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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Ratgeber
- Sprache: Englisch
Practical, proven ways to get fear, worry, and panic undercontrol Think you worry too much? You're not alone?over 40 millionAmericans suffer from some form of anxiety. Help is here in thisfriendly guide, which offers sound advice on identifying anxietytriggers through taking self-tests, improving your eating habits,relaxing, and finding support for you and your loved ones. Now with 25% new and revised content, Overcoming Anxiety ForDummies, 2nd Edition explores all of the most common triggersfor anxiety, recent developments in medications, newly emergingbiologically oriented approaches for treating anxiety, and the mostup-to-date advancements in psychotherapies. * Understand why you?re anxious and pinpoint your triggers * Get trusted advice on whether you can overcome anxiety on yourown or seek professional help * Covers anxiety in teens, young adults, and veterans The practical information in Overcoming Anxiety For Dummies,2nd Edition is your first step toward getting your life backand winning the war against your worries!
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Seitenzahl: 552
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2010
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Overcoming Anxiety For Dummies®, 2nd Edition
Table of Contents
Introduction
About This Book
An Important Message to Our Readers
Conventions Used in This Book
What You’re Not to Read
Foolish Assumptions
How This Book Is Organized
Part I: Detecting and Exposing Anxiety
Part II: Battling Anxiety
Part III: Letting Go of the Battle
Part IV: Zeroing in on Specific Worries
Part V: Helping Others with Anxiety
Part VI: The Part of Tens
Icons Used in This Book
Where to Go from Here
Part I: Detecting and Exposing Anxiety
Chapter 1: Analyzing and Attacking Anxiety
Anxiety: Everybody’s Doing It
Tabulating the Costs of Anxiety
What does anxiety cost you?
Adding up the cost to society
Recognizing the Symptoms of Anxiety
Thinking anxiously
Behaving anxiously
Finding anxiety in your body
Seeking Help for Your Anxiety
Matching symptoms and therapies
Choosing where to start
Finding the right help
Chapter 2: Examining Anxiety: What’s Normal, What’s Not
Knowing When Anxiety Is a Help and When It’s a Hindrance
Presenting the Seven Types of Anxiety
Generalized anxiety disorder: The common cold of anxiety
Social phobia: Avoiding people
Panic disorder: Way beyond everyday anxiety
Agoraphobia: Panic’s companion
Specific phobias: Spiders, snakes, airplanes, and other scary things
Post-traumatic stress disorder: Feeling the aftermath
Obsessive-compulsive disorder: Over and over and over again
Seeing How Anxiety Differs from Other Disorders
Chapter 3: Sorting Through the Brain and Biology
Examining the Anxious Brain
Seeing how the brain’s circuits are connected
Communicating chemicals
Preparing to Fight or Flee
Mimicking Anxiety: Drugs, Diet, and Diseases
Exploring anxiety-mimicking drugs
Ingesting anxiety from your diet
Investigating medical anxiety imposters
Chapter 4: Clearing the Roadblocks to Change
Digging Out the Roots of Anxiety
It’s in my genes!
It’s how I was raised!
It’s the world’s fault!
Finding Self-Acceptance
Having Second Thoughts about Change
Deciding to Get the Show on the Road
Arguing with your arguments
Taking baby steps
Watching Worries Come and Go
Following your fears
Writing about your worries
Getting Help from Others
Seeking the right therapies
Seeking the right therapist
Part II: Battling Anxiety
Chapter 5: Becoming a Thought Detective
Distinguishing Thoughts from Feelings
Blocking the blues
Getting in touch with your feelings
Getting in touch with your thoughts
Tracking Your Thoughts, Triggers, and Feelings
Tackling Your Thoughts: Thought Therapy
Weighing the evidence: Thought court
Rethinking risk
Deconstructing worrisome scenarios
Cultivating Calm Thinking
Considering a “friend’s” perspective
Creating calm
Affirming affirmations?
Chapter 6: Watching Out for Worry Words
Stacking Sticks into Bonfires of Anxiety
Encountering extremist words
Misrepresenting with all-or-none, black-or-white words
Running into judging words
Turning to victim words
Tracking Your Worry Words
Refuting and Replacing Your Worry Words
Exorcising your extremist words
Disputing all-or-none
Judging the judge
Vanquishing victim words
Chapter 7: Busting Up Your Agitating Assumptions
Understanding Agitating Assumptions
Sizing Up Anxious Schemas
Recognizing schemas
Assessing your agitating assumptions
Coming Down with a Case of Anxious Schemas
Acquiring assumptions in childhood
Shattering your reasonable assumptions
Challenging Those Nasty Assumptions: Running a Cost/Benefit Analysis
Analyzing perfection
Tabulating approval
Reviewing vulnerability
Counting up control
Debating dependency
Challenging your own anxious schemas
Designing Calm, Balanced Assumptions
Tempering perfectionist tendencies
Balancing an approval addict
Balancing vulnerability
Relaxing control
Diminishing dependency
Above All: Be Kind to Yourself!
Chapter 8: Facing Fear One Step at a Time
Exposure: Coming to Grips with Your Fears
Getting ready by relaxing
Understanding your fears
Constructing a staircase of fear
Imagining the worst
Facing your fears (gulp)
Conquering All Types of Fears
Waging war on worry: GAD
Fighting specific and social phobias
Pushing through panic and agoraphobia
Taking on post-traumatic stress disorder
Overriding an obsessive-compulsive disorder
Expecting the Impossible
Chapter 9: Considering Medications and Other Physical Treatment Options
Making Up Your Mind About Medications
The downside of medications
The upside of medications
Understanding Medication Options
Antidepressants
Benzodiazepines
Miscellaneous tranquilizers
Beta blockers
Atypical antipsychotics
Mood stabilizers
A few intriguing medication options
Searching for Supplements
Viva vitamins!
Sifting through the slew of supplements
Stimulating the Brain
Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS)
Deep brain stimulation (DBS)
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)
Part III: Letting Go of the Battle
Chapter 10: Looking at Lifestyle
Friends and Family — Can’t Live with ’em, Can’t Live without ’em
Staying connected to others
Delegating for extra time
Just saying “no”
Ready . . . Exorcise!
Don’t wait for willpower — Just do it!
