Anxiety Busters eBook

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Anxiety Busters:

2 Simple processes tolet go of anxiety FAST!

Dr. Olivier J. Becherel

Proudlypresentedtoyouby


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Copyright 2009 - Olivier J. Becherel & Mastermind Success

http://www.MastermindSuccess.com.au

2

Anxiety Busters:2 Simple processes to

let go of anxiety FAST!

Dr. Olivier J. Becherel

Proudlypresentedtoyouby


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DISCLAIMERhe author of this book does not dispense medical advice or

prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical,medical or psychological problems without the advice of a physician,therapist, or psychologist either directly or indirectly. If you are currentlybeing treated by a physician, psychologist, or any other healthcarepractitioner for any condition or disease, consult with that provider priorto changing or modifying any treatment program. The intent of the authoris only to offer educational and transformational information to help inyour quest for emotional freedom and spiritual wellbeing. In the event youuse any of the information and techniques described in this book foryourself, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility and liabilityfor your actions.

Olivier J. Becherel & Mastermind Success, 2009.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced ortransmitted in any form or by means, electronic, or mechanical, includingphotocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system nowknown or to be invented, without permission in writing from the publisherand author.


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Table of Contents

Anxiety, The 21st Century Plague ......................... 8What Is Anxiety Really? ................................... 18What Can I Do for Anxiety?............................... 22Process #1 - Disappearing like a cloud..22Process #2 Dissociation..26Afterword.................................................... 27


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Hello there,

Welcome toAnxiety Busters: 2 Simple processes to letgo of anxiety FAST!

This book is my attempt to explain, in the easiest waypossible, how we create Anxiety, through our thoughts andmental strategies. To do this, I give some insights on how our

perception of the external world, in other words everythingthat surrounds us, can affect our emotional state, feelings andcreate anxiety and stress.

I also reveal in this book basic concepts of Neuro-linguisticProgramming (NLP) that are likely to give you a different

perspective on the world... and provide you with insights onhow you may deal with anxiety and stress.

Before I go further along, you may ask... But what is NLP?

Well... were all born with the same basic neurology, the same

circuitry. Our ability to do anything in life, whether itsswimming, climbing, running, cooking a meal, driving ourcar, or reading this book, depends on how we control and useour nervous system.


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NLP is an attitude, a philosophy, a model of communication,and a trail of techniques devoted to learning how to think and

communicate more effectively with yourself and others. Theformal definition of NLP is The study of the structure ofour subjective experience.

Hmmm... OK??... So, what is it really?

Its the Art & Science of communication, the key to learning.Its about what makes you and other people tick, its the routeto get the results you want in all areas of your life.

In this book, you will discover:

The impact of anxiety and stress on our society. What is really anxiety.

And more importantly

2 Techniques to deal with anxiety and let it go!So without further due, lets dive into it!

Olivier

Brisbane, Australia, April 2009


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Nothing in the affairs of men is worthy of great anxiety.- Plato

Now is the age of anxiety.- W. H. Auden

Our Age of Anxiety is, in great part, the result of trying todo today's job with yesterday's tools and yesterday's concepts.

- Marshall McLuhan

Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but onlyempties today of its strength.

- Charles Spurgeon


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8

Anxiety, The 21st Century

Plague

he 21st century, with all the technological

advances, is giving us instant access to information from

across the globe, forcing us to do things quicker, betterand faster, and putting us under tremendous pressure.Not only do we have to do the right things, we also haveto do them in the most perfect way in order to please[everyone].

With a constant emphasis on productivity,performance, economy, and the ability to make money,the 21st century lifestyle is taking an ever-increasing tollon our health and wellbeing, at the physical, mental,emotional and spiritual levels. No wonder, chronic conditions have flourished inthe last 100 years, and amongst them, anxiety andstress have become two of the leading illnesses of the

21st

century.Let's have a quick look at what is happening

around the world...


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Anxiety disorders are the most common mentalillnesses in the U.S. affecting 40 million of adults aged18 and older.

This is a staggering ~ 18 % of the U.S. population.

Did you know that anxiety disorders cost theU.S. more than $42 billion a year, almost one-third ofthe country's $148 billion total mental health bill,according to "The Economic Burden of Anxiety

Disorders," a study commissioned by Anxiety DisorderAssociation of America and published in The Journal ofClinical Psychiatry, Vol. 60, No. 7, July 1999.

