Anxiety
Anxiety can be crippling. Some people have panic attacks that make it almost impossible to go to work or even get groceries. Learn basic steps to calm down, contradict the irrational thoughts, repeat concepts that you know are true.
Figure out who is in your jury box judging you. Is it someone discouraging? Someone who puts you in no-win situations?
Ivan Pavlov found that when he gave two powerful but contradictory signals to a dog (to salivate and not to salivate) both at the same time, the dog became frantic and had a full-blown panic attack. Generalizing this to humans, theorists believe that we have panic attacks when we have two powerful contradictory needs at the same time (e.g. to run and to stay).
The Holmes-Rahe Stress Test can help reveal how much stress you have gone through in the past year or two, and sometimes can warn you about dangerous levels of stress.
Music, humor, friends, exercise, dancing, singing, gardening, hiking, meditation and prayer can be helpful in combatting stress.
PTSD can be crippling to people who have experienced a painful trauma like sexual abuse, a life-threatening situation, or a military incident. Telling your story in the present tense repeatedly (20 times) to a therapist has been shown to help 70% of people. It is unpleasant, but it becomes empowering to the person telling the story. The story becomes more manageable and the person can see the story from different perspectives, instead of only from an overwhelming viewpoint.
Take the Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire. It can help you focus on the childhood experiences that may be fueling your anxiety.
