Be calm: proven techniques to stop anxiety now

263 Pages·2019·1.832 MB·English

by  Dunne, Bernadette;Weber, Jill P

be calm.

be calm.
proven techniques to
STOP ANXIETY NOW
JILL P. WEBER, PhD
peace for all
Copyright © 2019 by Althea Press, Emeryville, California
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v
Contents
Quick-Start Guide vi
Chapter One: Is Anxiety Running Your Life? 1
Section I: Feelings 12
Chapter Two: Your Emotions 17
Chapter Three: Your Body & Physical Sensations 41
Chapter Four: Putting the Tools to Work 65
Section II: Behavior 78
Chapter Five: Avoidance & Escape 83
Chapter Six: Acceptance & Approach 109
Chapter Seven: Putting the Tools to Work 133
Section III: Thoughts 146
Chapter Eight: Thoughts vs. Reality 151
Chapter Nine: Getting Unstuck from Thoughts 179
Chapter Ten: Putting the Tools to Work 205
Section IV: Staying on Track 220
Chapter Eleven: The Road Ahead 223
Chapter Twelve: Building Your Support
Network 233
Resources 243
References 245
Index 247
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Quick-Start Guide
This book provides a variety of strategies and tech-
niques that have proven effective at reducing anxiety
and its most troubling symptoms. Any of the strat-
egies you choose to practice will help your anxiety
overall, but I’ve divided them up here based on which
type of symptom they target. This Quick-Start Guide
will navigate you straight to the set of strategies that
will help you deal with acute symptom flare- ups and
anxiety-p roducing situations.
Section I: Feelings
Turn to the strategies starting on page 20 if you’re
feeling strong emotional or physical symptoms
of anxiety.
• Anger/irritability • Mood swings
• Sadness • Racing heart
• Hopelessness/ • Shortness of breath
despair • Dizziness
• Insomnia • Stomach upset
vI
Section II: Behavior
Go to page 87 if your anxiety is making you behave
in ways that you don’t like or that are causing you
problems. Section II will be helpful when your anxiety
causes you to:
• Avoid activities you used • Feel unable to do r outine
to enjoy things like drive or go to
• Avoid certain people the store
• Frequently cancel plans • Behave uncharacteristi-
cally in anxiety-p rovoking
• Call in sick to avoid
situations, e.g., you don’t
stressful events like
approach or talk to your
presentations
friends when you’re
at a party
Section III: Thoughts
Starting on page 153, you’ll find strategies to help
diminish the inaccurate or unhelpful thinking that
preoccupies the mind when you’re caught up in anx-
iety. These thought- focused strategies will help if
you’re experiencing:
• Chronic worry • Self- defeating thoughts
• Repetitive or racing (e.g., “I suck at this, so
thoughts I might as well give up.”)
• Catastrophic (worst- • Irrational beliefs (e.g., “If
case scenario) thinking I don’t drive back home
to check the oven, my
house will burn down.”)
vI vII
Welcome
Everyone feels anxious at some point! I have worked
with anxious clients for the past 15 years in my practice
as a clinical psychologist. Some come to me believing
that their anxious feelings can improve. Others enter
therapy reluctantly, mostly convinced that nothing will
ever reduce their panic symptoms, avoidance behavior,
or worried thoughts. People who improve typically have
two things in common:
1. A part of them, no matter how small, believes
they can get better.
2. They learn, and put to work, effective
anxiety- reducing strategies.
Simply opening this book and reading this far shows
that some part of you believes your anxious symptoms
can get better. And if you’re willing to engage with this
material and give serious thought to the impact anxiety
has on your life, there’s a part of you that wants to get
better. Take heart; you already have all you need to start
managing your anxiety symptoms and living a happier,
more fulfilling life.
vIII WELCOME
How to Use This Book
Psychology is a young science, and there’s still quite a bit
we don’t know. However, we do know how to treat anxi-
ety. Most people who consistently use the psychological
tools in this book will find relief. My clients who use
these methods tell me that although they are still aware
of their worried thoughts, those thoughts no longer have
the same power over them. So instead of feeling as if the
waves in the ocean are pulling them under and they have
to fight for dear life, they realize they can float—e ven in
a stormy sea. They ride out the tempest by using their
tools and knowing that the waves will eventually subside
and the sea will be calm again.
The strategies in this book are simple to implement.
They are all evidence based, meaning research has
proven their effectiveness. They come from cognitive
behavioral therapy (CBT), acceptance and commitment
therapy (ACT, pronounced like the word act), and mind-
fulness practices.
It’s not necessary to go through the book from
start to finish in order to improve. You likely have
not experienced the whole range of possible anxiety
symptoms described here, so you may choose to skip
some sections, depending on what you’re experiencing.
Although this is not a workbook, it is full of practical
strategies and instructions for how to implement them.
In each of the nine main chapters you’ll see sections
titled “Go Deeper,” which are suggestions on how to
WELCOME IX