INTRODUCTION

"I'm going to get "What if ..." inscribed on my gravestone.  What if I'm late?  What if I make a fool of myself? What if they notice my hand shaking?  What if I don't know anyone?  It goes on and on and I can't stop it."

"As soon as I turn out the light at night, I start to worry about a whole host of things which I know probably won't happen but I can't stop.  Then I start to worry about worrying.  It's a vicious circle."

"I'm am petrified that another panic hits me.  I thought that I was going to die when I had the last one.  It came out of the blue - I couldn't get a proper breath, I thought my heart was going to burst and I felt I was going to pass out.  It was the worst thing that has ever happened to me."

"I just can't control my life any more."

"I can't concentrate on anything - I can't follow any film I watch and I get to the end of a page of my book and go straight back to the start.  It makes me worry that there is something wrong with my brain."

"If the supermarket isn't too busy and as long as my husband stays by my side, I can cope.  If I have to stand in a queue at the checkout, I think all sorts of things - I won't get my shopping into my bag, the girl will see how bad I look and will say something to me about it.  What if I drop something and it smashes -everyone will look at me. I would panic like mad and run out of the shop - I know I would make an awful fool of myself."

"I used to cope as well as anyone in the past - if there was a problem, I would look for a solution.  Now, whenever there is a problem, I just look for other problems."

THE AIM OF ANXIETY CONTROL

This manual was devised to help the great number of people who complain of stress or anxiety.  Unlike depression, where people seem to have given up, people who are anxious make an intense effort to control their problem but feel that what they are doing isn't working.  Indeed, what they are doing often makes the problem worse.  Once you are in this position, anxiety will start to spiral.  Even if the things which caused the anxiety in the first place have gone, anxiety will hang onto you as, for reasons this book will soon look at, the anxiety will be feeding itself.

This book has been designed to tackle the main obstacles to getting on top of your anxiety.  It will provide you with accurate information about anxiety and why you are reacting in the way you are.  This will act as the foundation on which to build the therapies you will use to combat anxiety.

There is no magic cure for anxiety.  You should not think that this book will get rid of your anxiety.  Anxiety is part and parcel of life so the aim is to keep it at a reasonable level rather than abolish it.  So keep your expectations realistic.

In the long run, you should be aiming to acquire a 'Hardy Personality'.  This will be very useful in fighting off anxiety in the future.  A 'Hardy Personality' involves:

1. Having a Sense of Control  You are aiming to achieve a belief that you can influence what happens to you in life.  You take responsibility for things working out and things going wrong. You don't blame fate.

2. Having a Sense of Commitment  You are aiming to achieve a sense of purpose and direction in your life.  This could show itself in your family life, work, interests etc.

3. Having a Sense of Challenge  As changes in life are inevitable, you are aiming to regard change as a normal part of life and regard it as an opportunity to develop. Be flexible and ride with the waves - don't be swamped by them.

This book teaches you how to take control of your own therapy. The sequence we will go through is as follows:

1.  Information  The book will teach you all about anxiety - what it is and what it is not.  It will look at what may have caused it and what keeps it going.  The role of anxiety and the various forms it takes will be described.  The more you know about your anxiety, the better you will be able to confront it.

2 Therapy  It will teach you a range of ways to tackle anxiety and do so in a way that you feel confident enough to put them into effect.

3 Coping with the Future  It will help you realise the coping resources within you which are being held down by your anxiety just now.  Doing this will help your self-confidence to build-up which will help you face your future without dread.

YOUR ROLE

I. Taking Responsibility  You must take responsibility for controlling your anxiety from the word go. This book is based on this. The book is designed in such a way that you are expected to adapt what you learn to fit your own problem. So don't think of yourself as a patient but as an equal partner in the attempt to get on top of things.

2. Priority  You must give controlling your anxiety top priority over the next few weeks. This book has been made as straightforward as possible but it needs you to work very hard on the suggestions in the book. This hard work must continue after you have improved to maintain your improvement.

3. Expectations  You must accept that your anxiety will not clear up quickly or without a struggle.  Anxiety is a complex problem and it may have built up over a long time.  It will take time to get control of it.  Usually, you don't make smooth progress - it is often 2 steps forward and I backward.  So don't get discouraged by setbacks - learn from them.

4.  Belief  You must, most of all, believe in yourself and what you are doing especially when the going is rough.

THE ROLE OF THIS BOOK

Read the book over a few times to get the hang of it.  You will pick up the information easier if you read it in chunks rather that at one go.  Make notes, underline what you want -the book is yours to keep.  Give it to others to read so that they can learn what you are going through.  You may not understand it all at this stage but don't worry.  Reading the book on its own won't be enough to get in control of your anxiety but it will start you off on a strong footing.

THE PLAN OF THIS BOOK

The book divides into 9 steps:

Information: Chapters 1 - 9

The aim of this part of the book is to give you information about anxiety.  This acts as the base upon which you can build the therapies described later.  Anxiety is described in some detail - what causes anxiety, what keeps it going, the role of anxiety, the different forms it takes etc.

Clearing the Decks: Chapter 8

This section will help you to get rid of some of the things which may be making the problem worse.

Working out the Pattern: Chapter 9

Is there a pattern to your anxiety?  Are you worse at certain times, in certain places, with certain people? Working this out will help you target the treatment at the problem with greater precision.

Quick Control: Chapter 10

The fifth step is to learn some quick techniques that can be useful in the short term.

Controlling your body: Chapter 11

The sixth step is to learn how to relax your body.  You do this by learning a powerful relaxation technique; you will be given a relaxation tape for home use. ((sorry - I am not able to make this available on-line but maybe you could get something suitable wherever you live - webmaster))

Controlling your Thoughts: Chapter 12

This involves learning about how your mind reacts to stress and teaches you how to use positive thinking to get rid of the anxiety.

Controlling your Actions: Chapter 13

You will learn better ways of dealing with your stressful actions using a range of approaches.

Controlling Related Problems: Chapter 14 - 16

This step concentrates on coping with panic attacks, depression and sleeping problems.

Controlling your Future: Chapter 17

The final step will look at ways of coping with the future by learning to look ahead and get on top of problems before they get on top of you.