge

      The next four parts of this workbook cover the areas of thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and relationships. One obvious way of deciding which area to begin with is to choose the one that causes you the most problems. Or you can work through them in order. Sometimes it makes sense to start with a relatively minor problem and achieve quick success. Wherever you choose to start, you should know that all these areas interact with each other. For example, if you have anxious thoughts about being judged, you’re likely to avoid (behavior) the spotlight. And you could very well experience butterflies (feelings). Furthermore, you may be overly sensitive to criticism from others (relationships).

Nevertheless, we find that many people like to start out by tackling the problem area that best fits their personal styles. In other words, some folks are doers and others are thinkers; still others are feelers, and some are relaters. Use the Personal Style Questionnaire in ,Worksheet 1-14 to pinpoint and understand your preferred style.

      Are you predominately a thinker, doer, feeler, or relater? If you checked considerably more items in one area than the others, you may want to start your work in the part of this workbook that corresponds to that style:

       Thinker: Part II, “Thinking About Thinking: Thought Therapy”

       Doer: Part III, “Actions Against Angst: Behavior Therapy”

       Feeler: Part IV, “Focus on Physical Feelings”

       Relater: Part V, “Relationship Therapy”

Worksheet 1-14 Personal Style Questionnaire

Thinkers I like facts and numbers.I tend to be a very logical person.I’m a planner.I like to think through problems.I carefully weigh costs and benefits before I act.

Doers I can’t stand sitting around and thinking.I like to act on problems.I like accomplishing things each day.I like plowing through obstacles.I act first and think later.

Feelers I’m a very sensuous person.I pay a lot of attention to how I feel.I love massages and hot baths.Music and art are very important to me.I’m very in touch with my feelings.

Relaters I’m a people person.I’d rather be with people than anything else.I care deeply about other people’s feelings.I’m very empathetic.Relationships are more important to me than accomplishments.