Working in your workout
The ABCs of Getting Your Zs
Creating a sleep haven
Following a few relaxing routines
What to do when sleep just won’t come
Designing Calm Diets
Enjoying small, frequent portions
Following nutritional common sense
Chapter 11: Relaxation: The Five-Minute Solution
Blowing Anxiety Away
Discovering your natural breathing pattern
Breathing like a baby
Using panic breathing in high-stress situations
Relaxing Your Whole Body
Knowing what to expect
Discovering the progressive muscle technique
Applying Relaxation in Tense Situations
Relaxing through Your Senses
Sounds to soothe the savage beast
Only the nose knows for sure
Massaging away stress
Chapter 12: Creating Calm in Your Imagination
Letting Your Imagination Roam
Imagining touch
Recalling sounds
Remembering tastes
Conjuring up smells
Painting pictures in your mind
Full Sensory Imaging
Relaxing at the beach
A forest fantasy
Customizing Your Own Images
Chapter 13: Mindful Acceptance
Accepting Anxiety? Hey, That’s a Switch!
Taking a calm, dispassionate view
Tolerating uncertainty
Being patient with yourself
Letting Go of Ego
Inflating and deflating the self-esteem balloon
Appreciating your imperfections
Connecting with the Here and Now
Making contact with the present
Putting worries about the future to rest
Mindfully meditating
Accepting Mindfulness into Your Life
Savoring Spirituality
Part IV: Zeroing in on Specific Worries
Chapter 14: Facing a Career Crisis and Financial Woes
Meeting Job Worries Head-On
Shoring up your resume
Finding flexibility in your career view
Considering careers with stability
Keeping the right focus
Taking Stock of Your Resources
Tallying up your financial balance sheet
Knowing your personal assets and liabilities
Committing to a New Game Plan
Setting short-term goals
Planning for the long haul
Chapter 15: Keeping Steady When the World Is Shaking
Assessing Your Risks
Looking at the likelihood of dying from a natural disaster
Tabulating your personal risks
Preparing a Plan for Realistic Worries
Imagining and Dealing with the Worst
Rethinking uncertainty and anxiety
Rethinking your ability to cope
Going right at your worries
Doing Your Part to Improve the World
Helping the environment
Volunteering in disasters
Chapter 16: Staying Healthy
Figuring Out the Connection between Worry and Health
Recalculating the Costs and Benefits of Health Worry
Tabulating Risks of the Modern World
Examining the evolving realities of diseases and treatments
Weighing local versus global health risks
Watching out for exaggerated claims
Taking an Inventory of Your Personal Health
Checking out your lifestyle
Accepting your genetic risks
Designing a Health Action Plan
Chapter 17: Keeping Out of Danger
Evaluating Your Actual, Personal Risks
Maximizing Your Preparedness
Taking charge of personal safety
Avoiding unnecessary risks
Dealing with Trauma
Thinking through what happened
Exposing yourself to the incident
Accepting a Certain Degree of Uncertainty
Choosing to put yourself in high-risk situations
Experiencing danger in everyday places
Part V: Helping Others with Anxiety
Chapter 18: When a Family Member or Friend Suffers from Anxiety
Discovering Whether Your Loved One Suffers from Anxiety
Talking Together about Anxiety
Helping without owning the albatross
Avoiding blame
When help turns into harm
Guiding the Way
Coaching the right way
Looking at a coach in action
Teaming Up against Anxiety
Accepting Anxiety with Love
Chapter 19: Recognizing Anxiety in Kids
Separating Normal from Abnormal
Inspecting the Most Common Childhood Anxiety Disorders
Leaving parents: Separation anxiety disorder
Worrying all the time: Generalized anxiety disorder
Focusing on phobias: Specific phobias
Connecting with others: Social phobia
Anxious repetition: Obsessive-compulsive disorder
Rare anxieties among children
Chapter 20: Helping Kids Conquer Anxiety
Nipping Anxiety in the Bud
Early mastery experiences
Fine-tuning emotions
Inoculating against anxiety
Taking precautions via parenting style
Helping Already Anxious Children
Helping yourself first
Modeling mellow
Leading children through anxiety
Relaxing to reduce anxiety
Exorcizing anxiety through exercise
Getting Help from Others
Who to get help from
What to expect at the first session
What happens in therapy?
Part VI: The Part of Tens
Chapter 21: Ten Ways to Stop Anxiety Quickly
Breathing Out Your Anxiety
Talking with a Friend
Exercising Aerobically
Soothing the Body
Drinking Tea
Challenging Your Anxious Thinking
Listening to Music
Finding Distractions
Having Sex
Staying with the Moment
Chapter 22: Ten Ways to Deal with Relapse
Expecting Anxiety
Counting the Swallows
Checking Out Why Anxiety Returned
Seeing a Doctor
Revisiting What Worked Before
Doing Something Different
Getting Support
Considering Booster Sessions
Looking at the Stages of Change
Accepting Anxiety
Chapter 23: Ten Signs That You Need Professional Help
Having Suicidal Thoughts or Plans
Feeling Hopeless
Handling Anxiety and Depression
Trying to No Avail
Struggling at Home
Dealing with Major Problems at Work
Suffering from Severe Obsessions or Compulsions
Understanding Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Going through Sleepless Nights
Getting High
Finding Help
Appendix: Resources for You
Overcoming Anxiety For Dummies®, 2nd Edition
by Charles H. Elliott, PhD, and Laura L. Smith, PhD
Overcoming Anxiety For Dummies®
Published byWiley Publishing, Inc.111 River St.Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax 978-646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.
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Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: The contents of this work are intended to further general scientific research, understanding, and discussion only and are not intended and should not be relied upon as recommending or promoting a specific method, diagnosis, or treatment by physicians for any particular patient. The publisher and the author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation any implied warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. In view of ongoing research, equipment modifications, changes in governmental regulations, and the constant flow of information relating to the use of medicines, equipment, and devices, the reader is urged to review and evaluate the information provided in the package insert or instructions for each medicine, equipment, or device for, among other things, any changes in the instructions or indication of usage and for added warnings and precautions. Readers should consult with a specialist where appropriate. The fact that an organization or Website is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the author or the publisher endorses the information the organization or Website may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that Internet Websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read. No warranty may be created or extended by any promotional statements for this work. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for any damages arising herefrom.
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2010924567
ISBN: 978-0-470-57441-6
Manufactured in the United States of America
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About the Authors
Charles H. Elliott, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and a Founding Fellow in the Academy of Cognitive Therapy. He is also a member of the faculty at Fielding Graduate University. He specializes in the treatment of children, adolescents, and adults with obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety, anger, depression, and personality disorders. Dr. Elliott has authored many professional articles and book chapters in the area of cognitive behavior therapies. He presents nationally and internationally on new developments in the assessment and therapy of emotional disorders.
