- How often do you assume the worst-case-scenario when facing a difficult situation?
- When was the last time someone invited you to a party, and you started worrying about it months in advance?
- Do you stress about situations that have not happened yet?
When we are dealing with worries, anxieties, fears, we all play-it-safe. You might be playing it safe if you get stuck thinking of doom and gloomy scenarios, you may find yourself asking others what to do in order for you to not make any more mistakes.
Anybody can learn how our minds work and how to work with them. In this episode, I interview Dr. Sally Winston, Psy.D., an anxiety expert. She and I discuss different skills to manage those future-oriented thoughts and those moments in which you get stuck in your imagination.
You will learn actionable skills to stop worrying about what might happen and live fully in the moment.
Table of Contents
Key Takeaways
- Definition of anticipatory anxiety.
- How to handle moments in which your imagination hijacks you.
- Three different levels of fear.
- The difference between rumination and planning.
- How to shift from “what if” to “what is.”
- Dr. Winston’s metaphor of how to handle uncertainty.
- The opposite of uncertainty, is not what you think it is.
- Metacognitions.
- Productive thinking versus unproductive thinking.
About Dr. Sally Winston, Psy.D.
Dr. Winston has been recognized regionally and nationally for over 40-years for her expertise in the treatment of OCD and anxiety disorders. After working at Sheppard Pratt Hospital for 17 years, she co-founded The Anxiety and Stress Disorders Institute of Maryland in 1992.
She has served multiple roles including Chair of the Clinical Advisory Board of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America and was honored with the first Jerilyn Ross Clinician Advocate Award in 2011.
She is a co-author of three books:
- What Every Therapist Needs to Know About Anxiety Disorders: Key Concepts, Insights and Interventions (Routledge, 2014),
- Overcoming Unwanted Intrusive Thoughts: A CBT-Based Guide to Getting Over Frightening, Obsessive, or Disturbing Thoughts (New Harbinger, 2017)
- Needing to Know for Sure: A CBT-Based Guide to Overcoming Compulsive Checking & Reassurance Seeking (New Harbinger, 2019).
Resources
- Hope and Help for Your Nerves: End Anxiety Now by Dr. Claire Weekes
- Dr. Winston’s latest book: Overcoming Anticipatory Anxiety: A CBT Guide for Moving Past Chronic Indecisiveness, Avoidance, and Catastrophic Thinking
- Dr. Winston’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sally-winston-77533291
- The Anxiety and Stress Disorders Institute (ASDI): https://www.anxietyandstress.com/