Not only that, but more than $22.84 billion ofthose costs are associated with the repeated use ofhealth care services where people with anxietydisorders seek relief for symptoms that mimic physical

illnesses.

People suffering from anxiety disorders are 3 to 5times more likely to go to the doctor and 6 times morelikely to be hospitalised for psychiatric disorders thanthose who dont.


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Just some figures for anxiety disorders in the U.S:

Specific Phobias 19 million, 8.7% More prevalent in women

Social Anxiety Disorder 15 million, 6.8% Equally common among men and women

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) 7.7 million, 3.5% More prevalent in women

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) 6.8 million, 3.1% More prevalent in women

Panic Disorder 6 million, 2.7% More prevalent in women

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) 2.2 million, 1.0% Equally common among men and women

[Numbers and percentages refer to adults affected in the U.S. population]


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Pretty alarming don't you think!

What about Europe...

In 2000 one in six adults in Great Britain had aneurotic disorder [such as anxiety and depression],while one in seven had considered suicide at somepoint in their lives. The most common mental disorderswere: mixed anxietyand depression [7% for men, 11%for women], anxiety [4% for men, 5% for women] and

depression [2% for men, 3% for women].

All neurotic disorders were more common inwomen than men, except for panic disorder which wasequally common in both sexes. A follow up survey in2001 showed that half of people with neurotic disordershad not recovered 18 months later.

Currently, it is estimated that work-related stress,depression or anxiety affected 415,000 individuals whohad worked in the last 12 months in 2008/09, with acorresponding estimated 11.4 million lost working daysdue to these work-related conditions.

This represents an estimated average of 27.5

working days lost per affected case and makes stress,depression or anxiety the largest contributor to theoverall estimated annual days lost from work-related ill-health in 2008/09.

Now, let's check out what's happening in ourcountry, down under...


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Well, the annual cost of mental illness in Australiahas been estimated at $20 billion, which includes thecost of lost productivity and labour force participation.

In 2003, mental disorders were identified as theleading cause of healthy years of life lost due todisability.

In 2007, 45% of Australians aged 16-85 years [7.3million people] had, at some point in their lifetime,

experienced at least one of the selected mentaldisorders [anxiety, mood or substance use disorders].People with a mental illness are more likely than thosewithout to have physical conditions, such as back orneck pain/problems, asthma or heart trouble, furthercompounding the difficulties they face.

People with a mental illness may have more than

one disorder at any one time. Having multiple mentaldisorders is associated with greater impairment, higherrisk of suicidal behaviour and greater use of healthservices.

In 2007, 59% of people with a mental illness alsohad a physical condition, compared with 48% of those

without any mental disorder.

As you're reading here, and I am sure in the mediaalso, anxiety is not isolated in some distant country...

It is everywhere! And everyone is affected by itat some point in life


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These are alarming facts, and indicate that itstime to do something. Its too late to wait forgovernments, or big pharmaceutical companies to give

us a magic solution, a magic pill that could wipe outanxiety disorders from the surface of the planet. Thetruth is it will never come about

Want to know why?

Because anxiety and stress, although being a

burden on our society, is alsoprofitable

But Im glad that by reading this book, youvedecided to take action Because only proactive peoplesucceed!

You are shaping your future by the action

you take today, not tomorrowNow that weve seen the impact of anxiety and

stress globally, let's review quickly the symptoms ofanxiety. Im sure you know them very

The symptoms of anxiety are many and the list

seems to increase day-by-day, debilitating in most cases[who would argue the opposite], and they includemental, emotional, physical, behavioural and socialaspects.

Below are some examples:


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Mental symptoms: Confusion Hyper-reactivity Hyper-sensitivity Hyper-vigilance Poor concentration Poor judgment Poor memory

Emotional symptoms: Agitation Anger Confusion Specific fears

[eg. health problems, spiders, memories] General fears for self and loved ones

[eg. safety, financial security, the future]

Physical symptoms: Gastrointestinal attack Headaches Heart palpitations Joint pain Muscle aches Pain

Rapid breathing Sweating Behavioural symptoms:

Avoidance of performance Avoidance of the feared thing Drink excessively


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Excessive attention to control or details inorder to prevent mistakes

Excessive spending Social avoidance Avoidance of responsibility in order to

decrease anxiety Take drugs

Although this list of symptoms is already prettylong, these are only just some of the possible symptoms

of anxiety. Im sure you can probably think of someadditional ones to add to the list. I know I can!

