Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), is a very common diagnosis. I recently read an article which points out one effective way of examining the thought process that leads to anxiety by keeping track of our worries, and then evaluating them at the end of a given time period. They used this information to determine whether or not the worries "came true". Of course, most worries do not come true and the article suggests that this realization, accomplished through this exercise, can help us to worry less thereby decreasing our anxiety. This can be an effective tool (also referred to as a thought journal), but I suggest applying this idea to every negative emotion.
If we are worrying about something that will likely never come true (this happens 91% of the time according to the researchers at Penn State University), we would call that irrational thinking. If, as the article suggests, we can "diminish the distress that comes with chronic worrying" by recognizing this irrational thought process, it might be wise to apply this idea to every area of our lives that could potentially cause emotional upset. This is what Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy(mentioned later as REBT) teaches and it can be applied to most areas of our lives to prevent negative, unhealthy emotions as well as to improving relationships.
REBT teaches that emotional disturbance is caused by irrational thinking. For instance the statement "I must pass the test next week", seems harmless. It may be true that if you do not pass the test next week you will fail the course. But why would this be an anxiety inducing statement? The statement is simply a statement of fact. The problem is that a number of people attach personal value to statements like these or they catastrophize the outcome. So, in reality the thought behind the simple statement "I must pass the test next week or I will fail the course", becomes "I must pass the test next week or I will fail the course and therefore will never get into the program I want and that means I am a complete failure".
REBT suggests that we challenge the irrationality of this thinking by recognizing that failing one test does not necessarily mean the outcome will be catastrophic. It certainly does not mean that I am less of a person because I did not perform as I would have liked to.
Learning to evaluate the beliefs behind an emotion is a valuable, life-enhancing ability. While it is not difficult to learn, it is something that I encourage people to practice daily. It takes time to develop the habit of thinking differently than we have been accustomed to for years.
