Unravelling Anxiety: the Treatments

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Marylayo: Welcome to Marylayo Talks, a

podcast that discusses mental health and

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spiritual well being.

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Before we jump in, there may be episodes that

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are particularly sensitive for some listeners,

and if that applies, then I hope you'll be

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able to join me whenever you feel ready and

able.

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In the last couple of episodes, we covered a

lot of ground talking about anxiety with Susie

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Williams, a psychotherapist.

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But I thought it'll be good to delve into the

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treatment side of things even more.

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So I brought Susie back.

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I asked her to tell us more about the

treatments that can be used to explore our

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anxieties and reframe our mindset.

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Let's join in the conversation.

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Speaker B: Welcome back, Susie.

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Suzi: Thank you.

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Thank you.

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So CBT cognitive behavioural therapy is

considered first line treatment for anxiety.

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It's how can I put it?

Evidence and collaborative based work that

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that person will do with a therapist.

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Marylayo: Okay.

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Suzi: So it focuses on the thought

process and seeks to identify negative

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thinking.

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Negative thought processes.

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There's many individuals who have a negative

way of thinking but are not really aware that

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the way I think is unhelpful.

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And the way that a person thinks could be in

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relation to, I mentioned earlier, the schema,

the blueprint or template that a person's

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thoughts and beliefs are structured within.

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So a past experience, for example, if someone

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has had many past experiences that have led

them to and these past experience have not

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been resolved cognitively, then you get a

build up of negative thoughts.

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Or just the schema will then influence the way

in which you perceive and understand

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situations.

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So going back to cognitive behavioral therapy,

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it helps to highlight and identify that

actually your thought process here is looking

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a bit distorted.

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So it identifies negative thoughts, it

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challenges these negative thoughts, and it

provides an individual with tools to challenge

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them.

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Thoughts away from the therapy room, per se.

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Marylayo: Are there any other forms of

treatments or techniques other than CBT?

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Suzi: Absolutely.

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CBT will actually bring in it will help with

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cognitive restructuring.

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So I just want to say that it does center

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around thoughts, feelings, and behavior,

because the idea is that our thoughts is

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what's triggering the anxiety.

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So there's a situation in front of us.

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We sense danger.

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I start thinking danger about these thoughts.

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I'm now underestimating my ability to cope

with this or receive support so that then

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triggers those hormones.

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I start to get these physical sensations, and

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then my behavior changes and I'll avoid the

situation.

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Or we mentioned before, didn't we?

I'll begin to isolate myself.

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I'll withdraw that sort of thing.

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And so CBT will focus on those three

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components, the thoughts, the feelings, and

the behavior, but particularly the cognitions,

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the thoughts.

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And within that, that's where you work with

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your as I've mentioned, you work with your

therapist to identify the thoughts and replace

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them with positive and healthy thinking.

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In terms of other forms of treatment, you've

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got exposure therapy as well.

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Marylayo: Exposure therapy.

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Suzi: Yes, it's a type of therapy that in

a controlled and systematic way, sort of

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presents to you the situation that you're

afraid of.

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Marylayo: Realize actually you are able to

cope with it, address it, deal with it, and I

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guess the fear factor will then diminish

because you've been able to get through it

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unscathed.

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Suzi: Yeah. Okay, so you've got the CBT,

you've got exposure therapy.

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I think I did mention also you've got

psychodynamic therapy, which can help us to

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identify, well, why do I think this way?

And as I mentioned before, this could be

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related to a past experience.

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So for example, someone that may have been

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bitten by a dog when they were younger or they

witnessed someone bitten by a dog, or they

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heard a story of someone being bitten by a dog

and this was not resolved within their mind.

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And so now they've sort of churned these

thoughts over to where now they perceive dogs

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as danger.

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So anytime they see a dog, it's I can't go

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near it, I don't want to walk past it, or in

fact, I'm not even leaving the house because

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I'm anxious.

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And so the psychodynamic therapy can help to

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uncover that perhaps the origins of these

thoughts are not about the dog right now, but

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the anxiety.

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It's sort of like a learnt behavior based on

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that past experience.

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And what we want to do is identify that that

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was the past.

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Now we are in the present because anxiety,

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that's what it does.

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It takes us out of the present and we're

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anticipating the future.

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Something that hasn't happened, usually

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irrationally.

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Yes.

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And so the psychodynamic therapy can help to

ease that discomfort or that franticness that

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it's about now it's about the dog in front of

me when actually no, it's a response that you

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had once before, but now you've developed some

safety behaviors, which is reinforcing your

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anxiety.

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Sure.

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Marylayo: Brilliant. So Susie, so far you've

mentioned, know, CBT and that exposure

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therapy, et cetera.

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And these are working collaboratively with

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others to address the issue.

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How can someone then help themselves if they

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didn't want to, for example, work with someone

else or another professional?

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Are there ways that they can help to address

and confront or challenge their anxieties as

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they arise and then hopefully deal with it

really and deal with it effectively?

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Suzi: Yes, there are.

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I mean, first and foremost, anyone that feels

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that they're suffering with anxiety, I would

always suggest to get checked to perhaps get

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it diagnosed.

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So you're not working with something that's

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not actually there.

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You want to know that, okay, this is anxiety

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that I'm dealing with here.

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And we talked about the difference in the

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symptoms that overlap.

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So actually I might be dealing with stress or

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I might be dealing with depression and not so

much anxiety.

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So a GP can actually diagnose, okay, this is

anxiety.

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So you want to have that awareness that these

are the symptoms I'm getting?

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They're matching symptoms of anxiety.

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Just for that, reassurance your GP, clarifies,

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that for you.

