1. Anxiety disoreders
Exercises

2. Guess what kind of disorder is that?
A woman hates to stand in line in the grocery store because she’s afraid that everyone is watching her. She knows that it’s not really true, but she can’t shake the feeling. While she is shopping, she is conscious of the fact that people might be staring at her from the big mirrors on the inside front of the ceiling. Now, she has to talk to the person who’s checking out the groceries. She tries to smile, but her voice comes out weakly. She’s sure she’s making a fool of herself. Her self-consciousness and her anxiety rise to the roof.

3. In public places, such as work, meetings, or shopping, people feel that everyone is watching and staring at them (even though rationally they know this isn’t true). The socially anxious person can’t relax, "take it easy", and enjoy themselves in public. In fact, they can never relax when other people are around. It always feels like others are evaluating them, being critical of them, or "judging" them in some way. This person knows that people don’t do this openly, of course, but they still feel the self-consciousness and the judgment while they are in the other person’s presence. It’s sometimes impossible to let go, relax, and focus on anything else except the anxiety. Because the anxiety is so very painful, it’s much easier just to stay away and avoid other people.

4. SOCIAL PHOBIA
„It’s just easier to avoid social situations ”

5. 2. Trina is a 28 year-old accountant who recently started her first job after graduating with good marks and high performance evaluations. She lives with her 2 cats and her best friend. Trina has always been an anxious person. She describes herself as a "worry bug" and her friends and family often tell her she worries too much. During high school she found it very difficult to control her worry about being on time for class or appointments, her grades, losing her friends, getting her parents angry, her appearance, whether her teachers liked her, and which university she would attend. Since then she has also worried excessively about whether her current boyfriend will leave her, her cats, her work performance, her weight, and having enough time in the day to get everything done. Trina has great difficulty controlling these worries and they often intrude when she is trying to relax alone at the end of each day, during down time at work, and when out with friends. She feels exhausted all the time with constant muscle tension and body aches. She notices that she is frequently irritable (e.g., snaps at her room mate and boyfriend inappropriately)…

6. …Trina can'tremember when she last felt relaxed as she always feels jumpy,tense,and on guard for something bad to happen. For the past 6 months she hasn't been sleeping very well. She often lies in bed worrying for several hours, wakes frequently during the night, or wakes up too early and can't fall back asleep. On days when her worrying is really problematic she has difficulty concentrating at work and several friends have commented that she often seems distracted. Trina also checks her work excessively even though it means she often has to work late. She also asks her friends or family what they think about her appearance or other worries until they get frustrated with her. Trina knows her worry is a problem but she is concerned that without her worrying everything would fall apart or get worse.

7. GAD (general anxiety disorder)

8. 3. Annie is a 20-year-old student at a local community college
3. Annie is a 20-year-old student at a local community college. On several occasions recently, she has experienced sudden, absolute panic. During these episodes, her heart pounds; she trembles; her mouth gets dry and it feels as if the walls are caving in. The feelings only last a few minutes but, when they occur, the only thing that seems to relieve her fear is walking around her apartment and reminding herself that she is in control. She won't ride in cars any more unless she is driving so she is sure that she can stop if necessary. She will only go to class if she can find an aisle seat in the back row so that she can leave quietly should she have another attack. She avoids any situation in which she might feel out of control or embarrassed by her own terror.

9. PANIC ATTACKS

10. 4. A student won’t attend her university classes on the first day because she knows that in some classes the professor will instruct them to go around the room and introduce themselves. Just thinking about sitting there, waiting to introduce herself to a roomful of strangers who will be staring at her makes her feel nauseous. She knows she won’t be able to think clearly because her anxiety will be so high, and she is sure she will leave out important details. Her voice might even quaver and she would sound scared and tentative. The anxiety is just too much to bear -- so she skips the first day of class to avoid the possibility of having to introduce herself in public.

11. SOCIAL PHOBIA

12. 5. Hannah, age 55, was in a major car accident 20 years ago during a cross-country trip. Ever since, she has been unable to drive on major highways. Although she does drive, she goes to great lengths to travel only on back roads and scenic routes. She is able to go where she wants to go but it often takes much longer to get there than it should.

13. Hannah has developed a phobia about highway driving

14. 6. Bert is 40 years old and works on an assembly line in a brush factory. He is terribly afraid of being contaminated by germs. He avoids shaking hands with others. He won't eat in the cafeteria. He has trouble leaving the bathroom because he isn't sure he has washed his hands well enoughm. He has washed them several times.

15. Bert is suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder.

16. 7. Two weeks ago, Leo, age 25, was hunting with his best friend when his friend tripped over a root and accidentally shot himself to death. He doesn't remember exactly how he got himself and his friend's body out of the woods. Every night he has nightmares about not being able to save him, making it almost impossible to sleep. He can't concentrate or stay focused during conversations. Most of the time, he says he feels numb. But when asked to talk about what happened, he gets very upset.

17. Leo is suffering from acute stress disorder.

18. 8. Joanne, age 32, is involved with the first man that really counts in her life. As the couple has become more intimate, Joanne has started to have flashbacks about an uncle who touched her sexually when she was only eight. She is distressed to find that she is shutting down feelings about her boyfriend and distancing herself from him. Although she has been sexual with other men, she says she can't stand to let herself be sexual with someone she loves and trusts. She startles easily and reports a general increase in anxiety. She is very angry that she has to deal with the feelings about the incidents with her uncle that happened so long ago. She says that she thought she had gotten beyond all that. 

19. PTSD

20. 9. Amy, age 38, is a worrier. She is restless, irritable and has difficulty concentrating. She worries that she worries so much and isn't always sure what it is that she is worried about. She can't let her husband or children leave the house without making them call her regularly to reassure her that they are okay. Her husband is growing weary of her fretting. Her children can't understand what all the fuss is about. Their impatience with her only makes her worry more.

21. Amy has generalized anxiety disorder.