Being too anxious, depressed, worried or fearful is awful. This section contains some general advice and a description of techniques that you can use to reduce these feelings.

What Is Normal Worry?

Anxiety, depression, worry and fear can be very normal. You become anxious when threatened or when you think about being threatened. The heart beats fast, there is a need to overbreathe, you get the cold sweats and shakes. These are all normal changes that will help your body function best if you have to run or fight. But in this modern world we are threatened and get anxious in places where physical activity does not help. Thus the body changes are identified not as helpful but as harmful and unnatural. But being a little anxious is good. It sharpens up judgement and skill and you will cope better. Being psyched up is a good thing if you have a difficult challenge ahead.

If you become anxious over and over in the same situation then you will learn to fear that situation and try to avoid it and others like it. If you know that you will have to deal with the situation sometime in the future you will worry about it, using the worry to think of a way of solving the problem. If all goes badly and you lose something you value or love then you will get depressed, which can be helpful in giving you time to recover from the loss. So being anxious, fearful, worried or depressed is a useful part of a normal life.

Small amounts of these feelings can be helpful and actually improve your ability to cope. Persistent or severe anxiety, fear, worry or depression feels awful, and can reduce your ability to cope with your difficulties. And not coping can make things a lot worse. There are simple ways of controlling the levels of these feelings. They can be used together. We will describe them separately, for the feeling they best control.

Worried?

Worrying about problems usually helps you find a solution to a problem. Sometimes the worrying takes on a life of its own and you can't stop. If it does: Use the six step problem solving method:

1. write down exactly what you believe the main problem to be
2. write down all possible solutions, even bad ones
3. think about each solution in practical terms
4. choose the most practical solution
5. plan how you will carry that solution out
6. do it.

Now did you solve the problem? If no... Have you learnt a better way of defining it? If so, write down the new problem and do the six steps again.

Edited by Gavin Andrews MD, UNSW, 2007
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