Anxiety

Anxiety
ReducingYour
Tuesday, November 2, 2010

ANXIETY

ANXIETY
What is it?

To Some It Can Be

The feeling you get when you
have to give a speech

The FeelingYou Get WhenYou are
in a Crowded Place
or when you’re stuck in a
crowded space

It may be every morning
when you get up

For some, the thing
that gets in the
way of their
daily
life

For some, the thing
that gets in the
way of their
daily
lifeAnxiety

According to experts,
anxiety is described as

Distress or uneasiness
caused by fear of danger or
misfortune as well as
excessive worry.

People can develop anxiety as a
result of genetics or the way that
they were raised.

Anxiety may have developed
as a result of traumatic
situations that haven’t been
dealt with.

You might feel anxiety
when facing a new or
stressful situation.

In addition, when you are
experiencing anxiety you probably
notice some of the following things
happening in your body:

Palpitations

Palpitations
Dizziness

Sweating
Palpitations
Dizziness

Trembling
Sweating
Palpitations
Dizziness

Trembling
Sweating
Palpitations
Difﬁculty
breathing
Dizziness

Trembling
Sweating
Palpitations
Difﬁculty
breathing
Hot or cold
ﬂashes
Dizziness

Trembling
Sweating
Palpitations
Difﬁculty
breathing
Hot or cold
ﬂashes
Dizziness
Chest Pains

Trembling
Sweating
Palpitations
Difﬁculty
breathing
Fuzziness
Hot or cold
ﬂashes
Dizziness
Chest Pains

This seems like a pretty
irritating and pointless
thing to happen, but

a little bit of
anxiety is
normal and can
actually be helpful
by signaling danger.

For example if you see a charging bear
the feelings that your body would
have actually signal danger
and get you moving.

However, anxiety sufferers
experience symptoms even in
situations that aren’t really
dangerous.

When anxiety takes place, your body is
getting ready to ﬁght against a
perceived threat.

If this happens often

it can make even
daily activities difficult

But the good news is if you
struggle with anxiety,

there are things that you can do
to decrease it.

Like a toolbar on a computer
screen, you have several
options to help you in this
process.

Your ﬁrst piece focuses on
changing your brain
chemistry.

The goal here is to
change your brain from a
negative one

To a positive one

Because

Negative Thoughts Are Like
Dumping Toxins IntoYour Body
negative thoughts release
toxins into your body.

Positive thoughts release positive
chemicals through the body.

Also, negative thoughts
produce more anxiety
which starts the cycle all
over again.

So start changing your
thinking from negative to
positive by controlling your
ruminating thoughts.

Ruminating is thinking the same thing
over and over again and ending up
getting nowhere.

This can quickly lead to
your thoughts becoming

Out of
Proportion
and getting you stuck and fearful,
producing more anxiety

Start replacing those
ruminating thoughts
with positive ones and begin
to break the cycle.

Another positive step is
changing your self-talk.

This is trying to look for the
positive things in your life.
Like this:

This is horrible. I
can’t speak in front of all
these people

This is horrible. I
can’t speak in front of all
these people
try changing
this to:

This is is going to be a
good experience. I can
do this.

This actually starts to change the
way your brain and body react to
situations by seeing them as non-
threatening.

The next pieces require you to be a
little more in-depth. They have
to do with talking things out
and writing them down.

Develop a clear story of your past
experiences with anxiety as well as
things that currently make you feel
anxious.

This helps your brain’s
experience side connect with
its descriptive side.

You can develop your story by
talking to a trusted friend or
professional.

The second piece to this
section is changing your
emotions about events. Try
this exercise.

1.Write down
activating event
Sue ignored me

2.Write your belief
about activating event
Sue hates me. There
is something wrong
with me

3.Write down the
emotion
I feel sad about this

4. Dispute this belief
This thought is not
helping me and this
event does not mean
there is something
wrong with me

This process helps you
change your belief about
what is threatening and helps
to limit your anxiety in the
future.

Another piece deals with
targeting your body’s
responses to anxiety

This can start with
relaxation exercises.

Relaxation exercises such as
breathing slowly and relaxing your
muscles can help calm your body’s
anxiety symptoms.

Training your body
to relax is like
developing a muscle.
It takes some time.

The more practice you get relaxing,
the better. It is also important to
take care of yourself.

Make sure you get regular
exercise and enough sleep

This can help get your body
to a relaxed state as well as
lower symptoms in the
future.

Also make sure to eat healthy
because

eating a well balanced diet
and avoiding sugar and
caffeine can also help control
your anxiety.

Tip
Try not to avoid the things
that make you anxious, but
take baby steps to face them.
You will discover they are not
as scary as they once seemed.

So what can I do now if I
need immediate relief?

Start by slowing down
your breathing.

Try breathing in to the count
of five and then exhaling to
the count of five. This should
start to give you some relief
1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5

Another idea is to try to

Focus on:

Something else

Try focusing on a simple object
like your car keys . Describe
them in detail to yourself.This
can disrupt your panic cycle since
your brain can only focus on one
thing at a time.

You might also want to talk to
your doctor or see a therapist or
get some medication.

Enjoy your life

But keep a little anxious
energy around,

In case you really do
encounter a bear!

Special Thanks to
CAFA for help with the content:
www.cafaweb.com/
and to Sandy Silverthorne for illustrations
www.sandysilverthorne.com
For More Resources on Anxiety:
http://www.amenclinics.com/
http://www.amazon.com/Mastery-Your-Anxiety-Panic-
Treatments/dp/0195311353

bear background: BEAR IN LAKE
Ron Davey | Dreamstime.com
http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photos-bear-in-lake-rimagefree1210520-resi2610401
two chairs background: LAZY AT THE BEACH
Gina Smith | Dreamstime.com http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-images-lazy-at-the-beach-rimagefree814013-resi2610401
beach:SEA BEACH BACKGROUND
Banol2007 | Dreamstime.comhttp://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photography-sea-beach-background-rimagefree5487078-resi2610401
track: RUNNING GIRL
Serghei Starus | Dreamstime.com http://www.dreamstime.com/free-stock-image-running-girl-rimagefree2231711-resi2610401
doctor: MALE DOCTOR OR NURSE 5
Ken Hurst | Dreamstime.comhttp://www.dreamstime.com/free-stock-photo-male-doctor-or-nurse-5-rimagefree983365-resi2610401
Photo Credits
Content Credits
Negative thoughts release toxins into your body: Dr.Amen
Writing down activating event and beliefs:Albert Ellis and RET Therapy

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