Anxiety Control Training

Abstract

Anxiety pervades every aspect of human activity and experience. It is a normal state and a spur to action, but readily exceeds normal limits in intensity, duration and appropriateness to the stimulus or situation. Anxiety is manifest by the mood of fearfulness, behaviour marked by restlessness and avoidance of situations, increased arousal with insomnia, excessive preoccupation with thoughts on the theme of insecurity, and a wide range of somatic symptoms which are based on muscular tension, hyperventilation leading to paraesthesiae and faintness, and symptoms based on overactivity of the autonomic nervous system. Excessive anxiety and situational avoidance leads to diminution of performance and limitation of endeavour. In the context of physical illness, anxiety increases the distress of symptoms, may confuse diagnostic procedure, prolong recovery time from acute illness, cause failure to comply with effective treatment and promote destructive habits such as reliance on alcohol or excessive use of sedative drugs.