This document discusses anxiety disorders and provides information and techniques for managing anxiety. It begins by stating that anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the US, affecting 40 million adults. It then discusses the symptoms of distressing physical arousal, tension/stress/dread, and mental anguish. Techniques provided for managing anxiety include eliminating triggers like caffeine, deep breathing 10-15 times per day, stopping catastrophic thinking, relaxing activities, cognitive behavioral worksheets, and learning to plan instead of worry.

1. Do your Anxieties
have anxiety?

2. Statistics
 Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness
in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults in the United
States age 18 and older, or 18% of the population.
(Source: National Institute of Mental Health)
 Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
GAD affects 6.8 million adults, or 3.1% of the U.S.
population.
Women are twice as likely to be affected as men.
 Panic Disorder
Affect 6 million or 2.7%
Women are twice as likely to be affected as men.

3. 3 main types of Anxiety
Distressing Physical
Arousal
 Physically noticeable symptoms
Tension, Stress and
Dread
 Feelings of DOOOOM
Mental Anguish
 Constantly worrying about everything

4. Symptoms
Dizzy
Tingly
Pulse racing
Heart thumping
Feeling of doom
Shortness of Breath
Dread in the pit of your stomach
Heightened tension in jaw, neck, and back

5. What are your Triggers?
Intro to Anxiety
Worksheet
Exposure Hierarchy
Worksheet
Automatic Thoughts
Worksheet
Thoughts

6. Situation: Jason and Kurt both receive a
negative evaluation at work.
Jason
 Negative Thought: “I can’t do
anything right. I bet I get fired because
of this!”
 Emotion: Depressed and nervous.
 Behavior: Jason avoids his boss
because he believes he’s in trouble.
He feels nervous the next time he’s
confronted with challenging work, and
performs poorly.
Kurt
 Rational Thought: “I guess I
didn’t work hard enough—I’ll have to
come up with a better plan
 Emotion: Disappointed but
motivated for next time.”
 Behavior: Kurt seeks out his boss
to talk about how he can improve.
He approaches his next task as a
challenge and gradually improves.

7. Situation: Gwen and Shirley both have
an argument with a close friend.
Gwen
 Negative Thought: “We always
argue! Why can’t she ever see my
side? This is so unfair.”
 Emotion: Angry and blaming.
 Behavior: Gwen stays angry at her
friend and does not reach out to repair
the relationship. Over time, Gwen’s
friendship becomes more and more
toxic.
Shirley
 Rational Thought: “That was
rough—I should apologize. We can
both be stubborn sometimes.”
 Emotion: Forgiving and regretful.
 Behavior: Shirley accepts a
portion of the responsibility and
apologizes to her friend. They
communicate and continue to
strengthen their relationship.

8. Situation: Emily is cut off by another driver
and has to quickly hit her brakes.
 Negative Thought: “What a jerk!
They don’t care about anyone but
themselves. I could’ve crashed!”
 Emotion: Angry
 Behavior: Emily drives
aggressively to provoke the driver
who cut her off. Emily is still angry
when she gets home, and yells at her
family.
 Rational Thought:
 New Emotion:
 New Behavior:

9. Situation: Travis notices his wife hasn’t
helped around the house for a week.
 Negative Thought: “Does she
even care? She knows I’ll clean up,
so she abuses my kindness!”
 Emotion: Angry and sad
 Behavior: Travis lets the dishes
pile up and doesn’t say anything to
his wife. He doesn’t ask why she
hasn’t helped, and becomes angrier
when he assumes she’s just selfish.
 Rational Thought:
 New Emotion:
 New Behavior:

10. In 2 Weeks: Jan. 31st
Distressing Physical
Arousal
Questions?
Comments?

11. Do your Anxieties
have anxiety? Week 2

12. Distressing Physical Arousal
 Eliminate CATS
 (caffeine, alcohol, tobacco,
sugar)
 Breathe
 (deep breathing 10-15x/day)
 Stop Catastrophic Thinking
 Reality check, what can really
happen
 Be in the moment
 focus on what you feel, smell,
hear.

13. Foods can reduce Anxiety!
 Chamomile; Some compounds in
chamomile (Matricaria recutita)bind to
the same brain receptors as drugs
like Valium.
 Green Tea; Research shows that L-
theanine helps curb a rising heart rate
and blood pressure
 Rooibos Tea: has a balancing effect
on stress hormones
 Turmeric: Curcuminoids, the
antioxidants in turmeric, have a
neuroprotective quality and help
enhance your mood
 Lavender Oil: known to relax nerves.
 Avocados: potassium helps naturally lower
blood pressure; and B vitamins and
monounsaturated fats that are needed for
neurotransmitter and brain health.
 Dark Chocolate: people who drank a dark
chocolate drink, equal to about 1.5 ounces of
dark chocolate per day, felt calmer

14. Deep Breathing
 Chest Breathing; The largest amount
of blood flow is in the lower lobes of the lungs,
areas that have limited air expansion in chest
breathers. Rapid, shallow, chest breathing
results in less oxygen transfer to the blood
 Abdominal breathing is also known
as diaphragmatic breathing. The diaphragm is
a large muscle located between the chest and
the abdomen.
 Place one hand on your chest and the
other on your abdomen. When you take a
deep breath in, the hand on the abdomen
should rise higher than the one on the
chest.
 After exhaling through the mouth, take a
slow deep breath in through your nose
imagining that you are sucking in all the air
in the room and hold it for a count of 7
 Slowly exhale through your mouth for a
count of 8. As all the air is released with
relaxation, gently contract your abdominal
muscles to completely evacuate the
remaining air from the lungs.
 Repeat the cycle five times daily

15. Catastrophic Thinking
Cognitive Distortions Worksheet

16. Be in the Moment
What do you
SEE
What do you
FEEL
What do you
SMELL
What do you
HEAR
Relaxation Worksheet

17. In 2 Weeks: Feb. 14th
Tension, Stress and Dread
Questions?
Comments?

18. Do your Anxieties
have anxiety? Week 3

19. Tension, Stress, and Dread
 Don’t listen when Doom calls your name
 When you can’t stop worrying and your worries get
bigger
 Stop the thoughts
 Consider if they are logical
 No more “what if’s”
a habit with a neurobiological
underpinning. an anxiety-prone brain
can create a sense of doom, which
then causes hypervigilance as the
person tries to figure out what's
wrong

20. Tension, Stress, and Dread
Find a cue word
or color to go to
when you start to
feel anxious
30 Seconds to
Pray for your
word!

21. Tension, Stress, and Dread
CBT Worksheet
 Knowing not showing anger
 Some people have a fear of
being angry which causes
anxiety
 “If I were angry, what might I
be angry about?”
Keep answers to short phrases
or single words.

22. Tension, Stress, and Dread
Do
Something
You Used to
Hav
e
Fun!

23. In 2 Weeks: Feb. 28th
Mental Anguish
Questions?
Comments?

24. Do your Anxieties
have anxiety? Week 4

25. Mental Anguish
 Does your brain constantly
work in the background?
 Are you frequently sick?
 Trouble concentrating?
 Do you feel yourself always
looking to reassure yourself?

26. Mental Anguish
Worry well, but worry
once
Learn to plan, not
worry
Identify the problem
List the options to solve
Pick one option
Write out a plan

28. Worksheets!
•Ruminating
Thoughts
•Rumination
Scale

29. Questions?
Comments?
MARGARET WEHRENBERG, PSY.D
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