Laura L. Smith, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and adjunct faculty member at Fielding Graduate University. She specializes in the assessment and treatment of adults and children with obsessive-compulsive disorder, as well as personality disorders, depression, anxiety, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and learning disorders. She often provides consultations to attorneys, school districts, and governmental agencies. She presents workshops on cognitive therapy and mental-health issues to national and international audiences. Dr. Smith is a widely published author of popular and professional articles and books.
Together, Drs. Elliott and Smith have written Borderline Personality Disorder For Dummies, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder For Dummies, Seasonal Affective Disorder For Dummies, Anxiety and Depression Workbook For Dummies, Depression For Dummies, Hollow Kids: Recapturing the Soul of a Generation Lost to the Self-Esteem Myth, and Why Can’t I Be the Parent I Want to Be? They are members of the Board of Directors of the New Mexico Psychological Association and affiliated training faculty at the Cognitive Behavioral Institute of Albuquerque. Their work has been featured in various periodicals, including Family Circle, Parents, Child, and Better Homes and Gardens, as well as popular publications like the New York Post, The Washington Times, the Daily Telegraph (London), and The Christian Science Monitor.
They have been speakers at numerous conferences, including those of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI), the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, the International Association for Cognitive Psychotherapy, and the National Association of School Psychologists. They have appeared on TV networks such as CNN and Canada AM, and, in radio, they’re often featured as experts on various NPR programs, as well as You: The Owner’s Manual Radio Show, Doctor Radio on Sirius Satellite Radio, the Frankie Boyer Radio Show, and The Four Seasons Radio Show. They’ve committed their professional lives to making the science of psychology relevant and accessible to the public. Drs. Smith and Elliott are available for speaking engagements, expert interviews, and workshops. You can visit their Web site at www.psychology4people.com or their blog, “Anxiety & OCD Exposed,” at http://blogs.psychcentral.com/anxiety.
Dedication
We dedicate this book to our growing, changing families — Brian, Alli, Sara, and Trevor. And of course to our grandchildren: Cade, Carter, Alaina, and Lauren. Thanks for the excitement — of course, enough is enough sometimes!
Authors' Acknowledgments
We’d like to thank our excellent editors at Wiley: Project Editor extraordinaire Vicki Adang, Acquisitions Editor Michael Lewis, and masterful Copy Editor Christy Pingleton, as well as our agents Elizabeth and Ed Knappman. We are also grateful to Dr. Scott Bea from the Cleveland Clinic for reviewing our work and making insightful suggestions.
We also wish to thank our publicity and marketing team, which includes David Hobson and Adrienne Fontaine at Wiley. Thanks also to Alan Rubin, MD, and all the other Dummies authors for a great conference and inspiration.
Thanks to Bob Elliott for all the savvy advice and Mathew Raikes at www.darn-computer.com for his expertise on computers and Web site support. Thanks to Trevor Wolfe and Kate Guerin for keeping us up on pop culture, social media, blogging, and tweeting on Twitter.
We want to thank Deborah Wearn, Pamela Hargrove, Tracie Antonuk, and Geoff Smith for their continued interest. Thanks to Matt Lewis for keeping our view great. And a special thanks to Sadie and Murphy for taking us on much-needed walks.
To Drs. Brad Richards and Jeanne Czajka from the Cognitive Behavioral Institute of Albuquerque, thanks for including us on your affiliated training faculty. To Dr. Brenda Wolfe and her husband, Ken, thanks for including us in your voyage. We’re still eager to see your next book.
Finally, we are especially grateful to our many clients we’ve seen, both those with anxiety disorders and those without. They helped us understand psychological issues in general, as well as anxiety. They also taught us about courage and persistence.
Publisher’s Acknowledgments
We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our online registration form located at http://dummies.custhelp.com. For other comments, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002.
Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:
Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Development
Project Editor: Victoria M. Adang (Previous Edition: Norm Crampton)
Acquisitions Editor: Michael Lewis (Previous Edition: Natasha Graf)
Copy Editor: Christine Pingleton (Previous Edition: Esmerelda St. Clair)
Assistant Editor: Erin Calligan Mooney
Technical Editor: Scott M. Bea, PsyD
Senior Editorial Assistant: David Lutton
EEditorial Manager: Michelle Hacker
Editorial Assistant: Jennette ElNaggar
Cover Photos: iStock
Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com)
Composition Services
Project Coordinator: Patrick Redmond
Layout and Graphics: Ashley Chamberlain, Joyce Haughey, Christine Williams
Proofreaders: Laura Albert, Evelyn C. Gibson
Indexer: Steve Rath
Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies
Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer Dummies
Kristin Ferguson-Wagstaffe, Product Development Director, Consumer Dummies
Ensley Eikenburg, Associate Publisher, Travel
Kelly Regan, Editorial Director, Travel
Publishing for Technology Dummies
Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher, Dummies Technology/General User
Composition Services
Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services
Introduction
The idea of a self-help book on anxiety in the For Dummies series germinated in the summer of 2001. At the time, we wondered how the audience would react to a book with a title like Overcoming Anxiety For Dummies. Would potential readers feel turned off or insulted by the title? Would they think such a book would be condescending and “dummied down?”
A few people did respond negatively, and a couple of e-mails made us a tad anxious. Like most folks, we find that criticism stings. But we were surprised and gratified at the overwhelmingly positive responses we got from the majority of readers who contacted us.
People all over the world e-mailed us to say that they had found this book to be one of the most comprehensive and accessible books on anxiety they had ever read. Some told us that for the first time in their lives, anxiety no longer dominated their lives. We were also thrilled to discover that many counselors, therapists, and psychologists reported using the book as a supplement to psychotherapy sessions for their anxious patients.
When our editors approached us about updating Overcoming Anxiety For Dummies, we took some time to think about what had happened in the world since we wrote the first edition. As we reflected on this issue, we realized that the world has changed a lot in the nine years since the first edition appeared on bookshelves. We have more to worry about than ever. Because of these growing, emerging sources of worry, we felt a need to include information in this book that addresses them.
