We have seen the role that thoughts have in keeping going the vicious circle of anxiety. Sometimes there may also be pictures in your mind.

To give an example, imagine you are running for a bus one day. All of a sudden you get a pain in your chest and feel really breathless. The thought goes through your mind, "I'm having a heart attack". This thought is of, course, very frightening, and so your heart starts to beat faster which makes you think "there really must be something wrong with my heart". You may very well have a picture of the ambulance on its way and you in a stretcher.

Now think about the following questions and write down the answers:

  1. What are the thoughts that most often go through your mind when you feel anxious?


  2. Do you have any pictures of what might happen?


  3. Are there any thoughts that make you feel worse?

It isn't always that easy to know what you are thinking that is making your anxiety worse.

The sort of thoughts that make people anxious can come and go in a flash, and may be so much of a habit that they are automatic. They may be so familiar that they just feel like part of you.

Try to keep a diary over the course of two weeks. Write down your own thoughts in situations where you are anxious.

Now, try to imagine the last time you felt very anxious. Try to run through it like a film, in as much detail as you can. See if you can write down any frightening thoughts now.

Remember any thoughts can count. No thought is too small or too silly. Even "oh no" or "here we go again" can increase tension and anxiety.

Frightening Thoughts:








Once you know what it is you are thinking, you can begin to fight back, and break the vicious circle.

In particular, ask yourself:

Use these questions to help yourself answer back. A good way of doing this is to write two columns - one for your thoughts that make you anxious, and the other for a more balanced thought, eg:

Anxious Thought Balanced Thought
The dizzy feeling means I'm going to faint. I have had it many times before and have not fainted.
I have fainted once and that felt really different. I'm going mad. I have not gone mad yet, and the doctor tells me anxiety is not madness.

Write down some of your thoughts now and write as many answers as you can. This question might also help. What would you say to a friend who was thinking that way?

The aim is to get faster at "catching" these anxious thoughts and answering back almost instantly. It takes a lot of practice, but really does work.

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