Anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder)

Characterized by frequent worries and physical symptoms of anxiety: “What if …?” worries about many different things: “If something bad happens, I can’t cope”; images of feeling overwhelmed; etc.

Introduction

  1. Introduction and Overview (NHS)
  2. Self-Assessment (GAD-7)
  3. Understanding your anxiety

The problem

  1. Learning to be anxious
  2. Avoidance
  3. Safety behaviours
  4. Reassurance seeking
  5. Checking behaviours

The solution

Facing your Fears

  1. Habituation through Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)

Thinking it through

  1. This is too complicated . . .
  2. I’m having a heart attack
  3. Blank Thought Record

Living in the here and now

  1. Living one day at a time, tackling one task at a time and living in the solution
  2. Becoming more externally focused: An introduction
  3. Adjusting your attention
  4. Mindfulness and acceptance
  5. An exercise in distancing: watching your thoughts pass by
  6. Reducing self-focus
  7. The inward / outward exercise
  8. The two-way experiment
  9. Taking in the good

Anxiety management strategies

  1. Balanced deep breathing
  2. Progressive muscle relaxation
  3. Relaxation NHS (youtube) includes introduction
  4. Relaxation NHS mp4 – Intro free

Using imagery

  1. Relaxation exercise
  2. Feeling Confident and Capable
  3. Anchoring other positive scenes
  4. Planning and preparing responses

Underlying assumptions

  1. Underlying assumptions: an introduction
  2. Discovering your underlying (or undermining) assumptions
  3. Common underlying assumptions for anxiety

Behavioural Change

  1. Behavioural Experiments: an introduction
  2.  If I say something I will sound stupid . . . 
  3. Asking for the money I’m owed
  4. I’m having a heart attack?
  5. If I don’t worry then something bad will happen?