For example, some airport security areas now have equipment that takes a virtual naked picture of you as you enter. We’ve suffered through what’s currently called the Great Recession, and at the time of this writing, it’s unclear where the world economy is headed. People worry about getting jobs, keeping jobs, and fragile dreams of retirement. The globalization of economies and travel have made the spread of pandemics faster and potentially more deadly than ever. Environmental worries have escalated; the viciousness of Mother Nature has frequently flashed across our computer and TV screens. The spread of nuclear weapons continues, and worries abound about war, crime, and terror. Children are frightened by stories about abuse and violence on the Internet and TV, while their worried parents increasingly restrict their lives.
So today’s world gives us plenty to worry about, as it always has. But just as we don’t want to become victims of terror, we can’t let ourselves become victims of anxiety. Anxiety clouds our thinking and weakens our resolve to live life to the fullest. We realize that some anxiety is realistic and inescapable; yet, we can keep it from dominating our lives. Even under duress, we can preserve a degree of serenity; we can hold onto our humanity, vigor, and zest for life. We can love and laugh.
Because we believe in our collective resilience, we take a humorous, and at times irreverent, approach to conquering anxiety. Our message is based on sound, scientifically proven methods. But we don’t bore you with the scientific details. Instead, we present a clear, rapid-fire set of strategies for beating back anxiety and winning the war against worry.
About This Book
We have three goals in writing this book. First, we want you to understand just what anxiety is and the different forms it can take. Second, we think that knowing what’s good about anxiety and what’s bad about it is good for you. Finally, we cover what you’re probably most interested in — discovering the latest techniques for overcoming your anxiety and helping someone else who has anxiety.
Unlike most books, you don’t have to start on page 1 and read straight through. Use the extensive table of contents to pick and choose what you want to read. Don’t worry about reading parts in any particular order. For example, if you really don’t want much information about the who, what, when, where, and why of anxiety and whether you have it, go ahead and skip Part I. However, we encourage you to at least skim Part I, because it contains fascinating facts and information as well as ideas for getting started.
An Important Message to Our Readers
Since the first edition of Overcoming Anxiety For Dummies, we’ve made a point of commenting on our use of humor in these books. Although topics like anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and borderline personality disorder are serious, painful subjects, we believe that laughter, like a little sugar, helps the medicine go down and the message come through. We hope you agree.
This book is meant to be a guide to overcoming a mental state or disorder called anxiety. It should be used to give support and information to our readers. Everyone alive suffers from anxiety from time to time. However, if your anxiety greatly interferes with your day-to-day life, restricts your activities, and robs you of pleasure, we urge you to seek professional mental healthcare.
Conventions Used in This Book
We use a lot of case examples to illustrate our points throughout this book. Please realize that these examples represent composites of people with various types of anxiety disorders. None of the examples is about real people we’ve seen or known. Any resemblance to a particular person is entirely coincidental. We bold the names of people in our examples to indicate that a case example is starting.
Psychologists use lots of jargon and acronyms. We try our best to keep these to a minimum, but sometimes we can’t avoid them. When we do use a new term, we italicize and define it.
We also use boldface text to indicate keywords in a bulleted list or to highlight action parts of numbered steps. Finally, when we direct you to a Web site for additional information, it’s printed in monofont.
What You’re Not to Read
Not only do you not have to read each and every chapter in order (or at all, for that matter), you don’t have to read each and every icon or sidebar (the text in the gray boxes). We try to give you plenty of current information and facts about anxiety. Some may not interest you — so don’t get too anxious about skipping around.
Foolish Assumptions
Who might pick up this book? We assume, probably foolishly, that you or someone you love suffers from some type of problem with anxiety or worry. But it’s also possible that you simply find the topic of anxiety interesting. We imagine that you may be curious about a variety of helpful strategies to choose from that can fit your lifestyle and personality. Finally, you may be a mental-health professional who’s interested in finding a friendly resource for your clients who suffer from anxiety or worry.
How This Book Is Organized
Overcoming Anxiety For Dummies is organized into 6 parts and 23 chapters. Right now, we tell you a little about each part.
Part I: Detecting and Exposing Anxiety
In the first two chapters, you find out a great deal about anxiety — from who gets it to why people become anxious. We explain the different kinds of anxiety disorders — they’re not all the same — and we tell you who is most susceptible and why.
In Chapter 3, we review the biological aspects of anxiety disorders — from the toll they take on the body to the underlying biochemical processes involved.
Chapter 4 helps you clear the roadblocks to change. You discover the most common reasons that people resist working on their anxiety and what to do if you find yourself stuck.
Part II: Battling Anxiety
In Part II, we give you an array of proven, specific strategies for battling and overcoming anxiety. We show you strategies for transforming anxious thoughts into calm thoughts. And you discover how the words that you use can increase anxiety and how simply changing your vocabulary decreases anxiety.
One of the best ways to tackle anxiety is by taking action. No wimps here. We show you how to stare your fears in the face and conquer them. In addition, we take a look at how medication can sometimes alleviate anxiety disorders. We also review the most recent biological alternatives for reducing anxiety.
Part III: Letting Go of the Battle
These chapters take a look at ways of dealing with anxiety indirectly. Changes in lifestyle such as staying connected with others, exercising, getting enough sleep, and maintaining a proper diet all help. Learning to relax through breathing exercises, muscle exercises, or conjuring up calm images can relieve anxiety passively.
Chapter 13 takes a mindful approach to managing anxiety. Mindfulness has emerged as a highly popular as well as empirically supported approach to improving emotional well-being.
Part IV: Zeroing in on Specific Worries
Part IV is a brand new part in this edition of Overcoming Anxiety For Dummies. The chapters in this part focus on anxieties about finances, terrorism, natural disasters, and health. You can’t live a meaningful life without having some concern about issues such as these. This part gives you ways of preparing for unexpected calamities and ideas about how to accept uncertainty in an uncertain world.
Part V: Helping Others with Anxiety
What do you do when someone you love worries too much? First, we look at how you can help a significant adult in your life with anxiety. As a coach or simply a cheerleader, you can help your friend or family member conquer anxiety. In this new, expanded portion of the book, we also give you the tools to understand the differences between normal fear and anxiety in children. We also provide some simple guidelines to help out anxious kids. In addition, we talk about who to go to for help with your child and what to expect.
Part VI: The Part of Tens
If you’re looking for a quick fix or a simple review, take a look at these helpful lists. You can read about ten ways to stop anxiety in its tracks, ten ways to handle relapse, and ten signs that professional help is in order.
Finally, the appendix lists books and Web sites for obtaining more information about the topics we cover in this book.
Icons Used in This Book
For Dummies books use little pictures, called icons, in the margins to get your attention. Here’s what they mean:
The Anxiety Ax icon represents a particular action you can take to help get rid of anxiety.
