teachers and those who work with the general public and want a better understanding of this common but complex disorder, so they can be of assistance to their patients, clients, students and others.
This book is based on the author’s research, personal experiences and clients’ real life experiences. In order to protect privacy, names have been changed and identifying characteristics have been altered except for contributing experts. For purposes of simplifying usage, the pronouns his/her and s/he are sometimes used interchangeably. The information contained herein is not meant to be a substitute for professional evaluation and therapy with mental health professionals.
The suggestions in this book as to what can be done to solve your psychological dilemma are only suggestions and options. They should be discussed with your own physician, who knows your medical and family history and your emotional dynamics. Only he or she can put together an individualized treatment plan tailored to your specific medical and psychological needs. If your physical work-up is negative, you may be offered other treatment possibilities, such as therapy and/or medication, to help you feel better and improve the overall quality of your life. Hopefully, your physician will be direct in his or her recommendations but also empathetic and nonjudgmental.
If your physician suggests psychiatric treatment, don’t be afraid. If you are troubled and feel that you need help, take the risk and make an appointment. We will not embarrass you. We will not criticize you. We will not diminish you. We are just going to talk. Give it a chance. If you just come and tell us about yourself and your life, whatever has to come out will come to the surface. We can help you connect the dots. You may just find out that you are not alone and perhaps more normal than you think. Hopefully you will realize that your parents did the best that they could and that you have more control over your life than you think. If anything, this experience may start you on the road to emotional maturity, allow you to live up to your full potential and be more content with yourself and your life. Sometimes even the strongest people need someone to talk to, someone who can offer support and light the way. Let a psychiatrist be your guide.
Contents
A GAD Case History: Paul’s Story
Part I: Steps to Relieve Anxiety
Chapter 4 Step 4: Lower Your Expectations
Chapter 5 Step 5: Express Negative Feelings
Chapter 6 Step 6: Take a More Positive View
Chapter 7 Step 7: Don’t Worry
Chapter 8 Step 8: Take Action
Chapter 9 Step 9: Take Things as They Are
Chapter 10 Step 10: Take Care of Yourself
Part II: Treatment Options
Chapter 11 Therapy
Chapter 12 Medication
Part III: High Stress Situations
Chapter 13 Anxiety and Adult Attention Deficit Disorder
Chapter 14 Anxiety and Chronic Illness
Chapter 15 Anxiety in the Elderly
Chapter 16 Holiday Anxiety
Conclusion: The Road to Contentment
Acknowledgments
Helpful Resources
About the Author
Notes
Ten Steps to Relieve Anxiety is the rare book which provides help and understanding to anxious clients, as well as general guidance to their treating psychiatrist. The reader experiences in a very real way how a chronically anxious client suffers and tries to cope with this very disturbing illness known as generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). While reading this book, I could hardly put it down. I was particularly struck by two themes which transcend the whole book and which frequently intersect.
Throughout the entire book, we can actually feel and experience the client’s suffering and his or her attempts to deal with the anxiety on his or her own. We also become aware of the fact that most anxious people not only suffer from anxiety and worry, but also from other depressive symptoms. They may, for example, suffer from panic attacks, shyness, compulsiveness and, at least to some degree, depression.
Clients appear on Dr. Zal’s doorstep, anxious to an extreme, with very little hope for healthier lives and not knowing what to expect. Whom do they see? A warm, caring, cautious psychiatrist, trained in psychoanalysis as well as other psychotherapeutic approaches and, very importantly, also in the appropriate use of psychiatric medication. Most importantly, Dr. Zal prescribes psychiatric medications not as a panacea to solve all of his client’s problems, but as a tool for the client to help him or herself with the psychiatrist’s guidance and assistance. In fact, this holistic approach to treatment of GAD is what makes Dr. Zal so helpful and so successful in treating his anxious clients.
It is because of this holistic approach that I am so pleased that Dr. Zal asked me, an academic biological psychiatrist, to write this foreword. Dr. Zal’s approach to treating his clients is exactly the approach that I have employed in my private practice. While I was heavily involved from the late 1950s on in controlled, academic research to find new antianxiety and antidepressant medications to improve my clients’ suffering, I swiftly realized that medications, no matter how effective, were only tools to allow my clients to help themselves, preferably within the context of a warm psychotherapeutic counselor-client relationship.
Every client is a different individual and that is the way Dr. Zal approaches the treatment of all his clients. It is also quite clear to the reader that taking a good and extensive psychiatric and medical history is the foundation of any good treatment approach. Here we see Dr. Zal’s success with his clients. He allows them to take their time to share with him their innermost thoughts. If I would be in need of a psychiatrist, Dr. Zal would be my choice.
Throughout the book, Dr. Zal espouses a realistic approach in helping his clients. He stresses the
