A is for Anxiety:

Anxiety is one of the most prevalent issues I see in my Therapy room every week. From feelings of slight anxiety to extreme anxiety, panic and distress. Anxiety is a natural emotional response which helps us to prepare and respond to perceived threats and in certain situations can improve our performance. However when it becomes overwhelming and/or intense it can cause difficulty in our daily lives and can often be a sign of an anxiety disorder. 

Psychological symptoms might include excessive worry, restlessness, difficulty concentrating, and sleep disturbances. Physical symptoms often include rapid heartbeat, sweating, trembling, and stomach problems. These symptoms often result in us avoiding anxiety-provoking situations or becoming socially withdrawn. 

Self-care is extremely important in managing anxiety and according to (Goods, 2024), engaging in self-care activities helps reduce stress, improve mood, boost self-esteem and enhance overall mental resilience. It is an essential tool for preventing mental health issues and promoting overall well-being.

***However if your worries and fears start significantly interfering with your daily life, relationships, work, or overall well-being it might be time to seek professional help. 

Some ideas for reducing anxiety: (I've included YOUtube links for some ideas)

  1. Diaphragmatic breathing. ...https://youtu.be/D2O116SFWZA?si=wrWVfQw5da98SdoG
  2. Simple stretches. ...https://youtu.be/yqeirBfn2j4?si=HqE1qyXjjP59t_86
  3. Guided imagery. ... https://youtu.be/AbckuluEdM0?si=i1RGCXcf4A3jTQaK
  4. Tapping. ...https://youtu.be/TnbRcO43CD8?si=8sg7keSi8jQdgEAy
  5. Box breathing. ...https://youtu.be/oN8xV3Kb5-Q?si=h32NXbcEeMQAQAkN
  6. 54321 Grounding technique. ..https://youtu.be/30VMIEmA114?si=KsPWQDG1bhVpo3Gg

Find yourself a quiet space and give them a go. Try not to be concerned about looking or feeling silly - Nobody can see you!!!

Tom Hardy has been open about his struggles with anxiety and addiction, describing himself as a "frightened bloke" who is "just scared of everything". He has spoken about how his anxiety is linked to a fear of losing control, anticipation, and the unknown. Hardy has also discussed how his anxiety contributed to his past struggles with addiction and how he uses Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and other methods to manage his mental health. 

If Tom can face his anxiety, so can we...

 

B is for Breathing:

Why does breathing help regulate emotions?
Relaxation response: Deliberately copying a relaxed breathing pattern seems to calm the nervous system that controls the body's involuntary functions. Controlled breathing can cause physiological changes that include: lowered blood pressure and heart rate. reduced levels of stress hormones in the blood.
(Department of Health & Human Services, 2015)
 

(www.heart.org, n.d.) states there are 5 benefits of deep breathing?

  1. Help to manage stress and even pain.
  2. Reduce feelings of anxiety and depression.
  3. Stabilize (or lower) your blood pressure.
  4. Send more oxygen to your body's organs.
  5. Promote calm, by affecting your nervous system.

Some breathing exercises can be found on YOUtube: 

  1. Belly breathing. ...https://youtu.be/7Ep5mKuRmAA?si=AX8hpxulIdI6EmT4
  2. 60-second breathing exercise. ...https://youtu.be/Dx112W4i5I0?si=OVT6B5jS1AUn-y9Q
  3. 4-7-8 breathing. ...https://youtu.be/1Dv-ldGLnIY?si=xg5JhHIBaacWODKo

 

WWW.headspace.com has a fantastic short video which explains how breathing impacts our brain:

https://youtu.be/2HojLhKlJto?si=1E-V0xeRQbzHFDkw

 

C is for

Cognitive Distortions: 

Cognitive Distortions are unhelpful automatic thoughts that affect our mood and anxious state. These thoughts are inaccurate and irrational, affecting the way we perceive situations. 

According to Guy-Evans (2022), cognitive distortions were first identified by Aaron Beck in the 1960s as part of his work in developing what is now known as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).  He adds on his post in Simply Psychology that there are 13 common cognitive distortions:

  1. Overgeneralisation - assuming one bad experience defines all future outcomes 
  2. Mental Filtering - focusing on only the negative parts of a situation and ignoring the positive parts 
  3. Discounting the positive - twisting or negating the positive outcome as not being important/merited
  4. Jumping to conclusions - assuming the outcome will be negative without any proof for the thought
  5. Magnification and Minimisation - obsessing over the negative and downplaying the positive 
  6. Emotional Reasoning - assuming what we think and feel is fact
  7. "Should" & "Must" Statements - putting unbending expectations on yourself and others 
  8. Labelling - assigning a negative phrase to someone/something based on one action
  9. Personalisation & Blame - attributing to ourselves and/or others things which we are unable to control  
  10. Catastrophising - imagining the worst-case scenario of every situation 
  11. Black & White Thinking - something is either good or bad with no in-between (all or nothing thinking)
  12. Mind Reading - assuming we know what someone else is thinking, often negatively
  13. Predictive Thinking - expecting the worst of future events without any real reason 

The catch, check, change technique is a useful CBT tool to challenge our cognitive distortions: 

Catch - What is the thought that came before the emotion?

Check - how accurate is this thought?

Change - What might a more accurate or helpful thought be?

Bibliography:

Guy-Evans, O. (2022). 13 Cognitive Distortions Identified in CBT. [online] SimplyPsychology. Available at: https://www.simplypsychology.org/cognitive-distortions-in-cbt.html.

Creed, T. (2021). Using the Mnemonic ‘Three Cs’ with Children and Adolescents. [online] Beck Institute. Available at: https://beckinstitute.org/blog/using-the-mnemonic-three-cs-with-children-and-adolescents/.