Laura L. Smith - Anxiety and Depression Workbook For Dummies

If you checked one or more of the statements above and you’re not suicidal but are beginning to think that perhaps you need help, where should you go? Many people start with their primary care provider, which is a pretty good idea because your provider can also determine if your problems have a physical cause. If physical problems have been ruled out or treated and you still need help, you can:

Ask your primary care provider for a recommendation.

Check with your state’s psychology, counseling, social work, or psychiatric association.

Call your insurance company for recommendations.

Ask trusted friends or family for recommendations.

Contact your local university department of psychology, social work, counseling, or psychiatry for a referral.

Either before or during your first session, talk to the mental health professional and ask if you’ll receive a scientifically validated treatment for anxiety or depression, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Emotion Focused Therapy, or Interpersonal Therapy. Unfortunately, some practitioners lack necessary training in therapies that have shown effectiveness in scientific studies. Also, make sure whoever you see is a licensed mental health practitioner.

Understanding and accepting that you need more help is a sign of strength, not weakness. It takes bravery to admit that you might have a problem with your emotions, and it takes courage to seek a resolution.

At this point, you should pat yourself on the back. Whether this is the first chapter you’ve read or not, you’ve made a good start. Every minute you spend with this workbook is likely to improve your mood. Just give it a little time.

Chapter 2

IN THIS CHAPTER

Burrowing through biology

Studying your history

Reviewing what’s happening now

Finding fault (or not)

If you’re reading this book, you probably feel a little anxious or depressed, but you may not know where those feelings come from. It’s valuable to understand the origins of your feelings, whether it’s biology, genetics, personal history, or stress. This chapter helps you gain insight into the source of your problem and connect the dots. Knowing the origins of your emotions allows you to discard the baggage of guilt and self-blame, and what’s not to like about that?

This chapter reviews the major causes of depression and anxiety: biological, genetic, personal history, and stress. Many therapy clients believe that they’re to blame for having succumbed to emotional distress. They think that personal weakness is responsible for troubling emotions. However, when they discover the factors that have contributed to the origins of their problems, they usually feel less guilty. Getting rid of that guilt frees up energy that can be used for making important changes.

Figuring out why you have anxiety or depression may help you stop blaming yourself. However, dwelling in the past doesn’t move you forward. Once you understand your history, it’s time to look to the future. Gently close the door on your grievances and look to the future to find solutions so you’re not stuck in remaining a victim of your past.

The debate over nature versus nurture is complicated. Are you who you are primarily because of the genetic code you’ve inherited? Or did you emerge from the many interactions with people and places over the course of your life? Of course, the answer is both. Genes interact with experiences to produce the person you are today.

Nevertheless, genetic makeup does influence certain tendencies. Does your Uncle Paul seem down in the dumps? Was Cousin Jack a neat freak? Was your grandmother a recluse? What was your great-grandmother like? Why are these questions important? Because depression and anxiety tend to run in families. And genes could be responsible for a portion of your emotional distress.

If you have access to family members, ask if they’d be willing to talk with you about your family’s history. Ask them if any relatives, from either side of the family, suffered from symptoms of anxiety or depression. You may want to review the symptoms covered in Chapter 1first. There’s no exact number of relatives required for determining if genetics are responsible for your symptoms. However, the more family members sharing similar problems, the more likely you’ve inherited a tendency for symptoms of depression or anxiety. Fill in the in blanks with notes about what you learn ( Worksheet 2-1).

Worksheet 2-1Possible Family Origins

Before you go blaming your grandmother for your anxiety, consider the possibility that anxiety was learned and passed on from generation to generation. For example, imagine your great-grandmother grew up in the Great Depression. She always worried about money and food. Her worries were real: She didn’t have enough money or food. She repeatedly told your grandmother that the world was unsafe. Your grandmother passed that tendency down to your mother, who also worried all the time. Now you, too, are a worrier. Is that trait genetic or learned? Probably both.

In addition to genetics, depression and anxiety can have biological underpinnings in the drugs you take (legal or illegal) or as the result of physical illness or injury. Drugs, whether over-the-counter, prescription, or illegal, have many side effects. Sometimes solving your problem is as simple as checking your medicine cabinet for possible culprits.

Almost any medication you’re taking can influence your emotions negatively. Check with your pharmacist or primary care physician to see if your medication may be causing part of your problem. Just don’t stop taking the medication without medical consultation.

In addition, alcohol is widely known to contribute to depression or anxiety when it’s abused. Some people find that even moderate amounts of alcohol exacerbate their problems with mood. Alcohol also interacts with a variety of prescribed and over-the-counter drugs to produce harmful and even deadly results.