Anxiety For Dummies

Charles H. Elliot, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist and Professor Emeritus at Fielding Graduate University. Laura L. Smith, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist and a Past President of the New Mexico Psychological Association.

• Introduction 1About This Book 1Foolish Assumptions 2Icons Used in This Book 2Beyond the Book 3Where to Go from Here 3Part 1: Detecting and Exposing Anxiety 5Chapter 1: Analyzing and Attacking Anxiety 7Anxiety: Everybody’s Doing It 8Tabulating the Costs of Anxiety 9What does anxiety cost you? 10The cost to society 10Recognizing the Symptoms of Anxiety 11Thinking anxiously 11Behaving anxiously 11Finding anxiety in your body 12Seeking Help for Your Anxiety 14Matching symptoms and therapies 14Finding the right help 16Chapter 2: Examining What Anxiety is All About 17Anxiety: Help or Hindrance? 18What Anxiety Looks Like 20Worrywarts 20Avoiding people 22Beyond everyday anxiety 24Panic’s companion 26Phobias: Spiders, snakes, airplanes, and other scary things 27Rare symptoms of anxiety in adults 29How Anxiety Differs from Other Emotional Disorders 30Chapter 3: Investigating the Brain and Biology 33Examining the Anxious Brain 33How the brain’s circuits connect 34Neurotransmitters 35Preparing to Fight or Flee 36Mimicking Anxiety: Drugs, Diet, and Diseases 39Exploring anxiety-mimicking drugs 39Ingesting calmness into your diet 41Investigating medical anxiety imposters 42Chapter 4: Clearing the Roadblocks to Change 45Digging Out the Roots of Anxiety 46It’s in my genes! 47It’s how I was raised! 47It’s the world’s fault! 48Finding Self-Acceptance 49Having Second Thoughts about Change 51Deciding to Get the Show on the Road 53Arguing with your arguments 53Taking baby steps 54Watching Worries Come and Go 57Following your fears 57Writing about your worries 59Getting Help from Others 60Seeking the right therapies 60Seeking the right therapist 61Part 2: Battling Anxiety 63Chapter 5: Understanding Feelings 65What Do You Feel and Why? 66Feelings are sensational! 67Feelings tell you what to do 68Feelings often arise from your thoughts 68Distinguishing Thoughts from Feelings 69Blocking the blues 69Getting in touch with your feelings 70Getting in touch with your thoughts 73Looking at the Feeling Cycle in Action 76Chapter 6: Rethinking Your Thoughts 79Tackling Your Thoughts 80Weighing the evidence 81Rethinking risk 83Deconstructing worrisome scenarios 85Cultivating Calm Thinking 91Considering a “friend’s” perspective 91Creating calm 92Watching Out for Worry Words 94Stacking sticks into bonfires of anxiety 94Encountering extremist words 95Misrepresenting with all-or-none, black-or-white words 96Running into judging words 97Turning to victim words 98Refuting and Replacing Your Worry Words 98Exorcising your extremist words 99Disputing all-or-none 100Judging the judge 100Vanquishing victim words 101Chapter 7: Busting Up Your Anxious Assumptions 103Understanding Anxious Assumptions 104Sizing Up Anxious Assumptions 105Recognizing anxious assumptions 105Assessing your anxious assumptions 106Coming Down with a Case of Anxious Assumptions 108Acquiring assumptions in childhood 109Shattering your reasonable assumptions 109Challenging Those Nasty Assumptions: Running a Cost/Benefit Analysis 110Analyzing perfection 111Tabulating approval 113Reviewing vulnerability 113Counting up control 114Debating dependency 115Challenging your anxious assumptions 116Designing Calm, Balanced Assumptions 116Tempering perfectionist tendencies 117Balancing an approval addict 118Balancing vulnerability 119Relaxing control 120Diminishing dependency 120Above All: Be Kind to Yourself! 121Chapter 8: Mindful Acceptance 123Accepting Anxiety? Hey, That’s a Switch! 124Taking a calm, dispassionate view 124Tolerating uncertainty 126Being patient with yourself 127Appreciating your imperfections 128Connecting with the Here and Now 130Making contact with the present 132Putting worries about the future to rest 133Being tolerant and flexible 134Accepting Mindfulness into Your Life 134Savoring Spirituality 135Chapter 9: Facing Fear 137All About Avoidance 137Avoiding emotions 138Breaking the avoidance cycle 140Accepting discomfort and distress 141Exposure: Coming to Grips with Your Fears 142Understanding your fears 143Constructing an exposure list 145Facing your fears (gulp) 146Conquering Different Types of Fears 148Waging war on worry 148Fighting phobias 150Pushing through panic 151Expecting the Impossible 153Chapter 10: Medications and Other Biological Options 155Making Up Your Mind About Medications 156The downside of medications 156The upside of medications 157Understanding Medication Options 158Antidepressants 159Benzodiazepines 162Miscellaneous tranquilizers 163Beta blockers 163Mood stabilizers 164Medical marijuana 165Searching for Vitamins and Supplements 165Viva vitamins! 168Sifting through the slew of supplements 168Stimulating the Brain 170Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) 170Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) 171Part 3: Letting Go of the Battle 173Chapter 11: Looking at Lifestyle 175Friends and Family — Can’t Live with ’em, Can’t Live without ’em 175Staying connected to others 176Delegating for extra time 177Just saying “no” 177Ready Exorcise! 