Fourteenth International Conference on Health, Wellness & Society

Abstract

As a therapist who specializes in anxiety, the biggest misconception I hear is that people believe that anxiety can be controlled. Simply put, you cannot control whether or not you experience anxiety. Not only can you not control anxiety, you really can’t control any of your feelings. You can only control how you choose to respond to your thoughts and feelings, which in turn often then helps your feelings and thoughts more manageable. Anxiety manifests when you lack trust in your ability to manage and cope. And I already know what you’re thinking, “well how do I even trust myself?” I bring this up because the feeling of trust is not something you can just feel or “generate.” The feeling of trust will come as a result of a behavior or an action. In order to start trusting yourself, you must learn how to stop ruminating. In order to stop ruminating you must understand the difference between thought and thinking. What most people don’t know is that traditional techniques in therapy actually exacerbate symptoms of anxiety. In this session you will learn how to identify anxiety and how to properly address and manage it using research-backed methods.