Anxiety Toolbox: The Complete Fear-Free Plan. Gloria Thomas
href="#fb3_img_img_a427ce58-9d6d-5876-97ec-5827adeadc4b.jpg" alt="image 1"/>Feeling of being stuck in the present, unable to focus on the future
Self-Assessment
– How often have you experienced anxiety/depression?
– Not at all/a little/some of the time/a lot of the time/all of the time.
– Go through the above symptoms and on a level of one to 10 how strongly do you experience these symptoms today?
CASE STUDY for Anxiety/Depression
Viviane was a beautiful 19-year-old who moved to London to make her mark on the modelling industry. She had won all manner of beauty competitions in her home county and it was expected that she would have no problem finding an agent. However, when she got to London, she discovered that life was much harder than she’d imagined it would be. The agency that had been recommended to her turned her down and she found it very hard to get accepted anywhere. After each rejection she found her self-esteem becoming lower and lower. Viviane also had never lived away from home, and she began making do with fast food rather than home-cooked food. The worry about being rejected by agencies was taking its toll on her health. She slept badly and quickly slipped into an anxious depression.
To counter this, I used the anxiety algorithm and the algorithm for depression (see chapter five), both of which worked very well. Viviane and I also worked on her beliefs about herself and she began to learn not to take agency rejections personally and instead see them as simply part and parcel of being a model.
General Anxiety Disorder
General Anxiety Disorder, or GAD, is an anxiety disorder that is characterized by consistent, chronic worry. The American Psychiatric Association has described the condition as excessive anxiety and worry occurring for a minimum of six months. It is estimated that between 2 and 5 per cent of the population of the UK suffer from GAD, while in the US it is estimated there are around four million sufferers. GAD affects both men and women, although statistics show that a considerably higher percentage of women suffer the disorder. Genetics can play a part in GAD, though childhood and life experiences seem to be the bigger contributor.
GAD is a non-specific anxiety, therefore it is not often possible to pinpoint where its roots lie. Excessive worry seems to be present in relation to absolutely everything in life – health, money, job, relationships and even worry about worry itself. With this kind of worry – often referred to as ‘meta’ worry – life becomes distorted with anxieties about everything. Day-to-day concerns, such as turning up on time for appointments or obsessing over something said or done, are often compounded by daily events on the news and events on a global level, such as the terrorist attack at the world trade centre.
With GAD, worries start internally; the individual starts with negative, limiting and often irrational thoughts about themselves, which develop into an exhausting spiral of negative internal dialogue. Experiences become exaggerated out of all proportion, as the anxiety is always more intense than the situations ever warrant. To make matters worse, not only does the individual with GAD worry about himself or herself, they also worry for their loved ones and anyone else around them.
GAD, at its extreme, escalates to the extent that it causes crippling distress to the sufferer. It can last for weeks or months and seem never ending. To the worrier, it feels as if there are threatening situations and disasters around every corner. If you experience this sort of anxiety excessively then you are likely to suffer other physical symptoms, such as general aches and pains, headaches, light-headedness, nausea, lack of concentration, memory loss and sleeping difficulties, all of which can then create even more anxiety. Like all anxieties, you can suffer from GAD to varying degrees.
Symptoms of GAD
Self-Assessment
– How often do you experience general anxiety?
– Not at all/a little/some of the time/a lot of the time/all of the time
– Do you find it difficult to control your anxiety and worry?
– Not at all/a little/some of the time/a lot of the time/all of the time
– On a scale of one to 10, how much do you suffer the symptoms of general anxiety in your life today?
(0–1 = none, 2–3 = slight worry and anxiety, 4–6 = moderate anxiety, 7–8 = marked worry and anxiety, 9–10 = chronic worry and anxiety)
CASE STUDY for GAD
Ross, an attractive 24-year-old Australian, was on a travelling trip around the world. Whilst in London, he found himself suffering from severe bouts of anxiety and worry that appeared to be causing on-going migraines and stomach cramps. Ross had a belief that he couldn’t cope. These disempowering thoughts were the result of consistently failing exams in childhood and the learning disability dyslexia. When he was in Australia, he was supported by his mother and sister and felt able to manage his life. However, when abroad, he found it very difficult to communicate his fears and anxieties for fear of ridicule. He seemed to suffer from worry and anxiety about absolutely everything and the slightest thing would cause a negative spiral. He worried about getting a job then he worried about the people around him. He worried that he couldn’t get a girlfriend; he worried about his health.
Underlying Ross’s worry was a belief that he couldn’t cope, so we worked to change this by using some of the beliefs exercises featured in this book. I also used the TFT algorithm for anxiety (see chapter five), and