The Remember icon appears when we want your attention. Please read the text associated with it for critical information.
The Tip icon alerts you to important insights or clarifications.
Warning icons appear when you need to be careful or seek professional help.
Where to Go from Here
Overcoming Anxiety For Dummies offers you the best, most up-to-date advice based on scientific research on anxiety disorders. If you want help controlling your negative thoughts, turn to Chapters 5, 6, and 7. You say you just want to relax? Try the techniques in Chapter 11. Or if you’re worried about your job and finances, in Chapter 14 we provide tips for finding your next job and pinching pennies. If you practice the techniques and strategies provided throughout, you’re likely to feel calmer. For many people, this book should be a complete guide to fighting frenzy and fear.
However, some stubborn forms of anxiety need more care and attention. If your anxiety and worry significantly get in the way of work or play, get help. Start with your family doctor to rule out physical causes. Then consult with a mental-health professional. Anxiety can be conquered; don’t give up.
Part I
Detecting and Exposing Anxiety
In this part . . .
We explore the ins and outs of anxiety, discussing the anxiety epidemic that’s going around and showing how anxiety affects the entire body. In this part, you can find all the major categories of anxiety disorders, along with an overview of what you can do to reduce anxiety. You discover how you can easily get stuck tackling your anxiety, and we tell you how to keep that from happening.
Chapter 1
Analyzing and Attacking Anxiety
In This Chapter
Growing by leaps and bounds: Anxiety’s proliferation
Paying the tab for anxiety
Understanding anxiety symptoms
Getting the help you need
Stroll down the street and about one in four of the people you walk by either has an anxiety disorder or will at some point in their lives experience one. And almost half of the people you encounter will struggle with anxiety to one degree or another, although they may not have a full-blown anxiety disorder. The rate of anxiety disorders has climbed for many decades, and no end is in sight.
The world watches in fear as disasters, terrorism, financial collapse, pandemics, crime, and war threaten the security of home and family. Anxiety creates havoc in the home, destroys relationships, causes employees to lose time from work, and prevents people from living full, productive lives.
In this chapter, you find out how to recognize the symptoms of anxiety. We clarify the costs of anxiety — both personal and societal. We provide a brief overview of the treatments presented in greater detail in later chapters. You also get a glimpse of how to help if someone you care about or your child has anxiety. If you worry too much or care for someone who has serious problems with anxiety, this book is here to help!
Anxiety: Everybody’s Doing It
Anxiety involves feelings of uneasiness, worry, apprehension, and/or fear, and it’s the most common of all the so-called mental disorders. In other words, you definitely aren’t alone if you have unwanted anxiety. And the numbers have grown over the years. At no time in history has anxiety tormented more people than it does today. Why?
Life has never been as complicated as it is today. The workweek has grown longer rather than shorter. Broken and blended families create increased stresses to manage. Computer screens and television news bring the latest horrors into your living room in real time. Newspapers, blogs, tweets, and magazines chronicle crime, war, and corruption. Terrorism has crossed the globe and escalated to new heights. The media’s portrayal of these modern plagues includes full-color images with unprecedented, graphic detail. Let’s face it, fear sells.
Unfortunately, as stressful and anxiety-arousing as the world is today, only a minority of those suffering from anxiety seek treatment. That’s a problem, because anxiety causes not only emotional pain and distress but also physical strain and even death, given that anxiety extracts a serious toll on the body and sometimes even contributes to suicide. Furthermore, anxiety costs society as a whole, to the tune of billions of dollars.
When people talk about what anxiety feels like, you may hear any or all of the following descriptions:
When my panic attacks begin, I feel tightness in my chest. It’s as though I’m drowning or suffocating, and I begin to sweat; the fear is overwhelming. I feel like I’m going to die, and I have to sit down because I may faint.
I’ve always been painfully shy. I want friends, but I’m too embarrassed to call anyone. I guess I feel like anyone I call will think I’m not worth talking to.
I wake with worry every day, even on the weekends. Ever since I lost my job, I worry all the time. Sometimes, when it’s really bad, I think about going to sleep and never waking up.
Ever since my accident, I have nightmares and constant images racing through my mind about glass breaking, tires screeching, and passengers screaming. I’m so jumpy and irritable that I can barely get through the day.
I’m so afraid of flying that I can’t travel, even though I’d like to.
I worry about germs and contamination so much that I wash my hands about 30 times a day — my hands are raw and bleeding. I just can’t stop.
As you can see, anxiety results in all sorts of thoughts, behaviors, and feelings. When your anxiety begins to interfere with day-to-day life, you need to find ways to put your fears and worries at ease.
Tabulating the Costs of Anxiety
Anxiety costs. It costs the sufferer in emotional, physical, and financial terms. But it doesn’t stop there. Anxiety also incurs a financial burden for everyone. Stress, worry, and anxiety disrupt relationships, work, and family.
The heartbreak of anxiety
Two studies have found a critical relationship between anxiety and heart disease. One investigation at Duke University divided cardiac patients into three groups: an exercise group, a stress management group, and a care-as-usual group. After five years, the stress management group had fewer additional heart-related problems than the other two groups. Although this was a small study, one researcher concluded that managing stress and anxiety is one of the most powerful tools in fighting heart disease. The other study, published in the January 2002 issue of the journal Stroke, found that men who suffer from anxiety and depression are much more likely to die from strokes than those without these psychological problems.
What does anxiety cost you?
Obviously, if you have a problem with anxiety, you experience the cost of distressed, anxious feelings. Anxiety feels lousy. You don’t need to read a book to know that. But did you know that untreated anxiety runs up a tab in other ways as well? These costs include
A physical toll: Higher blood pressure, tension headaches, and gastrointestinal symptoms can affect your body. In fact, recent research found that certain types of chronic anxiety disorders change the makeup of your brain’s structures.
A toll on your kids: Parents with anxiety more often have anxious children. This is due in part to genetics, but it’s also because kids learn from observation. Anxious kids may be so stressed that they can’t pay attention in school.
Fat!: Anxiety and stress increase the stress hormone known as cortisol. Cortisol causes fat storage in the abdominal area, thus increasing the risk of heart disease and stroke. Stress also leads to increased eating.
More trips to the doctor: That’s because those with anxiety frequently experience worrisome physical symptoms. In addition, anxious people often worry a great deal about their health.
Relationship problems: People with anxiety frequently feel irritable. Sometimes, they withdraw emotionally or do the opposite and dependently cling to their partners.
