SESSION ANXIETY SYMPTOMS INTERVENTION 5 SESSION HANDOUTS Handut 5.1: Handut 5.2: Handut 5.3: Handut 5.4: Handut 5.5: Handut 5.6: When Yu Face Yur Fears STOP! Intrductin t Fighting Fear by Facing Fear The Keys t Stepladders Making a Fears and Wrries List Creating a Stepladder Plan Fighting Fear by Facing Fear Instructins and Frm
HANDOUT 5.1 When Yu Face Yur Fears HEN YOU FACE YOUR FEARS STOP! It is very imprtant t stay in the situatin that makes yu nervus r scared until yu ntice a decrease f fear. If yu leave the situatin t early, yu cannt experience that the fear actually becmes less by itself. What can help yu stay in the situatin and face yur fears? We need t nt run away r avid. We need t STOP and stay in the situatin. Als STOP stands fr smething very imprtant: SCARED. Yu recgnize that yu are Scared and want t leave the situatin. THOUGHTS. What are yur Thughts when yu are scared? OTHER THOUGHTS What are Other Thughts yu can have when yu are scared? What Other Thughts can help yu feel less anxius? OVERPOWER! Stay in the situatin, persist! Face yur fears and Overpwer them! PRAISE. Praise yurself fr facing yur fears.
What makes it hard t face yur fears? THOUGHTS. Hw can yu change these thughts that make yu nervus r scared? EXAMPLE: It is yur birthday and yu are having a party. It is 8 AM and yu have nt received yur presents. What are yur THOUGHTS? My parents dn t lve me. My parents frgt my birthday. N ne likes me. What OTHER THOUGHTS can yu have? My parents have nt wken up yet. It is t early. It is nt time fr the party. My presents are hidden. If I dn t get presents, it is nt the end f the wrld.
HANDOUT 5.2 Intrductin t: Fighting Fear by Facing Fear Fears ften cause us t avid ding things we wuld therwise like t be able t d. They ften make us miss ut n fun things and they make us feel bad. Fears are stubbrn and they wn t g away unless we actually stand up t them and face the situatins that the fear tells us t avid. D yu remember yur first day at schl? Yu were prbably very nervus and quite wrried abut what it wuld be like. Everybdy starting schl ges thrugh these wrries. On the first day the wrry is really high, abut a 9 n the wrry scale. If everything ges well n the first day, n the secnd day the wrry is a little less, abut a 7. By the end f the week it s nly a 2. On Mnday, because yu re ut f practice, the wrry ges back up t a 5 nt as high as it first was but nt as gd as Friday. On Tuesday the wrry dives back dwn and it s nly a 1 r it might even be gne altgether. By ging t schl every day and nt letting the fear stp yu frm ding things, yu were able t cnquer the fear. S by facing the fear every day, slwly the fear disappeared. Try t wrk Mlly s prblem ut. Mlly s best friend is having a farewell party befre she mves t France. Of curse Mlly really wants t g but there is a prblem. Mlly is very afraid f heights and the party is at the tp f Millennium Twer. Millennium Twer is 100 stries high. Mlly desn t think she wuld ever be able t g up that high. It s a 10 n her wrry scale, but she desn t want t miss ut n saying gd-bye. Mlly has 4 weeks befre the party t try t find a way t face her fear. What d yu think Mlly culd d t slve this prblem?
HANDOUT 5.3 The Keys t Stepladders We have already lked at the way unrealistic thinking is linked t wrrying abut different situatins and fund ut hw t make ur thinking mre realistic, but this isn t enugh. If we cntinue t avid the situatins that we fear, we never really get an pprtunity t put ur realistic thinking t the test! The next step in vercming wrries and fears is t gradually face the situatins that we feel anxius abut, just like Mlly did. This skill is called Stepladders. The imprtant things t remember abut stepladders are: It is gradual. The first stage in stepladders is t make a list f all the situatins that scare yu. Then yu put them in a step ladder where yu can start with the things that make yu just a little anxius (say a 2 r 3 n the wrry scale) and then wrk up t things that are much harder (9 r 10 rating). This way, yu get t feel cmfrtable at ne level befre mving n t the next level, which is much better than being thrwn int the deep end! Yu use yur detective thinking befre, during, and after each step. It s is imprtant that yu stay in each situatin lng enugh fr yur anxiety t drp, - even thugh the first time yu try, yu might wrry that yu ll be t anxius t stand it. Repetitin is imprtant. - D it again and again. - Once is never enugh! Make sure yu try each step lts f times, - until yu get bred rather than wrried. Dn t be discuraged by setbacks. - There will be easy days and difficult days. Remember, by trying hard yu are still fighting thse fears. Be aware f sneaky ways that yu might still be aviding yur feelings even thugh yu are in the situatin. Watch ut fr safety strategies that distract yu frm facing yur fear. Fr example, listening t an I-pd r having the dg r a friend r a parent with yu while yu face the fear will mean that yu dn t knw that yu can d it n yur wn. It s imprtant t face yur wrry fully. Mst imprtantly, - reward yurself!
