What do people see themselves doing well?

You can ask clients to imagine entering a situation or engaging in an activity, especially in two conditions: When clients are too fearful to do even mild exposures. When it's impractical to do regular exposures. You can also have clients do virtual reality exposures in which they enter a virtual scenario to test their fears. Clients are more likely to do daily work on a graded exposure hierarchy if you ask them to fill out a daily monitor (Figure 19. It can be simple, listing just the date, activity, and level of anxiety. You can also ask clients to record and then cross off predictions that didn't come true, which further reminds them of the inaccuracy of many of their thoughts. Predicted level of anxiety (1-100) Then go back again to the uncomfortable feelings you were exploring. Recording yourself stating the preceding steps and guidelines onto an audiocassette or computer file-- maybe with some music in the background--can help you do the exercise without having to refer to notes. Part 4: Finish Strong--Seamlessly Switch Back to the World Around You This final aspect of the exercise is integral to ending the process on the right note, empowering you with a greater sense of mastery and control. Skipping this ending is not advised. When the time you've set aside for the exercise is over, rise and shine--get up, open your eyes wide, and stretch. Stamp your feet, move your body, walk around, and wash your face if you've shed tears. If you have been crying hard, you might be tempted to continue on releasing emotional energy beyond the allotted time for the exercise. Don't do it. It can be caused due to sudden unemployment, divorce, financial loss, the death of a loved one, or an accident. HOW MUCH CALCIUM DO YOU NEED?

Above 65 years: 1,200 to 1,500 mg Pregnant and lactating women: 1,000 to 1,200 mg Post menopausal women: 300 mg Source: www. The reproductive system When you're under stress, you can have various gynaecological problems such as irregular periods and ovulation, leading to fertility issues. High stress levels can also cause spotting instead of a regular flow during periods or even delay periods in athletes or women who travel extensively, have exam pressure, or are newly married and have just moved in with their husband's family. Men can also suffer from infertility as a result of stress. And I'd like you now to imagine, if dreams could come true, then what would you love to hear this person thinking? Note: this is an exercise in imagination; You are not trying to realistically predict what this person would truly be thinking; So please close your eyes or fix on a spot, and take a couple of minutes to imagine this scenario. What would you love them to be thinking about you? Please write down a few words about what you imagined. Now choose someone else who is important to you in the life domain of work. And imagine a similar scenario to that above. They pop up on the screen, and you tune in to their thoughts. They are thinking about what sort of character you have, what you mean to them, and the role you have played in their life. Actual level of anxiety (1-100) Predictions

Going to church services I won't be able to stand the anxiety. I'll have to leave services early. Exposure monitor. Clients may also fear, and then avoid, internal stimuli: Experiencing strong emotion Thinking about upsetting or feared situations Having painful memories Redirect your focus, and go back to your life in the world. You've plunged into your feelings so you can reemerge, not remain. Stop focusing exclusively on your feelings, and redirect your thoughts toward your normal daily activities. Although your focus has now shifted from your inner world back to your outer life, you will retain some of the feeling awareness you just experienced. Allow the feeling sensations to remain with you, even though you aren't focusing on them. Take stock of your energy and newfound clarity-- notice whether colors seem brighter, if sounds seem clearer. Are you accomplishing more than usual? You may feel more self-aware and more self-assured. Congratulate yourself. This is not an easy exercise to do well--it takes courage and determination. Hormonal imbalance caused due to stress is known to damage the sperm membrane, decreasing sperm motility and its ability to fuse with the oocyte leading to infertility. Binge eating or chain smoking under pressure is another issue.

You experience stress so you eat and smoke a lot. You then put on weight or suffer drastic weight loss. You worry about that and end up eating and smoking even more. It's a vicious cycle and it's how women get polycystic ovaries syndrome. The treatment? Weight reduction and cycle regulation. The more weight you gain, the more severe the disorder gets. Stress can also make it harder to conceive. Once again, close your eyes and for a couple of minutes just fantasise. Imagine: if dreams could come true, what would you love to hear this person thinking about you? Now write a few words about what you imagined. Choose a third person who is important to you in the life domain of play, and run through the exercise again. As you tune in to their thoughts about what sort of character you have, what you mean to them, and the role you have played in their life, what would you love to hear them thinking? Now write a few words about what you imagined. For this last part, there is a special attachment on the machine that allows you to hear what your own body is thinking. If dreams could come true, what would you love to hear your body thinking? Now write a few words about what you imagined. TUNING IN TO YOUR HEART Becoming physiologically aroused Facing physical pain

These clients usually benefit from mindfulness exercises (see article 16) in which they do behavioral experiments to expose themselves to these stimuli and test their fears. CLINICAL TIPS When clients are quite fearful of doing exposures, you may need to allow them to use safety behaviors at first, for example, having someone in the car with them when they drive across a bridge. But the next step should be entering the situation without using the safety behavior. I've given you a broad outline of exposure, but you'll need additional instruction. Detailed descriptions of the process used to develop agoraphobic hierarchies can be found in various sources (eg, Goldstein & Stainback, 1987). Dobson and Dobson (2018) describe plans for effective exposure sessions, possible targets, and factors that decrease the effectiveness of exposure. ROLE PLAYING But the benefits are well worth your efforts. Don't forget to describe this experience to someone who is a good listener--someone who doesn't interrupt, interpret, or make comments about what you are telling him or her--within a few hours or a few days. Reinforce what you are learning. This is important for integration and an easy step to skip if you don't tend to talk to others about yourself. Practice the exercise every day or as often as you can, until you can experience raw emotion without becoming overwhelmed. If after numerous attempts you remain frightened when performing the exercise, it might be advisable to seek the assistance of a mental health professional--someone with special training and expertise in trauma issues. Assessing Your Progress Like building muscles in a gym, the more you flex emotions, the more emotional muscle you build. You wouldn't expect to be a bodybuilder after just five minutes. The more consistently you practice, the greater the change you'll experience in what you feel, think, and do. This itself can be stressful. As I've noted, the symptoms of stress-related disorders will often cause even more stress, trapping the sufferer in a vicious cycle.