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And then, yes, you're aware from that you

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might want to get some psycho education.

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So that's just educating yourself.

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These are like the initial steps, by the way.

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Marylayo: Yeah, psycho education.

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Suzi: Educate yourself on these

conditions, on mental health and how it shows

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up, what it looks like.

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Marylayo: And when you say educating

ourselves, not necessarily going to going back

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to school or doing oh, no, just basically

reading up, reading sources, just generally

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building up our knowledge and informing

yourself.

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Informing yourself.

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Suzi: I mean, in my line of what we call

it psycho education, and I do offer that

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because it's important that you know what it

is.

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Once you've got that knowledge and you know

this is what it is, what you would want to do

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then is now address your physical symptoms,

because the physical symptoms can prevent us

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from dealing with the real issue, which is the

thoughts.

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So we want to practice relaxation.

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Yeah, that's the first tip, I would say what

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helps you to relax, get yourself into a state

of relaxation.

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Okay.

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Whether that be exercising, it might be going

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for a run, it might be going for a walk, it

might be having a warm bath.

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It might be getting good sleep.

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Yeah.

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Allow yourself to relax, because the bodily

symptoms can be distressing in itself, which

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then prevents you from working on the

thoughts.

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So first tip, practice relaxation.

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Secondly, I would say reduce your stress

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levels.

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Marylayo: Okay?

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Suzi: So check in with yourself.

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What's going on around me right now?

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What's happening in my life right now that

could be triggering these symptoms?

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And then work to bring yourself into the

present, because as I've said, anxiety is all

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about anticipating the future.

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So when you're anxious, you're not actually.

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Suzi: In the present, you're not present.

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Suzi: What can I do to get myself back

into the here and now?

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And that might be again, check in with

yourself.

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Where am I?

What's happening right now?

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I'm sitting in front of my desk.

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I'm touching the desk.

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I'm looking at my computer.

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It's almost like you're connecting with the

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here and now.

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Let me touch my forehead.

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Let me touch my chest.

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Suzi: Okay?

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Suzi: So that's reminding you that I'm

here, I'm in this realm and not in the realm

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of the future.

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Bring yourself into the present and ask

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yourself those questions.

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What am I doing right now?

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Where am I?

Okay.

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And then you want to start begin to ask

yourself, what am I thinking?

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What's going on up there?

Am I thinking?

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Have I had a thought today that has triggered

these symptoms?

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We get over 100 thoughts in a day, okay?

We get multiple faults in a day.

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And there could be one thought, just one, that

has upset or triggered those hormones that

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send you into danger mode.

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What have I fought today?

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What have I been thinking, what's happened?

And what am I thinking about this?

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Because that's probably where the situation

lies that's likely to be causing the anxiety.

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So check in with your thoughts and keep a

thought diary, a thought journal, write them

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down and then begin to challenge those

thoughts.

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So it sort of ties in with exposure therapy,

exposing yourself to this matter.

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Because, as I've mentioned, we're probably

thinking, I can't deal with what I'm thinking.

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These imaginations that I'm getting, you're

sort of anticipating or underestimating your

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ability to cope.

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So face the thought, what's happening?

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Okay, if this was to happen, what would I do?

What support is available for me if this was

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to happen?

So you're challenging it, you're confronting

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it, and what you would find is that your

physical symptoms will begin to alleviate.

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Marylayo: Okay. As you were talking, I also

remembered how there's this thing about

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positive visualization, and I wonder how that

kind of comes into play.

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And you know about how, for example, when

someone is fearful or anxious when it comes to

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public speaking and doing a presentation,

there's this tip or advice I've heard that the

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person should actually prepare as part of that

preparation process.

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They should picture themselves doing the

presentation or how does it feel going into

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the room?

Visualize it.

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Visualize the audience staring at you,

visualize yourself speaking confidently or so

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there's that thing about also bringing

yourself to the future in that specific

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circumstance that you're worried or concerned

about, and preparing your mind so that it

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adjusts and it prepares for what's coming.

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So that, I guess it's not a bit of a shock to

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the system.

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And you like, oh, my gosh, the room is filling

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up with people.

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I'm going to do my presentation now.

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It's like, no, but you've actually done that

groundwork in terms of preparing the mind and

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how you feel, how it's going to be, et cetera,

and beforehand.

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Suzi: Yeah.

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Marylayo: So it was just something that just

came to my mind as you were talking.

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Suzi: Yeah. No, you're right.

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I particularly don't work with visualization,

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but I can see that again, how that would work

because it's like what you said earlier, it's

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sort of preparing yourself or learning that

you can tolerate with the catastrophic

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thoughts and ideas that you're getting.

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So absolutely, I can see how that would be so

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helpful, extremely helpful to an individual.

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Marylayo: Thanks, Susan.

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Here are some spiritual wellness tips that you

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can meditate on.

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The first is Luke, chapter twelve, verse 24 to

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26, which reads, consider the ravens, they do

not sow or reap.

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They have no storeroom or barn, yet God feeds

them, and how much more valuable you are than

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birds.

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Who of you, by worrying, can add a single hour

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to your life?

Since you cannot do this very little thing,

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why do you worry about the rest?

The other you can meditate on is Philippians,

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chapter four, verses six to seven, which

reads, don't be pulled in different directions

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or worried about a thing.

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Be saturated in prayer throughout each day,

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offering your faith filled request before God

with overflowing gratitude.

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Tell Him every detail of your life.

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Then God's wonderful peace that transcends

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human understanding will guard your heart and

mind through Jesus Christ.

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Thank you for listening.

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Do follow and join me again next time on Mary

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Layo.

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Talks beyond the smile.