Over the past five years I have spoken with many people who are using the Attacking Anxiety and Depression Program. As a result I have discovered patterns of behavior that sabotage the effectiveness of one's progress and recovery from anxiety and depression. In this article I will discuss those patterns and how to better cope with them.
Learning to calm one's body is an essential component of recovery. The relaxation tape is one of the most effective ways to train yourself to quiet the chatter in your brain, let the body return to a relaxed state, and reduce the level of arousal of the sympathetic nervous system. Just like learning to ride a bicycle, it takes practice. It also takes time, because your mind-body is used to living at a heightened level of arousal and tension. It is important to find a way to fit this relaxation exercise into your schedule and make it a part of your daily routine. Research has found that it is the consistency of doing progressive muscle relaxation that increases its effectiveness. Some people do it only on particularly anxious days, but not on days they feel relatively calm. Just as we do not brush our teeth only when we have cavities, so should spending time on relaxation be part of the daily routine of life. Not only will you feel calmer, but you will concentrate and sleep better as well.
Almost every anxious person I have met is somewhat aware of how their negative self-talk is problematic. However, the matter is not as simple as flipping a negative thought to a positive one. Instead, I suggest that one look at their fear-producing thoughts and transform them to reality-based thoughts. This new thought needs to be something that truly fits their belief system and will replace the negative, fear-producing one. For example, one young man was struggling to control his panic attacks by reminding himself he was not going crazy. However, he had an uncle who had schizophrenia, which his family kept as their secret, never openly discussing it. Secretly, this young man was afraid that his panic attacks were a sign of his susceptibility to mental illness.
By addressing this openly, and learning about he signs and symptoms of schizophrenia, his fear of it was greatly reduced, and consequently, so was his fear of the anxiety. Now, when he reminds himself that he is not going crazy, he believes it. If your positive self-statements are not helpful to you, either you do not truly believe them or they are not addressing your underlying fear. Take some time to explore your deeply held beliefs, secrets, or thoughts. What you think and believe determines how you feel.
The Attacking Anxiety and Depression tapes are interesting, compelling, and full of good information and ideas. However, some people only listen to the tapes and do not do the exercises in the workbook. The workbook helps you to apply the ideas of the program directly to YOUR life. Recovery from anxiety and depression is an active process of changing how you act, think and cope. The workbook guides you in making those changes in your. If you need some help with that, the Midwest Center offers several sources of individual support.
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