Read Online Introducing Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (Introducing...) by Elaine Iljon Foreman, Clair Pollard - Free Book Online
Authors: Elaine Iljon Foreman, Clair Pollard
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out theories and hypotheses about the way the world works. In CBT we do the same thing.
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Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear – not absence of fear .
Mark Twain
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Step 1
Think of a situation which you avoid because you are afraid something bad will happen. What is it you are afraid of? What is the worst thing that could happen? What is your most anxious prediction about what might happen if you were to put yourself in this situation? Write down this fear or prediction. Remember that your prediction should not simply be that you will get anxious in the situation – we already know that to be true. There would be no point in doing this experiment if the situation didn’t make you anxious. Your fear is likely to be more than that – what is it that you think will be the consequences of getting anxious? Losing control? Not coping? Falling apart? Becoming dangerously ill? Making a fool of yourself? Use your imagination – what are you really terrified will happen?
Step 2
Design an experiment to test out that prediction. What do you need to do? How would you measure whether the prediction was true or not? Write all this down. Rate out of 10 how much you believe your prediction will come true. Also think about what might stop you carrying out your experiment – how could you overcome such obstacles to ensure you do complete it?
Step 3
Carry out the experiment. Remember to use whatever way you have decided on to measure what happens. Write down what happens.
Step 4
Okay. What did happen? Did your most feared prediction come true? What did you learn? Write all this down – this can then help you to design your next experiment.
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Case study – Billy (panic disorder and agoraphobia)
Remember Billy, our panic and agoraphobia case study? Here is an experiment that Billy did to help test out his fears, and what he learned from it.
Billy’s experiment
Step 1
Anxious Prediction: If I go to the local shop I’ll have a panic attack and I won’t cope with it. I’ll faint or lose control in some way and make a total fool of myself. I believe 80% that I’ll lose control if I get anxious.
Step 2
Experiment: To walk to the local shop and go inside. To spend a few minutes looking at the magazines. To stay for at least 5 minutes and then to come home.
What might stop me? I might get overwhelmed with fear and not be able to go through with it.
How can I overcome this? I’ll write down the rationale for this experiment and use it to remind me why I am doing this. Remembering this will help. I’ll get a friend to encourage me to leave the house. I’ll arrange to do something nice afterwards as a reward.
Step 3
What happened? I did it! It was really tough and I did feel pretty bad. My heart raced and I felt very wobbly. I was exhausted afterwards. But I didn’t freak out or pass out and I don’t think anyone really noticed how awful I was feeling.
Step 4
What did I learn? That although I feel awful it is not as terrible as I thought. People don’t seem to notice my anxiety as much as I think they will – perhaps it is not as obvious as I assumed. I do panic a bit, but I don’t lose control. I now believe only 40% that I will lose control if I get anxious.
What next? I’m going to try this in different situations – test out what I fear.
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Activity scheduling and planning
Very often we feel anxious and panicky because we have taken on too much or not planned our time effectively. Effective planning is a very important life skill which many of us (including Elaine and Clair, your authors) need to work on.
When we have a lot on, we often get anxious and the anxiety can paralyse us – stopping us being able to tackle the many things we have to do. There are a few rules which we can follow to prevent us from getting overwhelmed and stuck in this way.
1. Be more like a hummingbird than a butterfly
Watch a butterfly. It seems to flit from one place to the next, and when it stops you can’t really
----
Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear – not absence of fear .
Mark Twain
----
Step 1
Think of a situation which you avoid because you are afraid something bad will happen. What is it you are afraid of? What is the worst thing that could happen? What is your most anxious prediction about what might happen if you were to put yourself in this situation? Write down this fear or prediction. Remember that your prediction should not simply be that you will get anxious in the situation – we already know that to be true. There would be no point in doing this experiment if the situation didn’t make you anxious. Your fear is likely to be more than that – what is it that you think will be the consequences of getting anxious? Losing control? Not coping? Falling apart? Becoming dangerously ill? Making a fool of yourself? Use your imagination – what are you really terrified will happen?
Step 2
Design an experiment to test out that prediction. What do you need to do? How would you measure whether the prediction was true or not? Write all this down. Rate out of 10 how much you believe your prediction will come true. Also think about what might stop you carrying out your experiment – how could you overcome such obstacles to ensure you do complete it?
Step 3
Carry out the experiment. Remember to use whatever way you have decided on to measure what happens. Write down what happens.
Step 4
Okay. What did happen? Did your most feared prediction come true? What did you learn? Write all this down – this can then help you to design your next experiment.
----
Case study – Billy (panic disorder and agoraphobia)
Remember Billy, our panic and agoraphobia case study? Here is an experiment that Billy did to help test out his fears, and what he learned from it.
Billy’s experiment
Step 1
Anxious Prediction: If I go to the local shop I’ll have a panic attack and I won’t cope with it. I’ll faint or lose control in some way and make a total fool of myself. I believe 80% that I’ll lose control if I get anxious.
Step 2
Experiment: To walk to the local shop and go inside. To spend a few minutes looking at the magazines. To stay for at least 5 minutes and then to come home.
What might stop me? I might get overwhelmed with fear and not be able to go through with it.
How can I overcome this? I’ll write down the rationale for this experiment and use it to remind me why I am doing this. Remembering this will help. I’ll get a friend to encourage me to leave the house. I’ll arrange to do something nice afterwards as a reward.
Step 3
What happened? I did it! It was really tough and I did feel pretty bad. My heart raced and I felt very wobbly. I was exhausted afterwards. But I didn’t freak out or pass out and I don’t think anyone really noticed how awful I was feeling.
Step 4
What did I learn? That although I feel awful it is not as terrible as I thought. People don’t seem to notice my anxiety as much as I think they will – perhaps it is not as obvious as I assumed. I do panic a bit, but I don’t lose control. I now believe only 40% that I will lose control if I get anxious.
What next? I’m going to try this in different situations – test out what I fear.
----
Activity scheduling and planning
Very often we feel anxious and panicky because we have taken on too much or not planned our time effectively. Effective planning is a very important life skill which many of us (including Elaine and Clair, your authors) need to work on.
When we have a lot on, we often get anxious and the anxiety can paralyse us – stopping us being able to tackle the many things we have to do. There are a few rules which we can follow to prevent us from getting overwhelmed and stuck in this way.
1. Be more like a hummingbird than a butterfly
Watch a butterfly. It seems to flit from one place to the next, and when it stops you can’t really
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