Laura L. Smith - Anxiety and Depression Workbook For Dummies

On the other hand, maybe you’re a mental health professional who’s interested in finding a resource to help structure therapy with your clients. I’ve had positive feedback from both clients and professionals who have used this book in addition to psychotherapy.

Throughout this book, icons in the margins alert you to important types of information:

This icon marks particularly noteworthy information that you might record or write down so you can refer to it later.

This icon tells you it’s time to roll up your sleeves and get to work! It denotes a worksheet, form, or exercise for you to fill out.

This icon points to specific examples that show you the way through worksheets or exercises. Examples are fictional composites that represent accurate struggles, but they’re not real people.

This icon appears when you need to take care; you may need professional help or should be on the lookout for possible trouble.

This icon alerts you to especially useful insights and explanations.

Throughout the book, there are worksheets that you may want to complete more than once. Go to www.dummies.com/go/anxiety&depressionworkbookfd2e to download them.

In addition, there’s a cheat sheet with tips and information about anxiety and depression. To access this online cheat sheet, go to www.dummies.com and then type “Anxiety& Depression Workbook For Dummies Cheat Sheet” in the search box.

Anxiety & Depression Workbook For Dummies can help you deal with your depression and anxiety. It’s pragmatic, concrete, and goes straight to the point. As such, this workbook doesn’t devote a lot of text to lengthy explanations or embellishments of basic concepts, so you may want to find out more about specific types of depression and anxiety, available medications, and alternative treatments elsewhere. For that purpose, consider reading one or both of the companion books: Depression For Dummies (Wiley) and Anxiety For Dummies (Wiley).

Part 1

IN THIS PART …

Understand the tolls of depression and anxiety

Take a look back at your history

Figure out if it’s time to change

Keep track of your moods

Chapter 1

IN THIS CHAPTER

Figuring out how depression and anxiety affect you

Finding your personal starting point

Knowing when to get more help

For people all over the world, these past years of unrest, divisiveness, and fear and uncertainty related to the devastating pandemic have increased stress significantly. Stress often precedes the emergence of emotional disorders, especially anxiety and depression. In the United States, recent surveys suggest that about 40 percent of the adult population suffer from notable symptoms of anxiety or depression. The rates of anxiety and depression among adolescents have also risen dramatically due to disruptions in their lives during these tumultuous times.

Everyone feels sad or worried from time to time. Such emotions are both natural and unavoidable. People worry about their children, bills, aging parents, jobs, health, and powerful social issues. And most people have shed a tear or two watching a sad movie or a news story about a poignant tragedy. It’s perfectly natural to experience significant sadness when faced with loss, frustration, or pain. That’s normal. Anxiety and depression are part of everyday life.

But when sadness fills most of your days or worries saturate your mind, that’s not so normal. You may be experiencing a real problem with depression or anxiety. Anxiety and depression can affect how you think, behave, feel, and relate to others. The discussion and quizzes in this chapter help you figure out how depression and anxiety affect your life. When you understand what’s going on with your emotions, you can start doing something to manage them more effectively.

This workbook is designed to help with troubling emotions. It isn’t meant to be a comprehensive review of emotional disorders. Many people choose to use this book along with professional counseling or therapy. Some use this book on their own. If you want more information and an in-depth discussion about anxiety or depression, take a look at the latest editions of Anxiety For Dummies or Depression For Dummies .

Don’t freak out if the quizzes in this chapter reveal that you have a few symptoms of anxiety or depression. Almost everyone has struggles; that’s human. However, you should be concerned when these symptoms significantly interfere with your life. See the later section in this chapter, “ When and Where to Get More Help,” for more information.

If your symptoms are numerous and severe or your life seems out of control, you should consult your primary care provider or a mental health professional. These quizzes aren’t meant to replace trained mental health professionals — they’re the only people who can really diagnose your problem.

If you were able to listen in on the thoughts that reverberate through a depressed person’s head, you might hear, “I’m a failure,” “My future looks bleak,” “Things just keep on getting worse,” or “I regret so many things in my life.”

On the other hand, the thoughts of an anxious person might sound like, “I’m going to make a fool out of myself when I give that speech,” “I never know what to say at parties,” “The freeway scares me to death,” “I know that the odds of a plane crash are small, but flying scares me,” or “I’m going to have a nervous breakdown if my editor doesn’t like what I write.”

Thoughts influence the way you feel. The very darkest thoughts usually lead to depression, whereas anxiety usually stems from thoughts about being judged or hurt. And, of course, people often have both types of thoughts.