The Anxiety & Phobia Workbook summary

As mentioned in the previous section, anxiety isn’t an either/or situation. Rather than thinking of it as being either physiological or psychological, it’s important to recognize how panic, phobias, and anxiety all stem from the dynamic interaction of multiple factors.

To embark on a journey toward recovery from panic, phobias, or anxiety, you need to take a comprehensive approach. To ensure a complete and lasting recovery, you need to think of it in terms of biological, behavioral, emotional, mental, interpersonal, and even spiritual.

Relaxation. Just saying the word seems to slow down your heart rate. Relaxation is, by any metric, an important tool in combating anxiety. Along with reducing blood pressure and muscle tension, 30 minutes of deep relaxation per day can add up to a reduction in generalized anxiety, less severe panic attacks, less insomnia and fatigue, fewer migraines, and an ability to diffuse the accumulated stress we talked about in the previous section.

If you’ve caught yourself saying “I’m too busy to relax,” this is a sure sign you need to slow down and catch your breath. A daily practice of 20 to 30 minutes of meditative, deep-breathing relaxation will not only be good for you but also good for your relationships.

When looking at causes and predispositions, it’s smart to consider the role that personality traits can play in contributing to anxiety disorders. There are, in fact, both positive and negative traits commonly found in anxiety-prone individuals.

It’s common for such people to be creative, empathetic, and emotionally sensitive. But it’s also the case that anxiety-prone people tend to have four personality traits that aren’t so helpful. These are perfectionism, excessive need for approval, ignoring signs of stress, and an excessive need for control. That’s not to say that all four traits are always present, but you may recognize one or more of them if you’re coping with anxiety.

In this last section we’ll get into a little more detail about certain foods and medications that may also be of value going forward.

You might be familiar with the fact that too much daily caffeine intake can lead to more anxious feelings, but hypoglycemia is another manageable condition linked to anxiety. Hypoglycemia is essentially an issue of low blood sugar. Its symptoms include palpitations, feeling weak, trembling, light-headedness, anxiety, and irritability. In non-diabetics, the causes of hypoglycemia can vary widely, including hormonal imbalances, skipping meals, or reactions to medications or alcohol. A few steps you can take to combat this is with a balanced diet. By reducing simple sugars and incorporating complex carbohydrates, along with strategic protein snacks, you will likely reduce your levels of anxiety, emotional volatility, and vulnerability to panic.