Phobias, Anxieties and Work (Part 2)

Anxiety can happen in a blink of an eye. Simply repeating the two words of “what if” to yourself can start the process of building anxiety. These are several points about self talk and their messages that I want to address. The negative self talk perpetuates situational avoidance. You can tell yourself a tall building is dangerous so you may avoid it completely or not be able to ride the elevator. Whether it be a real situation or just a thought about a situation, anxiety can begin quickly begin or start up after a delay in time. You may believe your irrational, anxious self-talk is the truth. You won’t go in or even several miles near or within sight of the ocean water because your irrational fear of a tsunami wave. Self-talk appears in telegraph form. Meaning a single word or two can translate or telegraph to a whole series of thoughts, memories and actions. You may feel your heart beating faster and you say to yourself “oh no”. Oh no is self-talk for a whole series of thoughts concerning panic, fear and fight or flight action. Self-talk is also so automatic and elusive you may not notice the effect on your mood. Only when you step back and learn to recognize the connection between self-talk and your feelings. Then you can address the issue and teach yourself to rethink the situation and improve your thought process and reaction to an anxiety trigger.

Social phobia is a very common anxiety disorder. It typically involves the fear of embarrassment or humiliation when you are exposed to the attention of others. Bipolar individuals and others can have fear so strong that you avoid the situation entirely. The most commons of these social phobias is fear of public speaking. Other social phobias include the fears of blushing in public, being watched at work, eating in public or fear of crowds. The treatment for social phobia may include medication as well as group therapy, which can help to combine real social settings with the mistaken beliefs supported by embarrassment.

Are you riding the bus or driving it? Life is a journey, not just a destination on a bucket list. So are you riding the bus or driving it? The challenge of phobias and anxieties are tough. Several small changes to your “what if” index can make a large difference. As a bipolar sufferer with anxieties, I realize how difficult it can be to get started on reducing your anxiety. Reducing anxiety is a goal, and the chances of reaching that goal are greatly enhanced if the goal is specific, realistic and measurable. Your goals will probably consist of small steps. They are best held to specific dates of accomplishment. Even if you do not make that date, set a new goal date and continue to do your best. How do you interrupt the telegraph of anxiety triggers? Therapy is one important way. Whether it be CBT or other type, having the third party looking at you and speaking with you does make a difference to most that endure anxiety and bipolar issues. Remember losing is easy, I done it often when I'm not mindful. I also try to make every day a little more of a winning day than a losing one.

Part 1 to Phobias, Anxieties and Work is here.