Many people come to me due to anxiety problems that they suffer on a daily basis, so that I can help them find a solution and guide them in the recovery process. It is normal, since in these cases the most effective and guaranteed solution is to put yourself in the hands of psychologists.
However, there are also a series of anxiety management guidelines that you can apply to day to day life on your own.
The 10 keys to facing anxiety problems and overcoming them
I always like to prepare my queries in the most objective and clear way possible; Ultimately, the person seeking professional help is investing money in something as basic as their health, and in order not to fall into talk therapy and other wastes of time, it is necessary to prepare bibliography focused on practical exercises that each patient can do from one session to the nextand most importantly, that they give way to learning that remains for the future when the therapy ends.
Anxiety and panic attacks are problems that should be treated by a specialist. Health is not a gameand even having had bad experiences with other psychologists before, you are not going to stop believing in the light because a light bulb goes out.
I suffered from panic attacks during my student days; I went to psychologists who listened to me for an hour (yes, I said they heard, they didn’t listen) and they ended the consultation without getting anything clear and without giving me any useful tool or exercise. I also read books by supposed coaches or gurus who believed that without any type of academic training or health qualification in the matter they knew the theoretical-practical keys to these alterations because they had suffered anxiety, and in the end I realized that a good treatment It must include, in addition to good academic training and professional experience, experience living with anxiety to know what the day-to-day life of this disease is like. That is to say, a combination of the academic aspect and the experiential aspect.
On this occasion I bring you a gift; I want you to make yourself comfortable and read these “commandments” carefully to overcome anxiety and panic attacks. They are clear and practical, without detours, and I can assure you that I have prepared them thoroughly based on my experiences as a patient and as a professional, using a method patented by me. They are not the definitive solution, of course, but they will help you deal with anxiety in a better way. I leave you with them.
1. Change is born in you
The psychologist is not a judge, much less a father who scolds you., it is simply a coach that gives you some guidelines to follow so that you can apply them little by little and see the results. Commitment to change is important, and will be what marks the therapy. You have the key!
2. When we feel something we are exaggerating the sensations
Your head plays grandmother and always exaggerates the dangers. Be clear that she is not a doctor and she does not have the capacity to give you a diagnosis of what is happening to you; You don’t even have a psychologist inside your head, nor a psychiatrist, nor any other type of doctor.. So, when faced with these sensations, be cautious. The brain gives us that message and we refine it.
3. We will take fear as an opportunity to progress
Only if I expose myself to the fears will I see that those symptoms are unreal. You learn from fears, and that is why I want you to live them as a possibility to learn.
4. The sensations are unpleasant, not dangerous
Everything you feel is temporary. If you spend more than half an hour thinking that your knee hurts, you are going to feel pain, and that feeling is unpleasant, but it does not mean that your kneecap has broken. The more attention, the more the symptom increases. Know that irrational thoughts increase anxiety.
5. Float with fear
It is difficult for the brain to think this, since it wants to have that false control of everything. Think that the body itself tends to balance, and It is impossible to always remain on sustained alert if the sensation in question is not fed..
6. Observe what happens to you, not what you fear might happen
Once, speaking with a patient in a therapy session, he told me that he suffered severe tension in his arms and that they fell asleep. We created a series of what I call tests, and he finally saw that it was a false phenomenon, and that these tensions were due to the exercises he did with weights and were simply sore.
7. Fear doesn’t learn, you do
He always stays the same, but you you can learn how to contain it and deal with it so you know how to overcome it. You know what your fear is like and where it usually appears, live it and learn where those triggering stimuli that trigger that sensation come from.
8. When you stop feeding him, the fear stops appearing/starts disappearing.
For this reason, it is normal at that moment to feel afraid; You can let it be, don’t worry, it will pass.
9. Learn the keys to ABC
Background (triggering event), Believe (thought), Consequences (emotion, feeling). With this simple diagram you will see the points on which a negative thought is based or as I say, a trigger for negative emotions, and so you will know the mechanism that follows.
10. Recognize progress
Many times in therapy, we become discouraged because we believe we have not made enough progress. This process that some patients carry out almost without knowing it is called self-boycott and is solved quickly stopping to examine what you could do before and after therapy. Seeing the progress (if it has been positive) will motivate you to continue working.
Concluding
Observe these points and try to apply them in your daily life. They are the basis of change in the face of anxiety problems, and something that you have to keep in mind. I also invite you to take them as inspiration and create some psychological tool that will help you.
Anxiety problems? Do I help you
If you are interested in improving your life and reducing your anxiety with external help from a specialist in order to have an objective opinion and overcome the problem, do not hesitate to contact me.
My name is Javier Ares, I am a General Health Psychologist and I specialize in problems related to anxiety, as well as in the field of couples therapy. I offer the possibility of starting the sessions without having to travel, and with a price adapted to the current times. On this page you will find both my contact information and other relevant aspects about my way of working.
