You have been learning about anxiety, about your own response to it and ways of controlling it. The hope is that you are starting to feel better; feeling that there is more light at the end of the tunnel; that you are confident that the techniques you are learning will help you; that you feel you are in more control of your life. You are now your own therapist. Take heed of the following 8 pieces of advice which will help you in this:

1)   You are at the crossroads.  One road leads to further control over you anxiety.  The other leads back to where you started.  If you forget about what you have learned and don't put any of it into action, you are going down the second road.  Keep working hard at putting these techniques into effect and you are well on you way down the first road.

2)   Keep your expectations realistic : You have not finished your therapy.  You have now learned what to do - you now have to put it into practice.

3)  Accept that you will almost definitely have setbacks.

4)  Understand the difference between relapse and setback.  A relapse means that you are back to square one. A setback is a temporary failure. You may have taken 5 steps forward but only one back. Bear in mind that you are still 4 steps up so do not talk yourself into a relapse.

5)  Don't panic if you have a setback.  Accept what is going on.  Stand back and work out, if you can, why you are having a bad day and, more importantly, work out what you can do about it.

6)  Try to predict when a setback is more likely - after an argument at home, at work, being on holiday etc.

7)  Let other people help you.  Express your feelings to them and get things off your chest.  Listen to their advice, be comforted by their concern and take encouragement from them.

8)  Face up to the problems that lie in the future. Don't worry about the problem - work out how you are going to deal with it using the TAB techniques you have learned.

Work out the automatic thoughts that you may have.  Go back and work out how to use positive thinking to help.

Work out how you may act if you are tense.  Make sure you do not avoid and make the problem worse. Again go back and work out the best ways of coping.

Work out how your body may react. Go back and use relaxation and controlled breathing to cope.

Don't leave things to chance - think and plan ahead. Stay in control.

The last is to bring everything we have learned together and see how it all fits. By this stage, the jigsaw is complete.

Remember the vicious circle that kept anxiety going. The aim of this book has been to get rid of the vicious circle and replace it with a positive circle - one which will not just control anxiety but which will also promote a feeling of well-being. Being able to see how everything that you have learned fits together will help you achieve this.

You have now reached the end of this book.  Compare what you knew about anxiety and it's treatment before you started and what you now know. We hope you feel you have come a long way.  Don't regard this as the end - it is really just the end of the beginning.

It is known from research into controlling anxiety that what you do in the next few months is going to be crucial in whether you keep going forward.  If you go away from the course and don't practice the new skills you have learned, the chances are high that you will go back to square one.  Instead, work hard at putting these skills into practice, cope with setbacks, and get a bit better day by day.  While there are no guarantees, you will greatly increase your chances of controlling anxiety by working as hard as you can.

Remember right at the beginning of this book, It was said that the aim was for you to develop a 'Hardy personality'.

Don't expect to be able to be like this just now but always keep these goals in your sights.  Work hard and believe in yourself.  You have taken the first and most important step by reading this book, keep going and

GOOD LUCK