A psychological counselor takes you into your own inner world, like the attention of it!
Text/Old K
Friends who know me know that I myself had a 1-year experience of depression and anxiety a long time ago, and it was very painful, and during my illness, to be honest, it was not as convenient as the Internet is now, and at that time we communicated with each other in forums and post bars.
So access to information is not as easy as it is now, and I've read countless books on anxiety and depression myself, and I feel that it's either bitter theories or meaningless guidance.
After I have been in the industry for many years, looking back, many visitors will ask me to recommend some books about anxiety disorders, and if I really recommend them, the book I recognize the most is probably "Self-Help for Anxiety Disorders", which seemed to be called "Self-Help for Mental Anxiety" before.
Personally, I consider it the bible for anxiety sufferers, because it not only has theories that allow us to better understand the nature of the disease, but also has very profound methodological guidance.
In addition, the author herself, Claire Weeks, suffered from neurosis at the age of 20, and after a long period of anxiety and fear attacks, she realized that the symptoms could not be fought against them, but had to be accepted in order for them to recover naturally, and finally slowly recovered.
As a result of this experience, she became more interested in psychiatry, especially neuroses, and at the age of 37, she crossed over to medicine and obtained her MD, which has been her medical experience ever since. In her time, psychotherapy was not particularly effective in dealing with neurosis, and she combined her own experience and psychiatric theories to point out the causes of neurosis. In particular, the basic principle of "face, accept, drift, and wait" that she put forward has benefited countless future generations.
Dr. Claire likens anxiety to the waves, what do we do when we are faced with the waves coming head-on?
Face: Don't run away, because it's useless to run, the waves have come;
Acceptance: The power of the waves is too strong for us to contend with, to accept it, to surrender willingly;
Piaoran: Don't pay too much attention to these experiences, don't take these experiences seriously, because over-focusing will only make the waves more turbulent;
Waiting: Know that the waves must ebb and flow, and they will never go on forever, so feel the experience and wait for the waves to ebb and flow.
Dr. Weeks also explains very well why we can't confront anxiety head-on, saying in her book:
He thought, if he didn't fight, how could he change back to his old self? Fighting was his natural reaction and the only weapon he knew, so he fought more violently, but the more he did this, the worse it became, which was natural, because fighting would increase the tension and cause the body to release more adrenaline. The adrenaline-secreting nerves are further stimulated, and the symptoms continue to appear.
After reading it myself, I think this book is very suitable for friends who are just starting to be anxious, who don't know much about their own situation, and then are all in an unknown state, this book is very transparent about the process of anxiety disorders that trap us in a cycle of nausea, and the language is also easy to understand.
Many of my clients feel a sense of "enlightenment" after reading it, and to be honest, I feel more that after understanding the characteristics of the symptoms, the problem is no longer difficult to deal with.
Since Dr. Weeks studied medicine, she also has a deep understanding of anxiety disorders from a medical perspective, and she believes that when we are afraid, the brain sends signals that stimulate the sympathetic nervous system to produce various responses, such as knowing that in the face of anxiety, the biological instinct is to either run away or fight.
Under such stimulation, the nerves secrete adrenaline, so we will feel some somatization symptoms such as hand tremors, rapid heartbeat, and difficulty breathing.
Normally we don't intervene too much, but when we have an anxiety disorder, we can have a vicious cycle of fear – adrenaline – and more fear.
In the original text, she explains:
As more adrenaline is released from fear, the already sensitive body is strained and the patient becomes more fearful.
Many people will fix the symptoms in their minds, and they will not do anything all day long, and they will pay attention to this problem every day. For example, when you are anxious, many people worry about whether they will go crazy and so on. But the more you analyze, the more you fear, the more you will strengthen your nerves, secrete more adrenaline, and add more burden to your already tired self.
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But in fact, when anxiety and distractions come, you face it head-on, tell yourself that I am in pain, but I can't help it, I have to deal with it, at this time you don't need to do any additional behavior, you just need to face it, the more you are not afraid of it, the less it will affect you, because the symptom is a paper tiger.
Finally, I will give you an understanding of the classic eight words in the book from the perspective of anxiety disorders:
Face: The symptoms are terrible, there is no way to bite the bullet and not run away, I'll see what you can do to me! Then tell yourself that I'm really anxious, and the somatization symptoms are coming, so if you have any other tricks, just come on.
Acceptance: I know I can't beat you, I allow you to make me miserable, and I'm willing to surrender to you. I know that the pain will not go away immediately, so I will take you to do things, you are uncomfortable with you, I will do mine.
Piaoran: I don't analyze you, treat you like air, try to be indifferent, you are just a feeling, it won't be like that.
Wait: I know you'll always pass, but if you can't do it now, just wait a while, you'll be gone anyway when you've had enough.
I like that Weeks starts the book with a boost to desperate patients, she thinks everyone can be cured, and it's not a utopian boost, it's a real analysis.
For example, in the original text she says:
I can assure you that the power of healing is within you, and once you know the right way, you will be able to release it, and if we try to find it, we will be amazed to find that each of us has the ability to achieve our own desires. You are no exception. No matter how cowardly you think you are at the moment, as long as you are determined, you will find that you also have this ability, and I have no unrealistic illusions about you, I am not writing this book for a few brave people, but for you, an ordinary person who is sick, who is suffering, and who is no more courageous than others.
So if you're suffering from anxiety, take a look at this classic book and you'll get a lot out of it.