HANDOUT 5.4 Making a Fears and Wrries List The first thing yu need t d t be able t face fears is list all f the situatins that cause yu t wrry. If yu need sme help in cming up with ideas, lk at yur detective thinking sheets. Try t think f as many situatins as yu can. My Fears and Wrries List These things are really hard t d These things are hard t d These things make me a little wrried What seem t be yur majr wrry areas?
HANDOUT 5.5 Creating a Stepladder Plan Remember, the mst imprtant thing abut stepladders is that they are gradual. We d this by creating step-by-step plans that yu can wrk thrugh, just like Mlly did t cnquer her fear f heights. Yu make ne step-by-step plan fr ne f yur fears and wrries. Fr each plan yu have a gal and each time yu d a step yu will earn a reward. The first step shuld have a wrry rating f 2 r 3 and the highest step shuld have a rating f 9 r 10. Yu need t create lts f steps in between s that yu break yur fear dwn int small steps yu can handle. Sme f the things yu can change between steps are: The peple wh are with yu, r hw well yu knw them Whether yu are in a familiar r unfamiliar place Hw lng yu stay in the situatin Hw much time yu have t prepare befre hand Hw much f the scary thing is changed, like hw dark it actually is Chse ne f the areas frm yur fears and wrries list. If yu have mre than ne, try the ne that isn t the biggest wrry first. 1. First, set a gal that is practical and smething that can be achieved. 2. Then get sme n scrap paper, and list all the pssible steps yu can think f t break the wrry dwn. Include the nes that are n yur fears and wrries list as well as new nes that yu cme up with by changing sme f the ways yu d it (see abve). 3. Give each step a wrry rating. 4. Chse enugh steps s that almst all f the pssible wrry ratings have a step next t them. Yu may have t leave sme ut r add sme mre s that there are n big jumps in the wrry scale ratings and s there aren t t many steps with the same rating. 5. Then write yur chsen steps in rder f lwest t highest n yur stepladder. 6. Finally, talk with yur parent(s) abut what reward will g with each step. Remember, small rewards g with little steps and bigger rewards g with the harder steps.
HANDOUT 5.5 (CONT.)
HANDOUT 5.6 Fighting Fear by Facing Fear Instructins This Handut is ne that yu will be ding many times ver the cming mnths. It is time t start yur first stepladder. Take a lk at the frm called Fighting Fear by Facing Fear n the next page; this is where yu will make yur plans fr ding steps during the cming week. There are tw parts t the frm, a planning side and a review side. On the planning side f the frm (which is shaded grey fr the example), yu will write dwn: What step yu will d and, when yu will d it, What cping strategies yu will use while ding the step, and What yur wrry rating is when yu think abut ding the step On the review side f the frm, yu will recrd: What yur wrry ratings were befre and after ding the step, What yu learned frm the experience (This might help yu with yur detective thinking next time), and Whether r nt yu received yur reward. Yu will fill ut the planning side f the frm at the beginning f each week, and yu fill ut the review sectins each time yu try the step. Befre yu try a step fr the first time, d a detective thinking sheet t make sure yu have a realistic thught in yur head abut what will happen. After yu d a step, make sure yu get yur reward and make sure yu reward yurself as well. Remember, yu have t d each step until either it gets bring r yur wrry rating cmes dwn t less than 3. Only then will yu be able t d yu mve n t the next step. Wrk with yur clinician t cme t an agreement abut when yu will d the first step(s) n yur stepladder during the cming week and, write yur plans nt the planning side f the Fighting Fear by Facing Fear frm.
HANDOUT 5.6 (CONT.) Fighting Fear By Facing Fear Frm What step will I d? When will I d it? What strategies will I use? Wrry Ratings What did I learn? Did I receive my reward? E.G. Step 4: G t shp and ask where an item is kept When: After schl n Tuesday 5 times Peple will nt think I am stupid fr asking where stuff is. I will practice what t say befrehand Tday: 5 That shp assistants are helpful and dn t During: 7 think that yu are stupid fr asking questins. After: 3 Yes N Tday: _ During: _ After: _ Yes N Tday: _ During: _ After: _ Yes N Tday: _ During: _ After: _ Yes N Tday: _ During: _ After: _ Yes N