Anxiety, Fear & Worry
Do you often feel anxious about your health? Do
you feel overwhelming fear about uncertain finances? Do you worry
unduly about family or work problems?
Our systemic coaching can help you
control or end fears and anxiety. |
We present interactive seminars and
workshops on systemic coaching, anxiety, team problems and relationship
challenges. Contact us if you want coaching or training.
Anxiety Disorders (Panic Attacks)
Anxiety disorders are more than worrying. If you
worry constantly, even when nothing is wrong; if you can't relax; if you
constantly expect the worst - either in all of your life or in some
context - you may have symptoms of an
anxiety disorder. It's not your fault. And you cannot just decide to
stop.
If you worry a lot, your muscles may get tense
and sore. You feel tired.
People may call you irritable or grouchy. It may be hard for you to
concentrate, to relax or even to sleep. You may not even know what you
are worried about. If you feel so afraid, you
may also feel depressed.
Anxiety symptoms often begin in childhood, but can
start in adults. More women seem to suffer from anxiety than men,
and anxiety seems to run in families.
Some anxiety problems are due to food allergies; and some due to
relationship chaos. Anxiety disorders often lessen with age.
Health Anxiety
If you feel anxious about your health, you probably
wish that you didn't. You may have health anxiety.
Although many medical professionals and drug salespeople are
happily obsessed with other people's health, few health professionals
can relate to people with health anxiety. They may accuse
you of exaggerating - and they may call
you hypochondriac, malingerer or liar.
[ Obsessions
and Compulsions . Addictions ]
Some people interpret body sensations as evidence of serious disease
(hypochondria). Some people invent medical symptoms to avoid work,
to qualify for disability payments or to evade military service
(malingering). Some people lie about their health
(Munchausen), often to manipulate people into showing care.
If you feel neglected or if you want more control, you may
invent symptoms to help you get what you want ... and you may enjoy deceiving
medical professionals.
Then you may feel stronger instead of weak. Health anxiety is also associated with
post-traumatic stress (PTSD) and eating disorders.
[ Trauma and
PTSD . Eating Disorders ]
Hypochondria: Worried Sick?
Hypochondria is a persistent irrational fear
that you are suffering, or will suffer, from a serious medical
condition. You may think that you have heart problems, cancer or
some serious disease - and that your doctor is not trying hard
enough.
You may feel dizziness, swelling, palpitations or pain.
But you can can misread these symptoms,
and distrust medical professionals. You may interpret normal
signs (like headache, dizziness, fatigue etc) as dangerous. This may be connected to
loneliness, depression, guilt or a preoccupation with death.
If you believe that your body is defective or deformed
- you may suffer from Body Dismorphic Disorder.
You may use phantom defects to justify a depressed lifestyle.
Endless reassurance or even plastic surgery are unlikely to ease your
bad feelings.
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"Most
hypochondriac people will never go to a psychiatrist," said Dr
Arthur Barsky (Harvard Medical School). "They'll say, 'I don't want to talk about
this, I want another biopsy, I want that CAT scan repeated.'
" |
[
Schizophrenia . Depression .
Bipolar Disorder .
Stress ]
Social Phobia - Social Anxiety Disorder
You may have social phobia
(social anxiety disorder) if you dread being judged, criticized, and
evaluated. You may think that your fear is irrational; yet anxiety
persists.
If you have social phobia
you find it difficult to be with people ("What are they thinking
about me; maybe they don't like me"). You may attract attention to
yourself or even try to be the center of attention ("They don't like
what I'm doing; am I making a fool of myself?"). You feel
insecure and self-conscious in most social settings.
GAD - Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Non-stop anxiety! You are
constantly worried or afraid. You may even worry in
your dreams. You may have muscle pains and headaches, you may feel
constantly tired and yet you cannot seem to relax. You may sweat a lot,
even at night. You may feel that you might vomit.
If you have generalized anxiety
disorder you may find it difficult to leave your home.
("What will happen? Maybe something terrible").
You may be afraid of "losing it" in public. You may feel
insecure in all parts of your life and be diagnosed as agoraphobic.
Systemic Solutions for Anxiety
Anxiety often follows a systemic
imbalance in a family. If a family member takes risks, for the benefit
of the family, the family may not acknowledge the member for
taking those risks. If so, some other family member - most often a
female child - may identify with that ignored hero - and express
the fear that the ignored hero could not express. We call
this Hero Identification ... and we offer help.
The context in which anxiety
is expressed often relates to a trauma in which an anxious person expresses
an ignored hero's fear. An example was a prostitute who
supported a poor family, but the (religious) family claimed that a rich relative was
sending them money. The prostitute's younger sister became extremely
anxious. We would say that she expressed the
fear of the elder sister. This anxiety was fully resolved within
eight hours of systemic coaching.
Another example was a man who was
involved with a cult-like organization. His teenage son was assumed
to have an anxiety disorder - the son's symptoms vanished
following about six hours of systemic family coaching.
Systemic coaching can help many people with anxiety
disorders, leading to more calmness and improved functioning. Systemic solutions
may include individual and couple coaching, and
family therapy. Soulwork can help people with anxiety disorders
to change inappropriate thoughts, manage motivations and get what they want.
Soulwork can reduce the
levels of stress and distress within a family that may either
contribute to or result from the expressed symptoms. Systemic
coaching can help you change how you think about, and react to, situations
in which you feel anxious or fearful. You can change how
you respond to worrying situations.
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Our systemic
coaching helps people to improve their relationships, achieve their
life goals, dissolve inner conflicts and manage their emotions.
Our systemic coaching can also dissolve toxic relationship bonds,
unresolved trauma and abusive and toxic mentorship. |
Doctors often treat the consequences of relationship
problems with medication. Antidepressants and anti-anxiety
drugs (benzodiazepines & beta-blockers) are commonly prescribed.
Consult your physician about any opinions or recommendations
about medical symptoms or other medical questions.
Do you want relationship coaching or
systemic coach training?
We can train you to coach individuals, partners and teams to resolve a wide
range of emotional, educational and relationship challenges.
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