Overcoming Anxiety by Johnston, Joni E. -- Read -- Imperial Library of Trantor

Index

Cover Title Page Copyright Contents Introduction Part 1: Exploring Anxiety

1 Just the Jitters?

What Is Anxiety?

Physical Symptoms: From Butterflies to Insomnia Emotional Symptoms: Fear Cognitive Symptoms: Thoughts Behavioral Symptoms: Either Take Charge or Run Away!

Donny Osmond: A Familiar Face with Anxiety Cautious, Nervous, or Dealing with a Disorder?

Context and Continuum States and Traits

How Bad Is It? Assess Yourself: How Much Is Too Much? Primary Anxiety or Something Else? What’s the Difference?

2 The Anxiety Disorders

What’s the Diagnosis?

The Pros and Cons of Labels Co-occurrence Difficulty with Objectivity Cultural Differences

The Anxiety Disorders

Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Chronic Worry Social Anxiety Disorder: Beyond Butterflies Panic Disorder: The Tsunami of Anxiety Agoraphobia: Fear of the Marketplace Specific Phobia: Targeted Fear

Related Conditions

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: The Broken Record Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: The Endless Movie

Depression: Churchill’s Black Dog

Anxiety’s Effects on Others

3 Why Me?

Who Gets Anxiety Disorders? Psychology and Anxiety

Behavior When Twisted Thinking Leads to Anxiety

Biology

The Fear Pathway Life Experience and Anxiety What’s the Cause—Genes or Environment?

What Triggers Your Anxiety?

4 What to Expect on the Path to Recovery

Values Anxiety’s Costs Developing the Right Attitude

I Am Not Ashamed of Myself or My Symptoms Anxiety Is My Teacher; What Can I Learn? Symptoms Are an Opportunity to Practice—Not a Test Anxiety Is Uncomfortable, but It’s Not Dangerous I Can’t Stand It. I’ve Got to Get Out of Here. What If It Gets Worse?

Remaining Motivated

Part 2: Fighting Your Way Through the Fright

5 Getting in Tune with Your Emotions

Feelings

Temperament Parenting and Response Styles Acknowledge Feelings

Managing Emotions

Vicious Cycles Emotional Intelligence

Pitfalls on the Way to Better Emotion Management

Feelings Are Faster—and Stronger—Than Thoughts Feelings and Thoughts Can Get Tangled Up Self-Medication for Bad Feelings Can Backfire Judging Your Feelings Doesn’t Help Worry

Fine-Tuning Your Alarm System

6 Understanding and Managing Anger

Anxiety and Anger What Is Anger?

Recognizing Anger Misdirected Anger

The Personal Cost of Anger Remaining Balanced What to Do with Anger

Anger Diary Pause Before Acting

7 Assertiveness

Doing Good—and Doing Yourself In Conflict Avoidance and Anxiety Saying “No” An Assertive Attitude

Dealing with a Pet Peeve What an Assertive Attitude Includes

The Many Benefits of Assertiveness Acquiring Assertiveness Skills

Taking Responsibility Practicing How to Say No When You Have a Request

Delegation

The Cost of Not Delegating Delegation Guidelines

Procrastination

What Procrastinators Fear Overcoming Procrastination Mental Space Time Management

Part 3: Taming Those Alarming Ideas

8 Taming Your Thoughts

Thinking About Thoughts

Thinking Errors Restructuring Thoughts

Defensive Pessimism: Preparing for the Sky to Fall

Putting Worries to Good Use Are You a Defensive Pessimist?

Optimism

The Pros and Cons of Optimism Guidelines for Balancing Optimism and Pessimism

9 Understanding Core Beliefs and Their Impact

Beliefs Core Beliefs

Common Beliefs for Anxiety Sufferers Common Dysfunctional Beliefs About Emotions Effects of Core Beliefs Beliefs About Others

The Need for Control Core Beliefs Are Persistent

They’re Only Thoughts

Correcting Core Beliefs

10 Personality Traits and Anxiety

Personality Traits

Context

The Anxiety-Prone Personality High Sensitivity Perfectionism The Need to Please Owning Your Self-Esteem

Part 4: Boosting the Mind-Body Connection

11 Getting Help from Exercise and Breathing

The Mental Health Benefits of Exercise How Does Exercise Help?

Exercise Is Rewarded by Your Body

Motivation to Exercise

Try an Exercise You Enjoy Long-Term Motivation for Exercise If It Seems Impossible

The Benefits of Breathing

12 Eating and Sleeping

Foods and Anxiety

Foods and Substances That Can Make Anxiety Worse Foods That May Improve Mood Thinking About How You Eat

Supplements and Herbal Remedies

Herbal Supplements

Trouble Sleeping

Sleep Stages Improving Sleep When Sleep Is Disrupted

13 Reducing Stress

What Is Stress?

Symptoms of Stress The Right Amount of Stress

A Coping Inventory Buffers Against Stress

Taking Action Dealing with Uncomfortable Feelings Developing Resources Create a Stress Journal

Communication Under Stress Keeping Cool Under Pressure Responses to Severe Trauma

Part 5: Survive-and-Thrive Strategies for Diagnosed Diagnosed Distress

14 Self-Help for Panic Disorder

Emotional Hijacking Panic Attacks and Panic Disorder

Others May Not “Get It” Panic, Phobias, and Other Problems

Preparing for a Panic Attack

Relaxation Distraction

Approach Panic Differently

Refusing to Give In Advanced Training

Practice

15 Self-Help for Phobias

Phobias Are Common Complex Phobias What Causes Phobias?

A Frightening Experience Observation Other Problems Linked to the Feared Object/Event A Stressful Time

Reinforcement by Physical Symptoms Reversing the Vicious Cycle Let Anxiety Come Allow Yourself to Relax

Calming Counts The Ten-Second Grip

Arrange Your Fears in Order The Three R’s: Reintroduce, Refocus, and Repeat

16 Self-Help for Social Anxiety

Feeling Scrutinized Risk Factors for Social Anxiety Social Fears Fear of Negative Evaluation The Spotlight Effect

Changing Behavior Practice Virtual Help or Avoidance

17 Getting Professional Help

Sarah’s Story Evidenced-Based Treatments

Cognitive Therapy Behavioral Therapy Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Medication

SSRIs and SNRIs Benzodiazepines Azipirones

Virtual Reality Alternative Therapies Finding a Clinician

When to Say Enough Is Enough

Part 6: Keeping Anxiety from the Next Generation

18 Anxiety During and After Pregnancy

Anxiety During Pregnancy Postpartum Anxiety Beyond Worry Why Me? The Pregnancy Protection Myth Pregnancy Planning Medications During Pregnancy

Potential Risks of Taking Medication Potential Risks of Not Taking Medication Making the Decision

Treatment for Postpartum Anxiety What About Fathers?

19 Raising Resilient Children

Highly Sensitive Children Beware of Overprotectiveness Perfectionistic Parenting Resilience Friendships Coping with Anger Handling Stress

20 Helping Anxious Children Recover

Childhood Anxiety Stage Fright

Infants Toddlers Preschoolers School-Age Children Adolescents

Overcoming Childhood Fears

Finding the Middle Ground Additional Strategies for Coping with Fears

Childhood Anxiety Disorders

Symptoms of Separation Anxiety Symptoms of Phobia Symptoms of Social Anxiety Other Symptoms of Anxious Children

Red Flags Differences in Expression of Anxiety Symptoms in Children Helping Your Children Recover

Appendixes

A Glossary B Resources

Index About the Author

← Prev
Back
Next →

← Prev
Back
Next →