Downtime: Those with anxiety disorders miss work more often than other people, usually as an effort to temporarily quell their distress.
Adding up the cost to society
Anxiety costs many billions of dollars worldwide. A U.S. government report says that anxiety costs more than depression, schizophrenia, or any other emotional problem. The annual tab is estimated at more than $65 billion. The United Kingdom spent 32 billion pounds (approximately $53 billion) on mental healthcare in 2002, a huge portion of which was spent on anxiety-related problems. Even countries that spend little on mental healthcare incur substantial costs from anxiety disorders. These costs include
Decreased productivity
Healthcare costs
Medications
Decreased productivity is sometimes due to health problems made worse by anxiety. But the financial loss from downtime and healthcare costs doesn’t include the dollars lost to substance abuse, which many of those with anxiety disorders turn to in order to deal with their anxiety. Thus, directly and indirectly, anxiety extracts a colossal toll on both the person who experiences it and society at large.
Recognizing the Symptoms of Anxiety
You may not know if you suffer from anxiety or an anxiety disorder. That’s because anxiety involves a wide range of symptoms. Each person experiences a slightly different constellation of these symptoms. And your specific constellation determines what kind of anxiety disorder you may have. We discuss the various types of anxiety disorders in detail in Chapter 2.
For now, you should know that some signs of anxiety appear in the form of thoughts or beliefs. Other indications of anxiety manifest themselves in bodily sensations.Still other symptoms show up in various kinds of anxious behaviors. Some people experience anxiety signs in all three ways, while others only perceive their anxiety in one or two areas.
Thinking anxiously
Folks with anxiety generally think in ways that differ from the ways that other people think. You’re probably thinking anxiously if you experience
Approval addiction: If you’re an approval addict, you worry a great deal about what other people think about you.
Name that phobia!
Phobias are one of the most common types of anxiety disorder, and we discuss them in detail in Chapter 2. A phobia is an excessive, disproportionate fear of a relatively harmless situation or thing. Sometimes, the phobia poses some risk, but the person’s reaction clearly exceeds the danger. Do you know the technical names for phobias? Draw arrows from the common name of each phobia to the corresponding technical name. See how many you get right. The answers are printed upside down at the bottom.
Be careful if you have triskaidekaphobia (fear of the number 13), because we’re giving you 13 phobias to match!
Technical Name Means a Fear of This
1. Ophidiophobia A. Growing old
2. Zoophobia B. Sleep
3. Gerascophobia C. The mind
4. Acrophobia D. Imperfection
5. Lachanophobia E. Snakes
6. Hypnophobia F. Fear
7. Atelophobia G. New things
8. Phobophobia H. Animals
9. Sesquipedalophobia I. Small things
10. Neophobia J. Mirrors
11. Psychophobia K. Heights
12. Tapinophobia L. Long words
13. Eisoptrophobia M. Vegetables
Answers: 1. E, 2. H, 3. A, 4. K, 5. M, 6. B, 7. D, 8. F, 9. L, 10. G, 11. C, 12. I, 13. J
Living in the future and predicting the worst: When you do this, you think about everything that lies ahead and assume the worst possible outcome.
Magnification: People who magnify the importance of negative events usually feel more anxious than other people do.
Perfectionism: If you’re a perfectionist, you assume that any mistake means total failure.
Poor concentration: Anxious people routinely report that they struggle with focusing their thoughts. Short-term memory sometimes suffers as well.
Racing thoughts: Thoughts zip through your mind in a stream of almost uncontrollable worry and concern.
We discuss anxious thinking in great detail in Chapters 5, 6, and 7.
Behaving anxiously
We have three words to describe anxious behavior — avoidance, avoidance, and avoidance. Anxious people inevitably attempt to stay away from the things that make them anxious. Whether it’s snakes, heights, crowds, freeways, parties, paying bills, reminders of bad times, or public speaking, anxious people search for ways out.
In the short run, avoidance lowers anxiety. It makes you feel a little better. However, in the long run, avoidance actually maintains and heightens anxiety. We give you ways of dismantling avoidance in Chapter 8.
One of the most common and obvious examples of anxiety-induced avoidance is how people react to their phobias. Have you ever seen the response of a spider phobic when confronting one of the critters? Usually, such folks hastily retreat.
Finding anxiety in your body
Almost all people with severe anxiety experience a range of physical effects. These sensations don’t simply occur in your head; they’re as real as this book you’re holding. The responses to anxiety vary considerably from person to person and include
Accelerated heartbeat
A spike in blood pressure
Dizziness
Fatigue
Gastrointestinal upset
General aches and pains
Muscle tension or spasms
Sweating
These are simply the temporary effects that anxiety exerts on your body. Chronic anxiety left untreated poses serious risks to your health as well. We discuss the general health effects in greater detail in Chapter 2.
Seeking Help for Your Anxiety
As we say earlier in this chapter, most people simply choose to live with anxiety rather than seek help. Some people worry that treatment won’t work. Or they believe that the only effective treatment out there is medication, and they hate the possibility of side effects. Others fret about the costs of getting help. And still others have concerns that tackling their anxiety would cause their fears to increase so much that they wouldn’t be able to stand it.
Well, stop adding worry to worry. You can significantly reduce your anxiety through a variety of interesting strategies. Many of these don’t have to cost a single cent. And if one doesn’t work, you can try another. Most people find that at least a couple of the approaches that we review work for them. The following sections provide an overview of treatment options and give you some guidance on what to do if your self-help efforts fall short.
Untreated anxiety may cause long-term health problems. It doesn’t make sense to avoid doing something about your anxiety.
Matching symptoms and therapies
Anxiety symptoms appear in three different spheres, as follows (see the earlier section “Recognizing the Symptoms of Anxiety” for more details on these symptoms):
Thinking symptoms: The thoughts that run through your mind
Behaving symptoms: The things you do in response to anxiety
Feeling symptoms: How your body reacts to anxiety
Treatment corresponds to each of these three areas, as we discuss in the following three sections.
Thinking therapies
One of the most effective treatments for a wide range of emotional problems, known as cognitive therapy, deals with the way you think about, perceive, and interpret everything that’s important to you, including
Your views about yourself
The events that happen to you in life
Your future
Ten dubious duds
This book is designed to give you ideas on how to beat anxiety. Beware the following things, which make anxiety worse:
Avoidance: Avoiding what scares you makes anxiety worse. For example, if you’re afraid of driving on a freeway and only use side streets, your fear of driving on crowded, fast roads will get worse.