178Don’t wait for willpower — Just do it! 180Working in your workout 181The ABCs of Getting Your Zs 182Creating a sleep haven 183Following a few relaxing routines 184Taking action when sleep just won’t come 186Designing Calm Diets 187Enjoying small, frequent portions 188Following nutritional common sense 188Chapter 12: Meditating as Part of a Healthy Lifestyle 189Meditation Basics 190What’s So Good About Meditating? 191Meditation Methods 192Breathing meditation 192Body scan meditation 193Tasting meditation 194Walking meditation 195More meditation methods 196Discovering Other Meditation Resources 197Buyer Beware: Meditation Myths 197Part 4: Zeroing in on Specific Worries 199Chapter 13: Emotional Preparedness During a Pandemic 201Pushing Through Pandemic-Related Anxiety and Stress 202Accepting emotions 203Distinguishing between useful and useless pandemicrelated anxiety 204Gathering emergency supplies 206Setting daily goals 207Staying connected 208Figuring out Fact versus Fiction 209Is this the end of the world? 211Is it safe to leave your house? 211Chapter 14: Facing a Career Crisis and Financial Woes 213Meeting Job Worries Head-On 214Shoring up your resume 214Finding flexibility in your career view 215Considering careers with stability 216Keeping the right focus 217Taking Stock of Your Resources 218Tallying up your financial balance sheet 218Knowing your personal assets and liabilities 220Committing to a New Game Plan 221Setting short-term goals 221Planning for the long haul 223Chapter 15: Keeping Steady When the World is Shaking 225Assessing Your Risks 226Looking at the likelihood of dying from a natural disaster 226Tabulating your personal risks 228Assessing risks from climate change 229Preparing a Plan for Realistic Worries 230Imagining and Dealing with the Worst 232Rethinking uncertainty and anxiety 233Rethinking your ability to cope 233Going right at your worries 235Doing Your Part to Improve the World 236Helping the environment 237Volunteering in disasters 237Chapter 16: Racism and Anxiety 239Racism: The Elephant in the Room and the Snake in the Grass 240Structural racism 241Interpersonal racism 243Internalized racism 245How Racism Leads to Anxiety 246Coping with Racism 248Finding empowerment 249Staying connected 249Accepting emotion 250Taking care of yourself 251Fighting Racism 251Becoming an ally 251Educating yourself 252Speaking up 252Teaching your children well 253Exploring the unfamiliar 253Chapter 17: Keeping Out of Danger 255Evaluating Your Actual, Personal Risks 255Avoiding Unnecessary Risks 257Actions for keeping health risks low 257Actions for keeping daily life risks low 258Dealing with Trauma-Related Anxiety 259Thinking through what happened 260Exposing yourself to the incident 261Accepting a Certain Degree of Uncertainty 261Choosing to put yourself in high-risk situations 261Experiencing danger in everyday places 262Part 5: Helping Others with Anxiety 265Chapter 18: When a Family Member or Friend Suffers from Anxiety 267When Your Loved One Suffers from Anxiety 268Talking Together about Anxiety 270Helping without owning the albatross 271Avoiding blame 271Giving reassurance: When help turns into harm 271Guiding the Way 274Coaching the right way 274Looking at a coach in action 276Teaming Up against Anxiety 278Accepting Anxiety with Love 279Chapter 19: Recognizing Anxiety in Kids 281Separating Normal from Abnormal 282Reviewing the Most Common Anxieties in Children 284Separation anxiety 284Constant worry 286Phobias 286Problems connecting with others 288Silent anxiety 289Chapter 20: Helping Kids Conquer Anxiety 291Nipping Anxiety in the Bud 292Early mastery experiences 292Fine-tuning emotions 293Inoculating against anxiety 294Resisting the desire to comfort and reassure 295Taking precautions via parenting style 296Helping Already Anxious Children 298Helping yourself first 298Modeling mellow 299Leading children through anxiety 300Exorcizing anxiety through exercise 301Getting Help from Others 303Who to get help from 303What to expect at the first session 304What happens in therapy? 304Part 6: The Part of Tens 307Chapter 21: Ten Approaches That Just Don’t Work 309Avoiding What Makes You Anxious 309Whining and Complaining 310Seeking Comfort 310Looking for a Quick Fix 310Sipping Herbal Tea 311Drowning Your Sorrows 311Trying Too Hard 311Hoping for Miracles 311Taking Medication as a Solution 312Getting Help on the Couch 312Chapter 22: Ten Ways to Deal with Relapse 313Expecting Anxiety 313Counting the Swallows 314Checking Out Why Anxiety Returned 314Seeing a Doctor 314Revisiting What Worked Before 315Doing Something Different 315Getting Support 315Considering Booster Sessions 316Doubling Down on Exposure 316Accepting Anxiety 317Chapter 23: Ten Signs That You Need Professional Help 319Having Suicidal Thoughts or Plans 319Feeling Hopeless 320Handling Anxiety and Depression 320Trying to No Avail 321Struggling at Home 321Dealing with Major Problems at Work 321Suffering from Severe Obsessions or Compulsions 321Understanding Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder 322Going through Sleepless Nights 322Getting High 322Finding Help 323Appendix: Resources For You 325Index 329