Overcoming Anxiety, Stress and Panic: A Five Areas Approach

427 Pages·2012·8.52 MB·English

by  Christopher Williams

overcoming
anxiety, stress and panic
a five areas approach
third edition
Dr Chris Williams
MBChB BSc MMedSc MD FRCPsych BABCP
Accredited CBT practitioner
Professor of Psychosocial Psychiatry and Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist,
Institute of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, UK
www.llttf.com
(free life skills support for this book)
www.fiveareas.com
(practitioner information about
other Five Areas resources)
CRC Press
Taylor & Francis Group
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Contents
Introduction vi
Part 1 Understanding why you feel as you do
Tackling your anxiety: starting out (... and how to keep going if you feel stuck) 1
Understanding worry and stress 29
Understanding panic and phobias 62
Understanding obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCD) 99
Part 2 Making changes
How to start fixing problems and finding solutions (practical problem solving) 139
How to ask for what you really need (being assertive) 162
Learning to be calmer, less annoyed and less irritated 176
How to get a good night’s sleep: overcoming anxiety and sleep problems 194
Using exercise to overcome stress 212
Things you do that worsen your anxiety (unhelpful behaviours) 225
Stress, alcohol and drugs 248
Facing fears and overcoming avoidance 263
Understanding and overcoming shyness and social phobia 288
Noticing and changing anxious thinking 322
Understanding and overcoming feelings of depersonalisation 355
Overcoming anxious overbreathing (hyperventilation) 370
Understanding and using anti-anxiety medication 387
Planning for the future 398
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Introduction
Introduction
Welcome to this third and fully updated edition of Overcoming Anxiety, Stress and
Panic: A Five Areas Approach. Problems of anxiety and depression are common
difficulties that can affect anyone at some stage in their lives. Anxiety can affect
people in many different ways – worry, stress, panic attacks and phobias – which are
the focus of this book.
This book is designed to actively help you to:
DD Learn important information about how anxiety, stress, panic or phobias can affect
your life.
DD Discover more about the ways in which you may react to physical illness, especially
when facing the challenge of long-term illness.
DD Find out how you can end up obsessing too much about things, and how to get out
of compulsive habits.
DD Work out why you are feeling as you do.
DD Learn and practise some practical skills to help change how you feel.
By following the clearly described tools in these workbooks, you can make helpful
changes to your life.
Who are the workbooks for?
You may be using the workbooks for yourself, or perhaps you are a close friend or
family member wanting to know more about anxiety and how to help. Many healthcare
practitioners also use the workbooks in this series to support those they work with.
Self-help approaches can be used by people with problems ranging from mild distress
through to more severe anxiety or depression. The key thing is that you feel able to
use the materials and want to use this approach.
Using the workbooks
The course involves reading the course workbooks and also putting into practice
the things you are learning. Picking the right time to do the course is important. For
example, if your concentration, energy or motivation levels are far lower than usual,
you may find it very hard to keep your mind on things or to make changes. If you find
that you are struggling to use the workbooks, or you feel worse as you work through
them, please discuss this with your doctor or other healthcare practitioner. The course
is not meant to replace getting the right level of support for more severe mental
health problems.
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Introduction
Which workbook should you use first?
There is no right or wrong way to use the workbooks. Many people find it helpful to first
read the workbook in Part 1: Tacklingyouranxiety:startingout(…andhowtokeepgoing
ifyoufeelstuck). After reading this, pick out the workbook that most applies to your
situation, that is, the main area you are having problems with (Understandingworry
andstress, Understandingpanicandphobias, Understandingobsessive-compulsive
symptomsor Understandinghowyourespondtophysicalhealthproblems).
These workbooks will give you a good overview of the approach and will also help you
to decide which of the Makingchanges workbooks in Part 2 of the book you should
read. You can use as many or as few workbooks in the course as you wish. You will feel
most motivated to try to make changes if you use the workbooks that tackle problems
that you want to change.
Key PoInt:
The key to creating change in your life is using the workbooks and
putting what you learn into practice.
Getting help from others
It can be hard making changes when you feel very stressed or low. Many people start
off trying to improve things with lots of motivation. But part of feeling stressed is
that you can sometimes quickly give up on change. That’s entirely normal and is very
human (think how hard your friends find it keeping New Year resolutions even when
they aren’t feeling worried about things!).
Time and time again, people using resources like this have found the benefits of
working with someone else to support and encourage them when things feel hard. We
therefore suggest that you partner up with someone to help you as you use the course.
For example, a health or social services worker, your doctor, a voluntary sector worker
or a trusted family member or friend.
vii
Introduction
The important thing is to have someone else there, helping you, discussing problems
that seem hard – and to say well done when things move forwards.
A word of encouragement
Anxiety, stress and panic affect many people at some time in their life. Fortunately,
it has now become clear that by changing certain thoughts and behaviour patterns
you can greatly improve how you feel. The content of these workbooks is based on
the cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT; a kind of talking treatment) approach. The
developers of CBT have found many effective ways of tackling the common symptoms
and problems people face when feeling low.
This course is written in a way that clearly explains what to do, so that you can test
the effect of these different suggestions in your own life. The workbooks aim to help
you to regain a sense of control over how you feel.
Theself-helpapproachcanreallywork
Research has been done on people who use books like this one based on CBT. National
treatment guidelines in England recommend the use of CBT self-help approaches like
this as a treatment for anxiety, panic and phobias. It can also be helpful for obsessive-
compulsive disorder (OCD) and helping you tackle longer-term health problems. The
course can make a big difference if you can commit to using it.
Makingacommitment
Sometimes making changes is easier said (or written) than done. All of us feel
discouraged and overwhelmed from time to time. This is even more likely when you
feel distressed, anxious, tense or low.
Therefore, try to make a commitment to use this course and to keep at it even if you
feel discouraged or stuck for some time. To do this you will need to pace yourself. Having
someone else to encourage you is also important. Also, be realistic. Bear in mind your
motivation and energy levels so that you don’t try to do more than you can at one time.
viii
Introduction
new online resources
Various online resources are available to support users of the course:
DD www.livinglifetothefull.com / www.llttf.com. Living Life to the Full is one of the
most popular websites for people with anxiety, stress, panic and other problems
such as low mood. It is run by a charity and is completely free to use. You can
choose to just dip into modules or register to get access to lots of added content
that provides valuable support:
DD A forum to ask questions, or hear how others are getting on
DD Mood-rating scales to help you check your progress
DD 12 weekly support emails to help you keep on track.
DD Different courses you can go through, which support various books in this series,
including this one.
Visit www.llttf.com to try it out at home or at an internet café; or a public library if
you don’t have a computer.
DD www.fiveareas.com. This website also has a list of other Five Areas resources,
including self-help books, free handouts and downloads (including MP3s of
relaxation techniques) and more.
DD Check what new things are happening at our Facebook page at www.llttf.com/
facebook. This gives up-to-date information, and is the place to find out about new
resources, research updates and more.
Support modules at Books and other resources: Visit us on Facebook:
www.llttf.com www.llttfshop.com www.llttf.com/facebook
Watch out for The Worry Box Follow us on twitter at
set of books @llttfnews
About QR barcodes: If you have a smartphone, you can download free apps that
allow you to use your phone to scan the above barcodes, which will automatically take
you to the correct website.
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