Before I began going to therapy a few years ago, I utilized one of the great mental health resources on Oswego’s campus: Let’s Talk sessions. These sessions are part of the Counseling Services Center’s Outreach Program, and they are informal walk-in consultations. You are able to attend one whenever you need to talk to a counselor one-on-one, and you are able to talk about whatever you need to discuss. Since I was considering starting counseling, this was a great opportunity to ask some questions about what the counseling process is like. Though it was a few weeks until my first formal appointment, the counselor I spoke with at Let’s Talk was kind enough to recommend a book for me to read in the meantime, since I mentioned how I struggle with anxiety: When Panic Attacks by David D. Burns, M.D.
The book gives a great overview of some of the most common psychological models used in therapy. For instance, a main idea of the Cognitive Model is that changing the way you think will, in turn, change the way you feel. The Exposure Model describes how confronting your fears or what makes you anxious helps you to overcome and defeat it. The intention is that you “flood” yourself, meaning intentionally exposing yourself to fears and triggers, not avoiding them, in order to flood yourself with anxiety. You then surrender to it, so that it burns out. The Hidden Emotion model focuses on when you suppress your feelings of anxiety in order to not bother anyone, which thus brings up hidden emotions and conflicts. Expressing how you really feel can then help with these suppressed emotions. (Please note that these are summaries of the models employed by certified mental health professionals, and not every model will work for anyone; they should be done when deemed appropriate and safe by such a professional.)
The main sections of the book are divided into these three models, Cognitive, Exposure, and Hidden Emotion. Within each of these sections are subsections that review important information about the model, ways to implement in your own life through exercises included right in the pages of the book, and examples Burns draws on from his experiences with past patients. The examples are great for understanding some of these psychological ideas at work, and the exercises are helpful for those who are looking to start making changes in their life to better their mental health. Burns highlights how there are three things you need in order to feel better when struggling with anxiety: you need to give up hidden benefits of negative feelings, face your fears, and do the written exercises included in the book! The book is full of techniques to manage the various aspects of anxiety, from fear, to stress, to worry.
I found this book to be helpful not only to inform myself and better understand why I think the way I do, but also to see some of the ways I am getting in my own way in terms of feeling better. In order to get better, you have to want to get better. Burns utilizes a great example to reflect this: he asked several of his patients whether or not they would push a button on his desk if it would cure them. While some said they would press it immediately, others were hesitant to press it. Sometimes there are benefits to being anxious, such as getting our work done on time or producing higher quality results; however, these should not come at the expense of our mental health. You need to want to feel better in order to be able to actually get better. This gave me a lot of clarity, as I realized I was subconsciously hanging on to my anxiety because of how much it helped me succeed academically. This was until I realized that my academic success came from me and the hard work I put in, not my anxiety.
If you are looking to learn how to manage the symptoms of anxiety, or simply to understand how anxiety works, When Panic Attacks is a great resource. While it has a daunting page count, the book is full of helpful techniques, examples, exercises, and information that may help you or someone in your life to feel better. By reading a few pages each day, you can be better informed and prepared to handle anxiety in your life. For anyone looking for more books to read, my next mental health read will be The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk!