It has been very gratifying in the last few weeks having several clients report significant decrease in their anxiety, much of which being the result of progress they are making with “Step 2” work – both in session and on their own. This is the step I describe in the “1-2-3 Brain Retraining Method” – the Devalue or Discredit step where one engages in a rational dialogue with the irrational idea or fear, talking back to the fear so to speak. These progress reports from clients confirm the power of clear headed, logical thinking in a “cool head” or before the fearful thought strikes – saying out loud the fearful thought which often results in the person laughing over the sound of it or even feeling foolish for such an irrational thought. The secret here – the power – is that only by speaking it out loud can one truly hear how absurd the idea is – what I refer to as “Externalizing” in my audio program “Anxiety to Serenity”. I facilitate my clients doing this out loud in sessions with the result they hear even more clearly the irrational fears that would otherwise persist when it’s only rolling around in the back of their heads. When they put it out there, it dramatically reduces its power. One can do this with assistance in therapy but anyone can, and should, do this on their own.

I encourage anyone struggling with anxiety to read the 1-2-3 Brain Retraining steps and work on them, ideally by talking aloud. Just today I had a young man verbalize his fear that he could have a heart attack, even though he’s a teenager, is in perfect health and has no risk factors. I had him repeat the fear several times, out loud, and then speak out loud the facts that he is young, healthy and has no risk factors and had him verbalize those facts several times as well. He was able to smile, even laugh, over the words. Anyone can do this with or without assistance which will help you connect again with those simple facts when that fear message is again triggered by the fear center of the brain.