I think you get the picture, there is no need to goon and on about these symptoms... They are all toofamiliar to most of us.

So, just to sum up this section, anxiety, stress, and

the various forms of anxiety disorders are everywhereand affecting everyone on the planet. This is evidencedby the rise of scientific and medical publications onanxiety and related diseases published in peer-reviewedjournals, the media coverage on anxiety-relateddisorders, and the increase in tranquilizers, relatedprescription and non-prescription drugs and recreational

drugs consumption

So now lets leave all these statistics aside andwithout further due, let's dive into the subject and seewhat anxiety and stress are really and moreimportantly, how can we get rid of them... Are you withme? OK, let's GO!


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References:

Surveys of Psychiatric Morbidity among Adults in GreatBritain, Office for National Statistics.

Better or worse: a longitudinal study of the mental healthof adults living in private households in Great Britain,Office for National Statistics.

Self-reported work-related illness and workplace injuries in2007/08: Results from the Labour Force Survey. Health andSafety Executive.http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/causdis/stress/scale.htm

Council of Australian Governments (2006), National ActionPlan on Mental Health 20062011, p. 1.

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2008),Australia's Health 2008, pp. 5256.

World Health Organization, 'International Classification ofDiseases', viewed 17 December 2008,

http://www.who.int/classifications/icd/en/

Australian Bureau of Statistics (2008), 2007 National Surveyof Mental Health and Wellbeing: Summary of Results (ABScat. no. 4326.0), p. 21.


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What Is Anxiety Really?

et's consider first some definitions, to make

sure that we are talking about the same thing. According to the dictionarys definition, anxiety

is a multi-system response to a perceivedthreat

or danger. [Keep in mind the notion of perceivedthreat or perceived danger]. I will come back tothat later...

Anxiety reflects a combination of biochemicalchanges in the body, energy disturbances orblockages, personal history, memories, beliefsystem, and of course the context of the socialsituation.

A second definition of anxiety is: a psychologicaland physiological state characterised bycognitive, somatic, emotional, and behaviouralcomponents that create an unpleasant feelingthat is typically associated with uneasiness,

apprehension, fear, or worry.

Another view is that anxiety is a future-orientedmood state in which one is ready or prepared toattempt to cope with upcoming negative events.In other words, anxiety is usually about a future


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event, either about a specific action [i.e. likegoing to an interview, or giving a speech] or avague feeling [i.e. about the future in general].

Anxiety is a normal human

emotion which is triggered when

we perceive threats of harm

Note that it is possible to be anxious of a pleasantsituation?!

Yep, if wefearsomething can/might go wrong...

So, anxiety is in most cases considered to be a

normal reaction to stress. A minimum amount of stressis required to keep us alert and help us going forward.

Anxiety may come for a good reason, such as toprotect us from harm by warning us of threats or makeus perform at a high level. This is where an appropriateamount of stress creates a healthy tension that helps us

in reaching our peak performance [Figure 1]. In thiscase, stress is considered normal and beneficial.


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Figure 1. Stress vs Performance.

When it is abnormal or excessive, it causes usdistress, harm, and interferes with our lives, often notprotecting us and decreasing our performance levels.

Stress becomes toxic when we reach the fatigue point.Instead of continuously increasing our performance [aswe often think it would], we soon reach exhaustion,where most of our energy stores are depleted and wecannot replenish our stock, and from then onwards, it isall downhill [like on a black diamond slop]

By being continually on emergency mode, our

body doesnt have the time or the resources necessaryto repair or regenerate itself. We then reach a Tippingpoint where the slightest minimal arousal mayprecipitate a total breakdown, energetic, physical,mental, emotional and spiritual. And there comesillness, injury or overload...


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We all need afear response in order to warn us ofthreats and enable us to prepare for them. This is why,through biological evolution, this response called the

fight-or-flight response has been in-built in humans.

The problem of anxiety and stress only appearswhen they become excessive; it then falls under theclassification of an anxiety disorder. In the modernsociety our mind tends to find threats, worries andconcerns everywhere we look, from deadlines at work,

to global warming, to terrorism and simple healthissues. Just by watching TV, listening to the news on theradio, or reading the newspaper, you get your dailydoseof anxiety and stress.