Whining and complaining: People love to do this, but it only makes things worse.
Seeking reassurance: When people give you reassurance, it feels good. But the effects are short-lived, and reassurance can actually make anxiety worse.
Seeking quick fixes: The Internet is full of quick fixes, but we don’t know of any that have really been proven to work.
Psychoanalysis: This approach to therapy works for some problems, but it hasn’t collected much support in alleviating anxiety.
Drinking or illegal drugs: Substances may relieve anxiety for a short while, but they actually increase anxiety in the long run.
Trying too hard: If you push yourself too hard and feel anxious about your progress, you’re just going to make things worse. Slow down a little.
Sipping herbal drinks: There’s nothing wrong with using these as a short-term crutch, but don’t count on them to cure your problem.
Hoping for miracles: Hope is good — miracles do happen — but it’s not a good idea to sit around and wait for one to come along.
Taking medication as a sole solution: Some medications help some people with some anxiety problems, some of the time. But the strategies and therapies described in this book have proven to be more reliable and effective in the long run.
When people feel unusually anxious and worried, they almost inevitably distort the way they think about these things. That distortion actually causes much of their anxiety. In the following example, Luann has both physical symptoms and cognitive symptoms of anxiety. Her therapist chooses a cognitive approach to help her.
Luann, a junior in college, gets physically ill before every exam. She throws up, has diarrhea, and her heart races. She fantasizes that she will fail each and every test she takes and that eventually, the college will dismiss her. Yet, her lowest grade to date has been a B–.
The cognitive approach her therapist uses helps her capture the negative predictions and catastrophic outcomes that run through her mind. It then guides her to search for evidence about her true performance and a more realistic appraisal of the chances of her actually failing.
As simple as this approach sounds, hundreds of studies have found that it works well to reduce anxiety. Part II of this book describes various cognitive or thinking therapy techniques.
Behaving therapies
Another highly effective type of therapy is known as behavior therapy. As the name suggests, this approach deals with actions you can take and behaviors you can incorporate to alleviate your anxiety. Some actions are fairly straightforward, like getting more exercise and sleep and managing your responsibilities. You can get good ideas on those actions in Chapter 10.
On the other hand, one type of action that targets anxiety and can feel a little scary is exposure — breaking your fears down into small steps and facing them one at a time. We cover exposure in Chapter 8.
Some people, with the advice of their doctor, choose to take medications for their anxiety. If you’re considering that option, be sure to see Chapter 9 to help you make an informed decision.
Feeling therapies — soothing the inner storm
Anxiety sets off a storm of distressing physical symptoms, such as a racing heartbeat, upset stomach, muscle tension, sweating, dizziness, and so on. We have a variety of suggestions, including breathing and relaxation techniques, for helping quell this turmoil. You may choose to make changes in your lifestyle (see Chapter 10), give the relaxation strategies we cover in Chapters 11 and 12 a try, or employ mindfulness, an approach that teaches you to connect with present moment experiences (see Chapter 13).
Choosing where to start
We organize this book so you can start anywhere you want, but you may wonder whether one set of strategies would work better for you than another. Although we can’t predict with certainty what will work best for you, we do have a guide for helping you choose the approach that may feel most compatible for your initial efforts. On the other hand, if you just want to read the book from front to back, that’s fine, too.
In the following anxiety quiz, check all the items that apply to you. If you check off more items in one category than the others, you may consider starting with the part of this book that applies to it. For example, Chapters 5, 6, and 7 are designed especially for thinkers and present the thinking therapies, also known as cognitive therapy; Chapter 8 is aimed at doers and provides the essentials of behavior therapy. Part III focuses on feelers who may profit most by starting with strategies for quelling troubling bodily sensations and feelings through relaxation, diet, exercise, meditation, better sleep habits, and mindfulness. If you check an equal number of items in two or more categories, ask yourself which one seems most like you and start there.
Thinkers (see Chapters 5, 6, and 7)
I like to analyze problems.
I like to carefully consider pros and cons.
I enjoy dealing with facts.
I like to be logical.
I like to plan things in advance.
Doers (see Chapter 8)
If I have a problem, I take action right away.
I love getting things done.
I’m energetic.
I’m an active person.
I hate sitting still with nothing to do.
Feelers (see Part III)
I am always aware of every discomfort in my body.
I hate the feeling of anxiety.
I love to immerse myself in the arts.
Music speaks to me.
I love the feeling of a massage or a hot bath.
Finding the right help
We suppose it’s not too presumptuous to assume that because you’re reading this book, you or someone you know suffers from anxiety. And you’d probably like to tackle anxiety on your own. This is a self-help book, after all.
The good news is that self-help does work. A number of studies support the idea that people can deal with important, difficult problems without seeking the services of a professional. People clearly benefit from self-help. They get better and stay better.
Then again, sometimes self-help efforts fall short. Chapter 23 provides ten critical signs that indicate a likely need for professional help. See Chapter 4 for information about finding the right professional for you.
If you do need professional consultation, many qualified therapists will work with you on the ideas contained in this book. That’s because most mental-health professionals will appreciate the comprehensive nature of the material and the fact that most of the strategies are based on well-proven methods. If research has yet to support the value of a particular approach, we take care to let you know that. We happen to think you’re much better off sticking with strategies known to work and avoiding those that don’t.
In Chapters 18, 19, and 20, we discuss how to help a child or an adult loved one who has anxiety. If you’re working with a friend or family member, you both may want to read Part V, and possibly more, of this book. Sometimes, friends and family can help those who are also working with a professional and making their own efforts.
Whichever sources, techniques, or strategies you select, overcoming anxiety will be one of the most rewarding challenges that you ever undertake. The endeavor may scare you at first, and the going may start slow and have its ups and downs. But if you stick with it, we believe that you’ll find a way out of the quicksand of anxiety and onto the solid ground of serenity.
Chapter 2
Examining Anxiety: What’s Normal, What’s Not
In This Chapter
Determining whether you have an anxiety disorder
Looking at types of anxiety
Uncovering anxiety copycats
Anxious feelings sprout up for most folks here and there and are completely normal. In certain situations, anxiety is a perfectly understandable reaction. For example, if you’re driving in a snowstorm and your car starts to spin out of control, feeling anxious makes sense. But sometimes anxiety signals something more serious.
To get a feel for the difference between something as serious as an anxiety disorder and a normal reaction, read the following description and imagine ten minutes in the life of Tiffany.
