How to overcome anxiety

Help with Anxiety!

Are you struggling with anxiety or panic attacks? Do you worry excessively about your work, your family, your relationships or your health?  Do you think that when you feel bad and experience symptoms of anxiety, then your feelings “make” you think negative and sad or angry thoughts? 

Actually, what psychologists know is that often, people who are experiencing depression or anxiety have the negative thoughts FIRST and that these fearful thoughts are not really based in reality. These distorted, negative, pessimistic thoughts then begin to produce the ‘bad’ feelings; the feelings in turn produce more distorted thinking, making the symptoms even more difficult to overcome.  

The important thing to note here is that the distorted thoughts are usually ‘automatic’ in nature. This means that the person is probably not even aware of his or her automatic, distorted thoughts, but that these thoughts automatically enter the thinking patterns in a continual manner and across different situations in life.

Put more simply, your automatic thoughts and interpretations of a situation or circumstance can have a very big - and negative impact on how you feel.

Cognitive-behavioral psychologists have identified several negative thinking patterns - distorted thoughts - that are common to people who struggle with feelings of anxiety and depression.

How to begin to understand your own distorted thinking?  Review these 3 common types of distorted thinking that frequently lead to anxiety or depression.  Now list at least three examples of your own thoughts that lead you to feeling depressed and anxious. First, describe the event that prompted you to feel anxious or depressed - and then de­scribe the thoughts that promoted the bad feelings. Once you identify your negative thoughts - your automatic thoughts - you have made the first step to overcoming your anxiety or depression. 

Type	Definition	Example
Mind reading	You make negative assumptions about other people’s thoughts and motives.	Sheila asked her friend Mary to join her for lunch.  When her invitation was refused, she thought “Mary never wants to go to lunch with me. I know she doesn’t really like me.”
Forecasting	You predict that an event will not turn out well.	Gina finished her audition for the play. She immediately pre­dicted that she would not get the part. “I’ll never get a good part. My audition was really bad news.”
Feelings are facts	Whenever you feel a certain way, you decide that the feeling is your reality.	Jim was not invited to join any of is friends after work on Friday. He felt left out, inferior and lonely. . He thought, “No one likes me. I am such a loser.”