Glasgow Anxiety Therapy

Chronic worriers will recognise the terrifying power of What If thoughts. What if I fail the test? What if I get the sack? And if that happens, what if I can never get another job?

What Ifs are not problems that actually face us in the here and now. They are hypothetical. Putting it more bluntly, they are imaginary. Possible of course, but exactly how likely are these What Ifs? Scaring ourselves with terrible potential problems doesn't help us to deal with any real problems we have. What If thinking makes us anxious and this can freeze our ability to deal with the real problems that face us now. Scaring ourselves with thoughts that we might lose our job puts us into a tizz, whereas if this was a likely outcome, we should be making a plan to find a new job.

And have you noticed that What Ifs are always horrible? What if I get soaked on the way to work? rather than What if I get a pay rise today? or What if I see a brilliant film? or What if I achieve all my goals for today? Do you think that happy and positive What Ifs are tempting fate, whereas negative What Ifs somehow help you to solve problems?

So what to do? When a nasty  What If thought pops into your mind, challenge it. Exactly what is it that you are predicting? What if this were true? Why would it matter? And if you come up with a reason, why would that matter? What exactly are you predicting?

Bad things happen to all of us. It is worth remembering this because we cannot expect things to go right all the time and we need to learn to handle difficult situations. Bad things do happen, and the more we accept this, the more we know this is normal, the less we fear bad things happening and the more confident we can be in dealing with our problems.

Active problem solving is a useful skill for anyone who tends to ruminate, worry or suffers chronic anxiety.

Problem-solving is traditionally divided into five main component skills, which can be taught and practised in therapy sessions,

1. Problem Orientation.  Problems are normal. Everyone has them.  We can learn to look at problems in a systematic and practical way.
2. What is the problem? Why is this a problem? What are the facts that make this a problem?
   
3. What would be better? Given the situation, what would we like to happen instead of having this problem? Is this a realistic goal?
   
4. What action can we take?  There are often a wide range of things we can do - some are off the wall. But the more possibilities we can come up with, the more likely one at least will work.
   
5. Which are the best plans?  Some solutions give immediate relief but don't solve the problem. Some solutions cause more problems. Some might work for you but cause problems for others. Which is the best and most realistic plan of action.
   
6. Trying it out. The goal is to find something that solves your problem, so when you give your action plan a test, you might find it needs adapting. Or it might need replacing with Plan B. And you might find you need persistence. Some problems need more work than others.

And taking this approach will build your confidence hugely. So, when you start to feel anxious in the future, you will start to work on solving your real problems, rather than distressing yourself (and, being blunt again, distracting yourself) with millions of possible disaster scenarios!

It is good to separate your worries into those you can do something about and those where there is nothing you can do. Productive worrying and unproductive worrying. Just by doing this you are taking some action. And action is what is needed to resolve our problems.

When we worry, most of us go over the same ground time and again. If you are stewing over something in the past, you think What if this had happened as well as why did he say that etc etc. You can come up with the most fearful and scary thoughts about something that has no possibility of happening, because you are thinking about the past. And it can be very distressing. But these are just thoughts. And they are unhelpful.

This repetitive, chronic worry doesn't usually lead to problem resolution. We just become stuck in the endless cycle of What ifs. We just cover the same mental and emotional ground again and again. And it stops us taking effective action. People who worry endlessly use worry to respond to challenging situations rather than actively problem solving.

So learning some effective problem solving skills is a good start to kicking the worry habit. Come and see me.

There is a great deal of research on worry and anxiety, because it is so widespread. All of us worry sometimes and we will all feel anxious from time to time. The problem comes when we just can't get over it, when it hangs around and ruins our lives and those of our families and friends.

So, is it worry or anxiety? Research has shown a difference between the two.

Worry involves extended, repetitive, persistent thinking with words whereas anxiety frequently focuses on upsetting images. The worry thoughts seem to pop up out of the blue, and this makes it seem impossible to control them.

Research  by TD Borkovec (of the University of Illinois, who specialises in worry and anxiety) and colleagues, has identified worry as a coping skill to avoid more difficult thoughts. The vagueness of worry thoughts allowing the sufferer to avoid focusing on any underlying difficulties. Sometimes we think that worrying is quite helpful. A bit of helpful preparation if a difficult situation is on the horizon. But worry thinking doesn't focus and concentrate on the problem so you don't come up with a solution and a plan.It is too vague and nebulous.

Worry is often a side-effect of anxiety, and it can make anxiety worse by perpetuating it and making it spread so that you start thinking What if this and What if that, imagining more and more scary scenarios and outcomes.

This research then gives useful pointers in how to deal with worry thoughts.

• Make them more specific. What exactly are you worrying is going to happen?
• How likely are these outcomes?
• What can you do about them. Make a list.

And cognitive behavioural hypnotherapy will help you deal with your worries in a helpful way. Solving your problems where you can, and learning to accept that, surprise surprise, you are not in control of every aspect of your life, you are not responsible for everything and that some things have to accepted or endured. At the end you will be more resilient, more pragmatic, and happier as a result.