There are two mental remedies: positive psychology principles (PPP’s) and cognitive therapy principles (CTP’s).
Consider a 48-year old single male (let’s call him Frank); he is waking up 12 times a night due to an enlarged prostate. His worry is dominated by whether or not he has cancer.
Consider a 29-year old married female (let’s call her Mandy) whose anxiety elevates when she leaves the house to drive. She “catastrophizes” and imagines worst case scenarios whenever she leaves the house. Her worry about getting in another car accident leaves her powerless and stricken with anxiety.
Both Frank and Mandy have different problems. But, they have some things in common. Frank’s health worries and Mandy’s catastrophic worries heighten their anxiety.
Positive psychology principles (PPP’s) are helpful because they simply offer perspective. One of the therapeutic modalities done by counselors is perspective broadening. The idea is to help the client gain perspective. PPP’s such as building resilience, discussing perseverance, talking about courage, and instilling hope are ways of thinking about things that involve metaphorically flying up like an eagle and broadly looking down at life’s road and journey. Many can be reminded of things like “What a journey you are on - this amazing life full of challenges and victories, ups and downs, and wins and losses. Life is hard.”
Perspective often results from talking with the “wise uncle,” a “good friend,” or your trusted therapist. “Take heart, I know you can get through this. You’ve done it before, you’ll do it again.” “Your resilience reminds me that you’ll be ok.” Or, for cancer survivors, they say that “fighting cancer with the support of loved ones gives perspective.”
In addition to discussing strengths and getting a fresh and enlarged perspective, both Frank and Mandy are also helped with cognitive therapy principles (CTP’s). Consider some of the key principles helpful for anxiety.
Reframing probability overestimates: What is the perceived danger? In some situations, people like Frank and Mandy generate an exaggerated probability estimate of their anxiety. The estimated probability of the worry is near 100% in the mind of the anxious. Car accidents feel like they “are happening again” and/or “will happen again.” In actuality, the likelihood of Mandy getting in another car accident is .01% based on her past years of driving.
Reframing catastrophic misinterpretations: when people worry and then experience anxiety from the worry, they have a heightened attention to a threat. Their heightened attention leads them to interpret their own anxiety as catastrophic. “I’m going to die.” De-catastrophizing involves systematically recognizing that the stressor, while inconvenient or undesirable, is not a catastrophe.
In plane language, stress from problem watching leads us to magnify the problems. Opportunities or possibilities are hard to see.
Consider a 48-year old single male (let’s call him Frank); he is waking up 12 times a night due to an enlarged prostate. His worry is dominated by whether or not he has cancer.
Consider a 29-year old married female (let’s call her Mandy) whose anxiety elevates when she leaves the house to drive. She “catastrophizes” and imagines worst case scenarios whenever she leaves the house. Her worry about getting in another car accident leaves her powerless and stricken with anxiety.
Both Frank and Mandy have different problems. But, they have some things in common. Frank’s health worries and Mandy’s catastrophic worries heighten their anxiety.
Positive psychology principles (PPP’s) are helpful because they simply offer perspective. One of the therapeutic modalities done by counselors is perspective broadening. The idea is to help the client gain perspective. PPP’s such as building resilience, discussing perseverance, talking about courage, and instilling hope are ways of thinking about things that involve metaphorically flying up like an eagle and broadly looking down at life’s road and journey. Many can be reminded of things like “What a journey you are on - this amazing life full of challenges and victories, ups and downs, and wins and losses. Life is hard.”
Perspective often results from talking with the “wise uncle,” a “good friend,” or your trusted therapist. “Take heart, I know you can get through this. You’ve done it before, you’ll do it again.” “Your resilience reminds me that you’ll be ok.” Or, for cancer survivors, they say that “fighting cancer with the support of loved ones gives perspective.”
In addition to discussing strengths and getting a fresh and enlarged perspective, both Frank and Mandy are also helped with cognitive therapy principles (CTP’s). Consider some of the key principles helpful for anxiety.
Reframing probability overestimates: What is the perceived danger? In some situations, people like Frank and Mandy generate an exaggerated probability estimate of their anxiety. The estimated probability of the worry is near 100% in the mind of the anxious. Car accidents feel like they “are happening again” and/or “will happen again.” In actuality, the likelihood of Mandy getting in another car accident is .01% based on her past years of driving.
Reframing catastrophic misinterpretations: when people worry and then experience anxiety from the worry, they have a heightened attention to a threat. Their heightened attention leads them to interpret their own anxiety as catastrophic. “I’m going to die.” De-catastrophizing involves systematically recognizing that the stressor, while inconvenient or undesirable, is not a catastrophe.
In plane language, stress from problem watching leads us to magnify the problems. Opportunities or possibilities are hard to see.
