Little Ways to Keep Calm and Carry On by Mark Reinecke

Author:Mark Reinecke
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
ISBN: 9781608820757
Publisher: New Harbinger Publications

Lesson 12

Don’t Magnify the Importance of Your Physical Sensations

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

—Franklin D. Roosevelt

Roosevelt’s comment on fear has become something of a bromide. Interestingly, he was right. A large body of research indicates that as we become anxious, worried, or fearful, we begin to focus our attention onto our own emotional state. Researchers refer to this as self-focused attention or anxiety sensitivity, and it can be a problem (Taylor 1999).

Anxiety sensitivity is the tendency to interpret symptoms of anxiety (things like tension, rapid heartbeat, sweating, and trembling) as indications of a serious physical illness or danger (Reiss and McNally 1985). You begin to think, Oh no, I could be having a heart attack! or I’m going crazy; I could lose it! Spending your day thinking about what you feel and how awful it is, and carefully attending to your physical sensations, makes your anxiety worse. You feel a bit of tension and anticipate disaster. You then become more anxious, your heart accelerates, and you’re off to the races, resulting in a spiral of anxiety, worry, and panic. This spiral can gather quite a bit of destructive momentum, leading to some very unpleasant emotions.

What can you do? Perhaps the best way to cope with these spirals of anxiety is to prevent them altogether. Here are two ways to do this:

Bring ’em on! Researchers refer to this process as interoceptive exposure therapy, and it’s really quite simple. Go out and induce the physical sensations you fear the most (Clark 1986). Afraid of dizzy sensations? Try spinning in the yard until you feel like tipping over. Afraid of a racing heart? Do some jumping jacks (if your doctor permits). Is light-headedness your trigger? Take some deep breaths (a bit of hyperventilation). By doing this, you can show yourself that the sensations you fear are nothing to be afraid of. They’re paper tigers!

Label your anxious physical sensations. It’s almost too simple: you can prevent the spiral by simply naming and describing the symptoms; for example, Hmmm, there’s my heart racing again. So what? Forget it; it’s nothing to worry about.

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