Table of Contents
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction 1
So How Did I Become an Anxiety Expert? 1
Why This Book? 5
About This Book 6
Chapter 1 Who Is the Worry Monster? 9
Some Examples of Worriers 9
Pulling Back the Curtain 13
Things to Remember 14
Chapter 2 Anxiety and the Fear Response 15
The Survival Response 16
Things to Remember 21
Chapter 3 Types of Anxiety and What They Look Like 23
Generalized Anxiety 24
Panic Attacks 24
Agoraphobia 25
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) 26
Specific Phobia 26
Social Phobia 27
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) 28
Separation Anxiety 28
Perfectionism 29
Eating Disorders 30
What If This Stuff Describes You? 32
What Does Anxiety Look and Feel Like? 33
Avoidance 34
Things to Remember 36
Chapter 4 Cognitive (Thinking) Model of Anxiety 37
Thoughts Cause Feelings 38
How the Worry Monster Works 39
Here Comes Adrenaline! 40
Activity: Where Do You Feel It? 40
Taking on the Worry Monster 41
Things to Remember 41
Chapter 5 Thinking Errors 43
Catastrophizing 44
All or Nothing Thinking 44
Filtering 44
Selective Attention 45
Magnifying 45
Shoulds 46
Mind Reading 46
Personalizing 46
Overgeneralizing 47
Probability Overestimation 47
Additional Thinking Errors 47
"What if…?" 48
"What will people think…?" 48
The Short List 49
Activity: What Are Your Thinking Patterns? 49
Things to Remember 50
Things to Do 50
Thinking Patterns Activity Answers 51
Chapter 6 Cognitive (Thinking) Strategies 53
Four Steps 54
An Example of When I Changed My Thinking 58
Additional Cognitive (Thinking) Strategies 59
Positive Self-Talk 59
Worry Time 61
Worry Box 62
"And Then What?" 62
Planning for Worst-Case Scenarios 62
Things to Remember 63
Chapter 7 Mindfulness-Based Interventions 65
Staying in the Present 65
Letting Thoughts Pass 69
Controlling Your Breathing 70
Activity: Belly Breathing 71
Things to Remember 73
Things to Do 73
Chapter 8 Behavioral Interventions: Practice, Practice, Practice! 75
Systematic Desensitization, Success Ladders, and Baby Steps 76
Behavioral Rehearsal 81
Response Inhibition (Don't Do It!) 83
Fake II to Make It 85
Pleasure Predicting 87
Taking a Risk 88
Prescribing Failure 89
More Strategies to Defeat the Perfectionist Monster 91
Sticking to the Plan 91
Setting Realistic Expectations 92
Planning Alternative Paths 93
Being Resilient 95
Things to Remember 96
Chapter 9 Patrick, Savannah, and Drew 97
Patrick 97
Helping Patrick Fight the Worry and OCD Monsters 98
Identifying Patrick's Irrational and Worrisome Thoughts 98
Changing Patrick's Thinking 99
Patrick's Success Ladder and Scare Steps 99
Response Inhibition (Don't Do It!) and Practice, Practice, Practice 99
Strategies for Combating Worry 100
Coping Plan: Toolbox 101
Patrick's Success Ladder After Scaring Away the Worry Monster 101
Patrick's Current Thinking 102
Savannah 102
Helping Savannah Fight the Worry Monster 103
Identifying Savannah's Worrisome Thinking 103
Challenging and Changing Savannah's Thinking 104
Reinforcing the Battle Plan 105
Drew 106
Identifying Drew's Worrisome Thinking 107
Changing Drew's Thinking 107
Setting Up a Behavior Plan 107
Drew's Toolbox 109
Chapter Summary 110
Things to Remember 110
Things to Do 110
Chapter 10 Making a Plan to Tame the Worry Monster 111
Making and Working the Plan 111
Step 1 Remember How Your Brain and Body Work When You Are Scared 112
Step 2 Identify Body Feelings 112
Step 3 Externalize the Problem 113
Step 4 Make a Worry List 114
Step 5 Make a Success Ladder 114
Step 6 Identify Worrisome and Fearful Thinking 115
Step 7 Change and Modify Thinking 115
Step 8 Practice, Practice, Practice! 117
Step 9 Develop a Coping Toolbox 117
And Poof, He's Gone! 119
Things to Remember 119
Things to Do 120
Chapter 11 Troubleshooting and Healthy Habits 121
Troubleshooting 121
Start with a Victory 121
Look at Your Reinforcement Plan 122
Try Working on a Different Worry or Fear 122
Try a Different Thinking Strategy 122
Distraction 122
Add More Tools 122
Diet and Exercise 123
Sleep 124
What If the Worry Monster Still Won't Go Away? 125
Things to Remember 126
Things to Do 127
Chapter 12 Conclusion 129
Bringing It Home 129
Suggested Reading and Resources 133
Endnotes 137
References 139
Index 141
About the Author 143