Getting Rid of Anxious Thinking

– Be careful what you wish for

Key points:

• There is a big difference between positive expectation and wishful thinking
• When we wish something about ourselves were different, we may unconsciously be keeping it the same, and embedding it deeper
• Hoping anxiety has gone away is an example of that, and can be explained by neuroscience

Margaret has been suffering from anxiety and depression for over two years, with very little in the way of respite periods. She is taking a variety of medication, which she doesn’t think is helping, and came to see me, to try to get a different kind of help.

It can be more difficult working with someone who is on medication, as it is not always clear what might be symptoms of the depression and what might be side effects of drugs. In Margaret’s case, there was debilitating fatigue, which could result from either.

We had talked previously about the need to avoid negative thinking (which is itself exhausting). I had taught her ways to help with this, including avoiding anything which could trigger it unnecessarily – Margaret had been horrifying herself with world events on rolling news channels.
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