Q: I have struggled with anxiety all my life. My physician’s supportive prescriptions and the patience of various counselors have helped me succeed, but I still have panic attacks. What else can I do?
A: Neither I nor anyone else can completely obliterate anxiety from your psychological landscape.
Often as not, anxiety is buried deep within your genetic code and not likely to be deterred through counselling. What I think is remarkable is the extent to which you have successfully used both your doctor and your counsellor.
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We look at anxiety through a negative magnifying glass, and that makes sense. It takes the glow and the glory off what would otherwise be thrilling moments in life. What would happen if you were to turn at least part of your anxiety around and check-marked all the benefits you might have derived from it? Think about it.
Anxiety is nothing but a dress rehearsal for events that might be challenging.
If you can break free from that negative aura your anxiety has created, you might find some good stuff to think about. Anxiety identifies personal challenges you could be confronting. It frees up energy to take on the cause, and it brings to the foreground difficulties that hide in the landscape.
Where anxiety does its damage is through its obsession with the emotional side of your neurological structure. I am sure that I do not have to tell you about how horrid some of those emotional ventures might be.
You may be able to reduce the fear and depression you feel by taking your anxiety to a more cognitive moment. Grab a piece of paper and a pencil and define the problem that is generating your anxiety. Is it an exam? A dreaded meeting? A difficult project?
Make sure you define it as carefully and completely as you can.
Next, identify personal and social environment factors that are likely to help you overcome the problem. This is different. Until now, you have focused on weaknesses in your personal repertoire and hazards in your environment. I am asking you to look for support.
Finally, you need to put all of this together into a strategy. Remember, strategies are not always successful. You might have to change your strategy. That is OK. Don’t get uptight about it. Just build a new one.
My suggestions will not rid you of anxiety. You need to work with your physician and your personal counsellor. The strategy I am suggesting, absorbing your anxiety into a cognitive framework, can make small parts of your life a little more productive and enjoyable. And that makes it all worthwhile.
Jacklin Andrews is a family counsellor from Saskatchewan. Contact: jandrews@producer.com.
