FEAR! The strongest of ALL emotions. Paradoxically it's been fundamental to our evolutionary success: fleeing predators, particularly. It's kept us alive for the 200,000 years of our existence as humans. We're not all that strong, don't have claws and fangs --but we can run long distances! And it matters not one bit that our fear of that growl in the undergrowth may be unfounded. We can get that wrong 1000 times and if we flee we survive as a consequence.
Just as your smoke alarm has one volume (LOUD!) it's natural to be fearful of what we perceive may harm us. We often overestimate the size and proximity of threats and conversely underestimate our ability to cope. Fear is powerful and can often interfere with logic and reason. That's why we need to respect fear and reassess our relationship to it. And courage is not the absence of fear; mindset is everything and mindset can be developed to ensure we have optimal strategies for the stresses and adversities that regularly afflict us.
Psychologist, PhD Clinical Psychology, Masters in Marriage Family Therapy
Working with anxiety disorders requires a comprehensive knowledge of the biological, psychological and learned basis of these complex conditions and finding creative ways to navigate through them to obtain lasting relief.
For dealing with anxiety, first of all, I help my clients to manage their physical symptoms of anxiety and then they are able to take control of their bodies, secondly we try to identify automatic negative thoughts and learn how to deal with them and challenge them. It is okay to have anxiety, but you need to learn how to deal with it faster.