Contemporary culture includes a high awareness of personal and global health hazards. Many people may feel some anxiety in this regard, but some develop an unbearable sense of dread that prevents them from functioning. Treating Health Anxiety gives prescribing and non-prescribing clinicians, as well as the counselors and social workers who encounter the problem, the tools to reduce both the fears and the medical costs that so often accompany them.
Grounded in current theory and treatment research, this highly practical book presents a comprehensive framework for assessing and treating health anxiety, including full-blown and milder (subclinical) forms of hypochondriasis. The current state of knowledge about these prevalent and costly problems is reviewed, and assessment methods and empirically supported treatments described. Clear, step-by-step recommendations are provided for engaging patients or clients, implementing carefully planned cognitive and behavioral interventions, and troubleshooting potential pitfalls. Important advances in pharmacotherapy for persons with health anxiety disorders are also discussed. Enhancing the utility of this clinician- and student-friendly resource are numerous case examples and sample dialogues, quick-reference tables and boxed material, and over 20 reproducible handouts and assessment forms.
The Clinician's Guide to Treating Health Anxiety: Diagnosis, Mechanisms, and Effective Treatment provides mental health professionals with methods to better identify patients with health anxiety, the basic skills to manage it, and ways to successfully adapt cognitive behavioral therapy to treat it. The book features structured diagnostic instruments that can be used for assessment, while also underscoring the importance of conducting a comprehensive functional analysis of the patient's problems. Sections cover refinements in assessment and treatment methods and synthesize existing literature on etiology and maintenance mechanisms. Users will find an in-depth look at who develops health anxiety, what the behavioral and cognitive mechanisms that contribute to it are, why it persists in patients, and how it can be treated.
Fully updated edition of the bestselling self-help book, now recommended on the national Books on Prescription scheme. This ever-popular guide offers a self-help programme, written by one of the UK's leading authorities on anxiety and based on CBT, for those suffering from anxiety problems. A whole range of anxieties and fears are explained, from panic attacks and phobias to obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and generalised anxiety. It includes an introduction to the nature of anxiety and stress and a complete self-help programme with monitoring sheets based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. The following websites may offer useful further information on anxiety disorders: www.social-anxiety.org.uk www.stress.org.uk www.triumphoverphobia.com
Presenting a broad coverage of this major area of studies on death and dying, this book provides a systematic presentation of the six most widely used and best validated measures of death anxiety, threat and fear. These chapters consider the available data on the psychometric properties of each instrument and summarize research using them, and also supply a copy of the instrument with scoring keys - to facilitate their use. In addition, other chapters make use of the instrumentation by pursuing questions of applied significance in various health care settings nursing homes, psychotherapy, death education, near death experiences, persons with AIDS, experiences of bereaved young adults.; An introductory chapter introduces the major philosophical and psychological theories of the causes and consequences of death anxiety in adult life, and a closing chapter gives an overview of death education and how this affects attitudes towards death and dying.
Demonstrates how an unconscious fear of death motivates nearly all human goals, behaviors, and cultures, examining the role of mortality awareness in prompting social unrest and war.
Discover essential skills to liberate yourself from persistent anxiety about your health. Are you constantly worrying about your health, or the health of a loved one? Do you frequently check yourself for lumps, bumps, tingling, or pain? Do you find yourself endlessly looking up symptoms on the internet? Perhaps you find yourself asking others for reassurance or validation that you’re okay, obsessing over health scares in the media, or monitoring your blood pressure on an hourly basis? No matter how your health anxiety manifests, it can be a crippling psychological burden. Endlessly ruminating about illness and death can affect all aspects of life—at home, work, school, as well as the doctor’s office. And if you’re obsessing over the health of a loved one, that can put tremendous pressure on the relationship. In Freedom from Health Anxiety, nationally recognized anxiety expert Karen Lynn Cassiday teaches you skills to conquer health anxiety, once and for all. You’ll learn to switch from focusing on worst-case scenarios to appreciating the joy of the present moment—regardless of health status. Using a blend of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), positive psychology, and the author’s “learned inhibition” model, you’ll finally acquire the tools you need to take charge of your fear and break the cycle of stressing over your—or your loved one’s—well-being. You’ll also learn effective methods for tolerating health uncertainty, getting in touch with your body’s cues, and rediscovering the pleasure of the present. It’s time to find freedom from the obsessive fears that stand between you and true happiness. If you’re ready to trade endless hours of online self-diagnosis (Goodbye, Dr. Google!) for a life filled with a genuine appreciation for each moment, this book will show you the way.
"This book fruitfully serves those looking to apply Ernest Beckerís ideas psychotherapeutically, in individual counseling or in group therapy. A capstone to Robert Firestoneís 50 years of work in psychotherapy, psychoanalysis and psychiatry and to the numerous books written by these authors, Firestone and Catlett show how to apply the themes and implications of the ideas of Ernest Becker in everyday life. Their basic premise is that accepting death is part of developing an affirming and meaningful experience of life. Contributing to the credibility of their presentation is the wealth of clinical evidence and personal experience Firestone and Catlett incorporate." --The Ernest Becker Foundation "[F]ascinating and an enjoyable read....steeped in well researched and relevant psychological and sociological perspectives applicable to all social studies areas..." --Carol Lloyd University of Chichester "Firestone and Catlettís work is a marvelous achievement....This volume is both innovative and intrepid. Firestone and Catlett challenge prevailing psychoanalytic views on death and they demolish many of the accepted canons of thanatology and existential psychology. ...This is required reading for anyone who purports to talk about death." -- Jerry Piven, PhD Author of Death and Delusion: A Freudian Analysis of Mortal Terror "[A] towering synthesis of personal and clinical wisdom about death....with a superb overview of the psychology of death and death anxiety....Dr. Firestone draws on the best of the existential-humanistic as well as the psychoanalytic thinkers to address a flourishing path toward self-realization." -Kirk J. Schneider, PhD Author, Existential-Integrative Psychotherapy and Awakening to Awe (From the Foreword) Firestone and Catlett's groundbreaking volume assists mental health practitioners in helping their clients learn to accept and face their mortality. They describe the many defenses of death anxiety that keep individuals from achieving personal fulfillment, and also suggest methods to cope directly with fears of death; an approach that, ironically, can lead to more satisfaction, more freedom, and a greater appreciation for the gift of life. This book examines the many destructive consequences of death anxiety, including introversion, depression, and withdrawal from life. Throughout the book, the authors demonstrate the importance of achieving what they call life-affirming death awareness. Key topics include: The dawning awareness of death and its impact on the developing child Literal and symbolic defenses against death anxiety Separation theory and "the fantasy bond" Challenging the defenses that interfere with living fully Microsuicide: the death of the spirit Breaking with limiting religious dogma and cultural worldviews With this book, mental health practitioners and their clients will be able to better understand death awareness, overcome the defenses against death anxiety, and ultimately lead richer, more fulfilling lives.
Stop worrying about your health and enjoy life. Many of us have a tendency to worry unnecessarily about our health. This can be worse in a time of global panic about pandemics. For some, the anxiety becomes chronic, and they may spend many hours checking for symptoms, seeking reassurance from others, surfing the internet for information about different diseases, or repeatedly visiting the doctor. It is distressing for them and for everyone around them. In fact, health anxiety can be very successfully treated with cognitive behavioural therapy - the approach taken in this self-help guide. Using a structured, step-by-step approach, the authors explain how the problem develops, how to recognise what feeds it and how to develop effective methods of dealing with it. - Includes questionnaires, case studies and exercises - Based on proven CBT techniques - Includes a chapter on fear of death and fear of vomiting
