The Anxiety Game

The Trick Anxiety Plays On You And How ToChange The Rules

By Rich Presta

Author of The Panic Puzzle and Driving Fear Programs

This eBook has just been released, read the first chapter here for free:

" I was walking through my local bookstore the other day; you know the one, with the coffee shop, 125,456 magazines to choose from, and an elevator to get to thefiction section….I was cruising through the self-improvement aisle; it was only about as long as the cereal aisle where I get my groceries. About halfway through, I stopped an associate to see if I had crossed any time zones from one side of the never endingaisle to the other, had a swig of water from my canteen I brought with me, and continued on my way.

I wanted to see if anything interesting had come out on anxiety, panic attacks, or phobias. I was looking everything over, and you know what word was on almost all ofthem?

I’ll tell you, it kept jumping off the covers and poking me in the eye…

Relax

Here’s just a teensy sample of what I saw:

“The Relaxation Response”

“1,001 Ways to Relax”

“Learn to Relax”

“Relax and Renew”

“Simply Relax”

“365 Ways to Relax”

Well that seems obvious enough doesn’t it?

I mean, when you’re anxious or having a panic attack, you should relax, right?
Any dope knows that.

Ummm….maybe not.

Maybe relaxing is the LAST thing you should be doing. I can hear you now…

“WHAT??
What do you mean don’t relax! Good grief, I just learned 1,001 ways
to relax and now you’re telling me to ignore them?
What will I do with all this bubble bath?”

Don’t worry, you can still get all sudsy in your bubble bath and burn the incense,but let me step back a minute and explain some things about anxiety.

Let’s break down what happens when you get anxious and how it becomes a problem.
See, being anxious isn’t a problem at all. No really, it’s not. Everybodygets anxious sometimes. It’s how you respond to that anxiety that determines whether or not you have trouble.

When most people get anxious, they feel the tingles in their belly, rapid heartbeat, maybe some lightheadedness too. But that’s where it ends. They say to themselves, “Boy, this sucks, but it’s just anxiety, I know what it is.

What do YOU do?

Well if you have a problem with anxiety or panic, you feel that same little twinge of anxiety that the other guy feels, but then what do you say to yourself?

“Oh my God. What’s that? Is that going to get worse? Will it go away or is this permanent? If I can’t control THAT feeling what else will I lose control over? Mymind? My body?”

And then, surprise, surprise, you feel worse and more anxious. The cycle repeats itself until you’re in a panic attack.

Something like that, right?

The anxiety was the same. It was how you responded to it that was different,started the cycle, and made the difference.

Pretty lousy right?”