THE ANXIETY WORKBOOK

Some of the manifestations of anxiety - such as palpitations, excessive sweating, and chronic fatigue - may be symptoms of physical illness.

Therefore, for starters, you should consult a doctor to exclude this possibility. In such cases, you are most likely to be prescribed an examination of the heart and thyroid gland, and it is also possible that the doctor will send you to check the state of the vessels of the brain.

If during the examination it turns out that some disease is the cause of your anxiety, it is important, without delay, to undergo an adequate course of treatment prescribed by your doctor. First of all, you need to regain physical health. However, in the process of recovery, you can use many of the techniques described in this book in order to improve your emotional state, alleviate manifestations of anxiety and create the right psychological attitude for recovery.

If, after the examination, the doctor came to the conclusion that your anxiety state is psychogenic - that is, it is caused by psychological rather than physical causes, you have a several choices how you want to correct your situation.

The first way you can visit a psychotherapist for help. Most likely, you will be assigned a certain combination of drug and non-drug treatment. Drug treatment means taking medications that reduce anxiety and stabilize the emotional level, if necessary. The non-drug approach usually means colloquial therapy - you will be scheduled for regular meetings, during which the doctor will discuss with you the mechanisms of your anxiety symptoms and give advice on controlling your psycho-emotional state. In addition, you can be assigned physiotherapy and recommended some lifestyle changes - healthy sleep, physical activity, and more. It is important that you understand: going to a therapist does not mean taking drugs alone - there is no drug that can solve the anxiety problem without any effort on your part. Medicines are designed to alleviate your condition and make possible the internal work on yourself that you have to do if you are seriously determined to change something in yourself in the long term.

The second way is non-drug psycho-correction. If you do not like or do not want to take drugs, you can seek help from a psychologist or psychotherapist who works with non-drug methods. Most likely, you will also be scheduled for regular meetings, during which you can recognize the causes of your symptoms and learn to control them. The duration of such a course of psycho-correction depends on the depth of the problem and can range from several weeks to several months of regular work. The effectiveness of this approach is much related to the degree of trust that will arise between you and your consultant, so be careful about choosing a specialist. Find someone you can trust. To do this, ask what experience this specialist has in solving problems like yours and ask his former clients.

And the third way that you always have is self-help. In the end, you yourself drove yourself into the state in which you are, through the sequence of your choices, and who, if not yourself, will now have to pull yourself out of there. In this book you will find comprehensive information on how to do it yourself, without the help of doctors and psychologists.

This guide contains 7-week proven cognitive behavioral therapy exercises to overcome and prevent anxiety and social anxiety disorder, depression, stress, emotional trauma and negative thinking AND MORE