Anxiety For Dummies. Laura L. Smith

to be grateful for. Anxiety can so easily cloud vision. Did your mother ever urge you to clean your plate because of the “starving kids in China”? As much as we think that pushing kids to eat is a bad idea, her notion to consider those less fortunate has value. Take some time to ponder the positive events and people in your life.

       Kindnesses: Think about those who have extended kindness to you.

       Education: Obviously, you can read; that’s a blessing compared to the millions in the world with no chance for an education.

       Nourishment: You probably aren’t starving to death, whereas (as your mother may have noted) millions are.

       Home: Do you live in a cardboard box or do you have a roof over your head?

       Pleasure: Can you smell flowers, hear birds sing, or touch the soft fur of a pet?

      Sources of possible gratitude abound — freedom, health, companionship, and so on. Everyone has a different list. Start yours now.

      

The brain tends to focus on what’s wrong or threatening in our lives. Noticing and actively appreciating what’s right helps counteract that tendency and will make you feel better.

Getting Help from Others

      If your problems with anxiety are significantly interfering with your life, you’re probably going to want to work with a mental health professional in addition to reading this book. In the following two sections, we tell you what kind of treatment to ask for and give you a set of questions to ask a potential therapist before you begin treatment.

      Seeking the right therapies

      Mental health professionals offer a wide variety of treatments. We’ve thoroughly studied the research on what works for anxiety disorders so you don’t have to. The best treatments for anxiety have been based on scientific knowledge about what anxiety is and how it works. Studies consistently show that treatments with this scientific foundation are particularly effective. Four treatments have shown efficacy over time:

       Cognitive therapy (CT) focuses on teaching you new ways of thinking. People with anxiety often have distortions in the way they perceive events, and this approach helps you correct those distortions. For example, an anxious client may be overestimating the risks involved with flying. A cognitive approach would help her discover that the risks are small enough to warrant tackling her fear.

       Metacognitive therapy (MCT) goes beyond cognitive therapy and targets the way people think about their thinking. So, it isn’t just concerned with distortions in thinking; rather, it also focuses on how upset one gets over disturbing thoughts. For example, an anxious person may overestimate the risk of being rejected. Cognitive therapy would help that person reassess that risk. MCT would help the person realize that much of the upset is about viewing the distorted thought itself as horrible instead of just a random thought.

       Behavior therapy (BT) operates on the premise that changing the way you act or behave changes the way you feel about the things that happen in your life. Using the previous example of the woman with a fear of flying, a behavior therapist would likely help the woman go through a series of steps related to flying such as watching movies of flying, going to the airport, and eventually booking and taking a flight. Exposure therapy is a primary tool used by behavior therapists when treating anxiety related problems. (See Chapter 9 for more information.).

       Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) guides clients to become more mindful of the present moment. Thoughts and emotions must be accepted rather than avoided. The very attempt to avoid thoughts and emotions makes them worse according to ACT. ACT also encourages people to identify their core values and live life accordingly.

      

One other therapy you may hear about is called cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), which essentially represents a combination of CT and BT. We write about these specific types of therapies to inform our readers about what research has found to be successful. In general, all these approaches seem to work. Many of the techniques in each therapy are similar and overlap. That fact may explain why outcome studies have not demonstrated clear superiority for one of these approaches over the others.

      

Treatments that work share similar strategies. Therefore, we select some of the best elements from each type of therapy for dealing with common symptoms of anxiety, as seen in Part 2.

      Seeking the right therapist

In addition to knowing the right therapy, you need to know whom to look for. Start by making sure that the therapist you seek is licensed to provide mental health services, whether as a counselor, psychiatrist, psychiatric nurse, psychologist, or social worker. Sources for finding one of these licensed practitioners include local professional associations (such as state psychology associations, state counselor associations, and so forth), your primary healthcare provider, your insurance company, or trusted friends and family who can recommend someone.

      After you’ve found a professional who seems to fit the bill, be sure to ask the following questions:

       What are your charges for services, and does my insurance cover them?

       What are your hours?

       How soon can you see me?

       What is your experience in treating anxiety disorders?

       What therapy approach do you take in treating anxiety?

       Are you willing to collaborate with my doctor?

      

You should feel comfortable talking with your therapist. After a few sessions, you should feel listened to and understood and sense that your therapist has legitimate empathy and concern for your well-being. Don’t hesitate to inquire about the nature of your treatment plan — that plan should make sense to you. Most therapists take a few weeks getting to know you before they formulate an entire plan. If you’re uncomfortable for any reason, by all means seek a second opinion from another therapist. Research shows that how you feel about the relationship with your therapist makes a big difference in how well the therapy goes.

Part 2

      Battling Anxiety

IN THIS PART …

      Recognize the difference between thoughts and feelings.

      Figure out how to rethink anxious thoughts.

      Dig into assumptions that make you anxious.

      Learn to welcome anxious feelings.

      Explore the pluses and minuses of medication.