Living With Anxiety A Clinically-tested Step-by-step Plan For Drug-free Management

by Montgomery, Bob; Morris, Laurel

• ISBN13: 9781555613068
• ISBN10: 1555613063
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-08-07
• Publisher: Da Capo Lifelong Books

Summary

For the increasing number of people who suffer from some major form of anxiety, help that promotes effective management of the condition without drugs

Author Biography

Bob Montgomery, Ph.D., a psychologist and professor, has written more than a dozen self-help titles. He lives in Australia. Laurel Morris, Ph.D., has been in private practice for eighteen years and written ten other books. She lives in Australia.

Table of Contents

Introduction	xi
Self-Help or Professional Help?	xii
What about My Drugs?	xiii
What Is Anxiety?	1	(8)
A Working Definition of Anxiety	2	(2)
Anxiety and Emotions	4	(1)
Anxiety and Thoughts	4	(1)
Anxiety and Fear	5	(1)
Anxiety and Worry	6	(1)
Anxiety and Attention	6	(1)
Anxiety versus Depression	7	(1)
Anxiety and Motivation	8	(1)
Problems with Anxiety	9	(14)
Anxiety versus the Type A Behavior Pattern	11	(1)
Anxiety and Stress	12	(1)
How Anxious Am I?	13	(5)
Anxiety Problems Are Common	18	(1)
Anxiety and Women	19	(1)
Anxiety Problems Are Serious	20	(3)
Anxiety, Drugs and Drug Dependence	23	(16)
Anxiety and Drug Abuse	24	(1)
Anxiety and Health	25	(3)
Anxiety and Prescription Drugs	28	(1)
How Can a Drug Help?	28	(1)
Prescribed-Drug Dependence	29	(2)
Drugs and Older People	31	(1)
Sour Grapes?	32	(1)
New Developments in Drug Therapy	33	(1)
Time to Quit	34	(1)
Weaning Yourself Off Your Antianxiety Drug	35	(4)
General Anxiety	39	(10)
Do You Have a General Anxiety Problem?	40	(3)
Do Drugs Help?	43	(1)
Managing General Anxiety Problems	44	(1)
Confronting Your Worries and Stopping Worry Behaviors	45	(4)
Panic and Agoraphobia	49	(16)
Panic Problems	50	(2)
Fear, Anxiety and Panic	52	(2)
Panic and Claustrophobia	54	(1)
Panic May Not Be a Problem	55	(1)
Agoraphobia	56	(2)
Physical Causes of Panic	58	(2)
Do Drugs Help?	60	(1)
Managing Panic Problems and Agoraphobia	61	(4)
Phobias	65	(20)
Simple Phobias	67	(1)
What Causes a Phobia?	68	(1)
Do Drugs Help?	69	(1)
Managing a Simple Phobia	70	(1)
Confronting Your Unreasonable Fears	70	(1)
A Lesson in Learning	70	(2)
Striving for 70 Percent	72	(1)
Plan a Gradual Approach	73	(3)
A Gradual Approach to Panic and Agoraphobia	76	(2)
Get Some Help	78	(2)
Sticking to Difficult Goals	80	(2)
A Special Tip for Blood or Injection Phobias	82	(3)
Social Phobia and Social Anxiety	85	(14)
Social Phobia versus Social Anxiety and Shyness	86	(2)
If Your Problem Is Social Anxiety	88	(1)
What Causes Social Phobia?	89	(1)
Social Phobia and Impotence	90	(1)
Do Drugs Help?	91	(2)
Managing Social Phobia	93	(2)
A Practice Audience	95	(1)
Social Phobia and Panic	96	(3)
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)	99	(22)
Traumatic Stress and Life Crises	100	(2)
The Crisis Response and Recovery Cycle	102	(1)
The Crisis Response	103	(2)
Recovery	105	(2)
What Is PTSD?	107	(2)
What Causes PTSD?	109	(1)
Do Drugs Help?	110	(1)
Managing PTSD	110	(1)
Confronting Bad Memories	111	(3)
Do You Need to Relive Your Bad Experience?	114	(1)
Use Your Imagination	115	(3)
Take Your Time	118	(1)
Get Support	118	(1)
If the Dam Breaks	119	(2)
Obsessive-Compulsive Problems	121	(24)
What Is an Obsession?	122	(1)
What Is Not an Obsession?	123	(2)
What Is a Compulsion?	125	(1)
