Panic
Anxiety Education
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The Role Thoughts Play in
Anxiety and Panic
The research has now shown that despite the severe disabilities,
once the Disorders have been correctly diagnosed, they can be easily
treated. While medication can be necessary for some people in the
short-term, the most effective form of treatment which has shown
long-term results is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Cognitive
Behavioral treatment is a number of specific treatments designed
for each separate Anxiety Disorder. One of the main features of this
therapy is teaching people to understand and correct their
anxiety-producing thoughts. With these skills people can then begin
to work with their avoidance behavior.
How many times have we said 'What If?' 'What if I have an attack,
What if I can't do it? What if people see me?' What if this is
causing most of our problems? It is! Many of us have no awareness of
what we are thinking about. Our thinking is so much a part of us, we
don't pay attention to the process. Without realizing it, our
thoughts dictate and control our life. When we have an Anxiety
Disorder, the way we think creates so much of the fear we feel,
which in turn increases the symptoms; which creates further fear and
around-and-around we go!
It is difficult for people who don't have an Anxiety Disorder to
realize why it is so difficult to break our negative thought
patterns. It is not a matter of replacing negative thoughts with
positive ones. Positive thinking doesn't work for many people in the
early stages of recovery. Basically, because we don't believe what
we are saying to ourselves. If it was that easy, no one would have a
problem in the first place! It can seem pointless telling ourselves
we'll feel better tomorrow when we have seen so many 'tomorrows' go
by and there has been little or no change.
Instead of positive thinking, we need to change our whole
perception of what is happening to us. We need to see how our
thoughts create so much of our fear, which in turn creates many of
the symptoms. Once we can see this, we can see how the anxiety
and/or panic are actually reactions to our thoughts and that our
thoughts are not a reaction to the anxiety and/or panic. Once we can
see this, we can reverse our thinking from 'What if'...to 'So what!.
This is the way to Power and Freedom.
We react to our thoughts and feelings never realizing our
thoughts and feelings are fleeting moments. We don't see each
thought as being separate. Instead, we see the continual progression
of our thoughts and the feelings caused by them as something solid.
Not seeing the progression from one thought to another, not seeing
the progression from one feeling to another, creates the fear. The
overwhelming force of the anxiety and panic can be quite violent and
it does feel as if something terrible is happening to us. But if we
can learn to see behind its seemingly solid appearance, we will see
how it is happening and why there is nothing to fear. Seeing why
there is nothing to fear, we can begin to take our Power back! Power
over our thoughts, power over the Disorder and power over our lives!
Power means freedom!
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