Overcoming anxiety : reassuring ways to break free from stress and worry and lead a calmer life

130 Pages·2016·0.64 MB·English

by  Hasson

Overcoming Anxiety
Reassuring ways to break free from stress and
worry and lead a calmer life
Gill Hasson
This edition first published 2016
© 2016 Gill Hasson
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hasson, Gill, author.
Overcoming anxiety : reassuring ways to break free from stress and worry and lead a calmer life / Gill
Hasson.
pages cm
Includes index.
ISBN 978-0-85708-630-3 (pbk.)
1. Anxiety. 2. Stress management. I. Title.
BF575.A6H37 2016
152.4’6—dc23
2015028627
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978-0-857-08630-3 (pbk)
ISBN 978-0-857-08632-7 (ebk) ISBN 978-0-857-08631-0 (ebk)
Cover design: Wiley
Contents
Introduction: The Age of Anxiety
Part One: Understanding Anxiety
1 The Three Aspects of Anxiety
Physical aspect
Cognitive aspect
Behavioural aspect
Self-sustaining nature of anxiety
Nature or nurture?
In a nutshell
2 Understanding Your Own Anxiety
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
Panic attacks
Phobias
Social phobia
Agoraphobia
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
In a nutshell
3 Understanding the Way You Think
The way you think
Self-talk and cognitive distortions
Learned helplessness
Becoming more aware of your thoughts
In a nutshell
Part Two: Managing Anxiety
4 Changing the Way You Think
Challenging your self-talk
Replacing negative self-talk and cognitive distortions with positive
self-talk
Take control of your brain
Making positive self-talk a habit
Frame your thoughts in positive words and language
Changing the way you think
In a nutshell
5 Taking a Mindful Approach
Awareness, acceptance, acknowledgement, non-judgement and
letting go
Beginner’s mind, focus, engagement and patience
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
In a nutshell
6 Managing What You Do
How/why worry and anxiety affect your body
In a nutshell
7 Using Solution-Based Problem Solving
Solution-focused problem solving
In a nutshell
8 Boosting Your Confidence, Courage and Assertiveness
Start from a position of strength
Assertiveness
In a nutshell
9 Finding Help and Support from Others
Positive people
Reach out and help other people
How family and friends can help you
Finding a balance between being supportive and enabling
In a nutshell
Conclusion
Other Useful Resources
About the Author
Index
EULA
Thanks, Marianne
Introduction
The Age of Anxiety
‘A horrible dread at the pit of my stomach … a sense of the insecurity of
life.’
William James Hall
Over the last few years, I’ve learnt a lot about anxiety from people who come on
the personal development courses and workshops I run. Increasingly, it seems
that more and more people are struggling with anxiety; they describe how – in
varying degrees – anxiety has affected and disrupted their lives.
Anxiety affects all of us in one way or another. You don’t have to be diagnosed
with an anxiety disorder to feel its intrusive, debilitating effects.
I grew up with anxiety – my Mum has been anxious all her life. There was
always something she was anxious about. As soon as one anxiety was over,
another would take its place. My Dad, sister and I managed Mum and her
anxiety as best we could.
Fortunately, I haven’t inherited my mother’s persistent anxiety, but in my 20s
and 30s I suffered from panic attacks. They seemed to come from nowhere.
They also went away for no apparent reason. It wasn’t until they went away that
I even knew there was a name for them.
The Mental Health Foundation (the UK’s leading mental health research, policy
and service improvement charity) suggests that anxiety is one of the most
prevalent mental health problems in the UK and elsewhere, yet it is still under-
reported, under-diagnosed and under-treated.
A survey of 2,330 people in the UK carried out in 2014 by YouGov for the
Mental Health Foundation revealed that almost one in five people feel anxious
‘nearly all of the time’ or ‘a lot of the time’.
The Mental Health Foundation’s report ‘Living with Anxiety’ showed that
worries concerning financial issues, the welfare of children and family members,
and work issues are the main factors contributing to high levels of anxiety in
everyday life.
The report also highlighted the following findings:
Who gets anxious:
Who gets anxious:
Women are more likely to feel anxious than men.
Students, young people and people not in employment are more likely to feel
anxious all of the time or a lot of the time.
Just under half of people get more anxious these days than they used to and
believe that anxiety has stopped them from doing things in their life.
What people get anxious about:
Financial issues are a cause of anxiety for half of people, but this is less
likely to be the case for older people.
Women and older people are more likely to feel anxious about the welfare of
loved ones.
Four in every ten employed people experience anxiety about their work.
Around a fifth of people who are anxious have a fear of unemployment.
Younger people are much more likely to feel anxious about personal
relationships.
Older people are more likely to be anxious about growing old, the death of a
loved one and their own death.
The youngest people surveyed (aged 18–24) were twice as likely to be
anxious about being alone than the oldest people (aged over 55 years).
How people cope with anxiety:
Fewer than one in ten people have sought help from their doctor to deal with
anxiety, although those who feel anxious more frequently are much more
likely to do this.
The most commonly used coping strategies are talking to a friend, going for
a walk and physical exercise.
Comfort eating is used by a quarter of people to cope with feelings of
anxiety; women and young people are more likely to use this as a way of
coping.
A third of the students in the survey said they cope by ‘hiding themselves
away from the world’.
People who are unemployed are more likely to use coping strategies that are