What Is Not a Compulsion?	126	(2)
What Causes Obsessive-Compulsive Problems?	128	(2)
Obsessive-Compulsive Problems and Depression	130	(2)
Do Drugs Help?	132	(1)
Managing Obsessive-Compulsive Problems	133	(1)
Don't Make It Too Hard	134	(1)
Do You Need Some Help?	134	(1)
Preventing Rituals	135	(1)
Preventing Compulsive Thoughts	135	(2)
Do You Need Professional Help?	137	(8)
How to Manage Anxious Feelings	145	(12)
Expecting to Cope Instead of Collapse	146	(2)
I Expect to Feel Some Anxiety in This Situation	148	(1)
But I'll Cope	149	(1)
I Won't Try to Deny or Avoid My Anxiety	150	(1)
But I Won't Focus on It or Dwell on the Problem	151	(1)
If It Is Possible to Do Something Constructive about the Problem Now, I'll Focus on Doing That	152	(1)
If Not, I'll Focus on Doing Something Else, Pleasant or Constructive	153	(4)
How to Manage Anxious Thoughts	157	(22)
Feeling Better by Thinking Straighter	159	(1)
An Example of Questioning Your Thoughts in General Anxiety	159	(3)
An Example of Questioning Your Thoughts for Panic and Agoraphobia	162	(3)
An Example of Questioning Your Thoughts for a Phobia	165	(2)
An Example of Questioning Your Thoughts for a Social Phobia	167	(2)
An Example of Straight Thinking for Posttraumatic Stress	169	(3)
An Example of Straight Thinking for an Obsessive-Compulsive Problem	172	(2)
Your Turn	174	(5)
How to Manage Physical Anxiety	179	(22)
Interpreting Physical Anxiety Symptoms	181	(1)
Physical Anxiety and Medication	181	(1)
Physical Anxiety and Exercise	182	(1)
Learn to Relax Quickly	182	(1)
The Calming Response	183	(2)
Learn to Relax Deeply	185	(2)
Sleeping Better without Drugs	187	(1)
What Is Sleep?	188	(1)
How Much Sleep Do You Need?	188	(1)
What Disturbs Your Sleep?	189	(6)
Managing Your Sleep Better	195	(3)
Recording Your Own Relaxation Tape	198	(3)
How to Strengthen Social and Sexual Skills	201	(24)
Self-Esteem	203	(1)
Troubled Marriages	204	(1)
Finding Friends	205	(1)
Introduce Yourself	206	(1)
Nonverbal Communication	206	(1)
Verbal Communication	207	(1)
Giving and Receiving Compliments	208	(1)
Handling Silences	208	(1)
Watch Your Self-Talk	209	(1)
Three Common Social Thinking Mistakes	209	(1)
The Myths of Friendship	210	(2)
``But I Don't Know What to Say!''	212	(1)
Trivia	212	(1)
Common Interests	213	(1)
You	213	(2)
Coping with Loneliness	215	(1)
Making Relationships Emotionally Intimate	216	(3)
Strengthening Sexual Skills and Confidence	219	(6)
How to Strengthen Interpersonal Skills	225	(28)
Nonassertive Behavior: Submission and Aggression	226	(2)
Assertion	228	(1)
Proparing Yourself to Be Assertive	229	(3)
Look for Assertive Models	232	(1)
Rehearse Being Assertive	232	(2)
The Six Steps in Being Assertive	234	(6)
Suggestions for Assertion in Different Situations	240	(1)
Situation: Speaking Up	240	(1)
Situation: Someone's Actions Are Strongly Influencing Your Feelings	241	(5)
Situation: Making Requests	246	(1)
Situation: Refusing Requests	247	(1)
Situation: Disagreeing with Someone Else's Point of View	248	(1)
Situation: Dealing with a Persistent Person	248	(1)
Situation: Someone Says One Thing, but Does Something Else	249	(1)
Situation: Asserting Yourself with Someone Being Submissive	249	(1)
Situation: Asserting Yourself with Someone Being Aggressive	250	(3)
Anxiety and Suicide	253	(6)
Protect Your Health	255	(1)
The Warning Signs of Suicide	255	(1)
Consider the Alternatives	255	(4)
Resources	259	(6)
Further Reading	265	(2)
Index	267