Tiffany feels restless and shifts her weight from foot to foot. Walking forward a little, she notices a slight tightening in her chest. Her breathing quickens. She feels an odd mixture of excitement and mounting tension. She sits down and does her best to relax, but the anxiety continues to intensify. Her body suddenly jerks forward; she grips the sides of her seat and clenches her teeth to choke back a scream. Her stomach feels like it might come up through her throat. She feels her heart race and her face flush. Tiffany’s emotions run wild. Dizziness, fear, and a rushing sensation overtake her. The feelings all come in waves — one after the other.
You may wonder what’s wrong with poor Tiffany. Maybe she has an anxiety disorder. Or possibly she’s suffering a nervous breakdown. Perhaps she’s going crazy. No, Tiffany actually wanted to feel scared and anxious!
You see, she was at an amusement park. She handed her ticket to the attendant and buckled herself into a roller coaster. After that, you probably understand the rest of her experience. Tiffany doesn’t have an anxiety disorder, she isn’t suffering a nervous breakdown, and she isn’t going crazy. As her story illustrates, the symptoms of anxiety can be ordinary reactions to life.
In this chapter, we help you figure out whether you’re suffering from an anxiety disorder, everyday anxiety, or something else. We take a close look at all the different forms and symptoms of anxiety. Then we discuss some of the other emotional disorders that often accompany anxiety.
Knowing When Anxiety Is a Help and When It’s a Hindrance
Imagine a life with no anxiety at all. How wonderful! You awaken every morning anticipating nothing but pleasant experiences. You fear nothing. The future holds only sweet security and joy.
Think again. With no anxiety, when the guy in the car in front of you slams on the brakes, your response will be slower and you’ll crash. With no worries about the future, your retirement may end up bleak. The total absence of anxiety may cause you to walk into a work presentation unprepared.
Anxiety is good for you! It prepares you to take action. It mobilizes your body for emergencies. It warns you about danger. Be glad you have some anxiety. Your anxiety helps you stay out of trouble.
Anxiety poses a problem for you when
It lasts uncomfortably long or occurs too often. For example, if you have anxiety most days for more than a few weeks, you have reason for concern.
It interferes with doing what you want to do. Thus, if anxiety wakes you up at night, causes you to make mistakes at work, or keeps you from going where you want to go, it’s getting in the way.
It exceeds the level of actual danger or risk. For example, if your body and mind feel like an avalanche is about to bury you but all you’re doing is taking a test for school, your anxiety has gone too far.
You struggle to control your worries, but they keep on coming. Regardless of what you do, anxious thoughts pop up over and over.
Presenting the Seven Types of Anxiety
Anxiety comes in various forms. The word “anxious” is a derivative of the Latin word angere, meaning to strangle or choke. A sense of choking or tightening in the throat or chest is a common symptom of anxiety. However, anxiety also involves other symptoms, such as sweating, trembling, nausea, and a racing heartbeat. Anxiety may also involve fears — fear of losing control and fear of illness or dying. In addition, people with excessive anxiety avoid various situations, people, animals, or objects to an unnecessary degree.
Psychologists and psychiatrists have compiled a list of seven major categories of anxiety disorders as follows:
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)
Social phobia
Panic disorder
Agoraphobia
Specific phobias
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
You don’t need a full-blown diagnosis to feel that you have some trouble with anxiety. Many people have more anxiety than they want but don’t completely fit the category of having an official anxiety disorder.
Only a mental-health professional can tell you for certain what type of anxiety you have, because various other disorders can look similar.
Generalized anxiety disorder: The common cold of anxiety
Some people refer to generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) as the common cold of anxiety disorders because it afflicts more people throughout the world than any other anxiety disorder. GAD involves a long-lasting, almost constant state of tension and worry. Realistic worries don’t mean you have GAD. For example, if you worry about money and you’ve just lost your job, that’s not GAD; it’s a real-life problem. But if you constantly worry about money and your name is Bill Gates or Warren Buffet, you just may have GAD!
You may have GAD if your anxiety has shown up almost every day for the last six months. You try to stop worrying but you just can’t, and you frequently experience a number of the following problems:
You feel restless, often irritable, on edge, fidgety, or keyed up.
You get tired easily.
Your muscles feel tense, especially in your back, neck, or shoulders.
You have difficulty concentrating, falling asleep, or staying asleep.
Not everyone experiences anxiety in exactly the same way. Some people complain about other problems — such as twitching, trembling, shortness of breath, sweating, dry mouth, stomach upset, feeling shaky, being easily startled, and having difficulty swallowing — and fail to realize that they actually suffer from GAD.
The following profile offers an example of what GAD is all about.
In a subway, Brian taps his foot nervously. He slept only a few hours last night, tossing, turning, and ruminating about the economy. He’s sure that he’s next in line to lose his job. Even though his boss says that he’s safe, Brian can’t stop worrying. He believes that he may end up broke and homeless.
His back is killing him; he shrugs his shoulders trying to loosen up his tight muscles. He struggles to concentrate on the blog that he’s looking at and realizes that he can’t remember what he just read. He notices his shirt feels damp. He thinks he might be sick. He is sick — with worry.
Brian has worked steadily at the same company since graduating from college six years ago. His work is highly technical. Most of the senior executives depend on his technology know-how. He has stashed away a nice amount of money for emergencies. Nevertheless, his anxiety has increased over the last year to the point that he notices that he’s making mistakes. He can’t think; he feels horrible and is in a constant state of distress. Brian suffers from GAD.
The economy can make anyone anxious at times. But Brian’s worries seem out of proportion to his real situation. It seems unlikely that he’s in danger of losing his job. However, his extreme anxiety may, in fact, cause him to get in trouble at work. People with overwhelming anxiety often make careless mistakes because of problems with attention and concentration. GAD takes everyday worries and turns up the volume to full blast.
Social phobia: Avoiding people
Those with social phobia fear exposure to public scrutiny. They frequently dread performing, speaking, going to parties, meeting new people, entering groups, using the telephone, writing a check in front of others, eating in public, and/or interacting with those in authority. They see these situations as painful because they expect to receive humiliating or shameful judgments from others. Social phobics believe they’re somehow defective and inadequate; they assume they’ll bungle their lines, spill their drinks, shake hands with clammy palms, or commit any number of social faux pasand thus embarrass themselves. They also worry about what others are thinking about them — so much that they don’t listen well enough to keep a conversation going.