This constant perception of threat can leave usliving in a heightened state of arousal or anxiety. Insome cases this state of anxiety is specific to certain

situations such as in the case of phobias or socialanxiety.

Our anxieties can be triggered by real or imaginedexperiences. Our thoughts have a big impact on whetherweperceive anxiety or not.

Panic attacks can also occur because our minds

may misinterpret our bodily sensations such as rapidheartbeat. Anxiety can also be triggered by normalexperiences such as exercise, tiredness and fatigue,drugs, thoughts about changes in our life situation ormemories of things that happened to us as children.


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What Can I Do for Anxiety?

Nowwe have a pretty good idea of what anxietyis, it is time to get some tips on how to let go of it

Are you ready? Now?

OK, I thought you would, so without further due,let's look first let's look at a simple process that willhelp you go past you fear, anxiety, or worry and takeaction.

Ready Now? Sure?

I just want to share with you two simpleprocesses that you can use to let go of anxiety!

By the way, I guarantee it won't be painful... butrather fun to experience... You may even like and playwith it in the future!

So here we go...

Process #1 - Disappearing like a cloud


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Process #1: Disappearing like a cloud...So, think a something you are afraid of, or anxious about orare worrying about.

Make it something where the feelings are unpleasant and you

are not sure what to do, like being overwhelm, not being surewhat to do, and this feeling is getting in your way...

Imagine the situation, like if you were there, and really feel the

feeling... Now label this feeling, as anxiety, fear, fright or even worry, it's up to you to choose the label.

Got it?

Now imagine the feeling right in front of you, it's there, look at

it.

What does it look like?

What colour is it?What shape is it?Is it like a smoky cloud?

Or a green gooey mass [remember, the one like in Ghostbustersthe movie, Yeah... you know this one...]

How big is it?

Does it smell?

Does it have a sound as it is standing in front of you?

Watch it carefully! Smell! Listen!

Now, let it go over you, under you, and around you, let it gothrough you and as it does, it will become like a thin cloud.

As it goes through you and around you, it will go behind you...


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Imagine that you are seeing it disappearing behind you in thedistance faster and faster... as it goes further and further... until

it melts into the nothingness... Poof!

There is nothing left, nothing you can feel anymore as itdisintegrated in to the nothingness...

Now feel your body, solid and grounded. You didn't move, you

stood firm. You are still here, because you are not this feeling.You can separate yourself from it...

Now pay attention how you feel, calmer, relaxed, solid like arock, firmly grounded...

Now, think of three possible ways you can deal with this

situation, write them down NOW, and commit to take action assoon as possible.

So How was it did you feel any different?

I would have thought so...

Amazing isn't it, the power of imagination. As if youwere there, weren't you?

Ok I hope you enjoyed that one.

That was our first process.

Stick with me, for the second one!


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A common way of dealing with anxiety or any badfeeling [in NLP] is to dissociate from it. Many of themental strategies to deal with fear or anxiety rely on

your ability to dissociate from your mental pictures andlook at them from an observer perspective.

But wait a minute, I see you asking me What the heckis dissociation?

Well, dont worry its not painful Let me define it in

simple terms.

So let just define the NLP jargon of association anddissociation.

Association is when you are inside your body,seeing through your own eyes, and feeling thefeelings that go with the experience. This is

usually what happens when you are fearful oranxiety or having panic attacks you feel insideyourself all these creepy feelings and thusexperience the symptoms of anxiety and fear!

Dissociation is when you see your body, you'reoutside of if, outside of the experience, and you

are the observer of the experience. Andtherefore not direct feelings of the experience.

Want to see the difference?

So here is here second process.


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Process #2 Dissociation

Process #2: DissociationThink of a pleasant memory Now!

When you think back to it, check what sort of pictures you havein your mind...

Are you associated, seeing out through your own eyes?Or are you dissociated, seeing yourself in the situation?

Whichever one it is... It's OK, but Now I just want you to

change it and try the other way.

OK?

Now change it back to what it was.

Ok, done...

So, which way do you prefer?

Usually association is good for enjoying pleasantmemories and pleasant experiences, while dissociationis good for keeping a distance from feelings andlearning from the experience.

I hope you enjoy playing with your mind... I haveplenty more processes for you to let go of anxiety in thevarious books I wrote, so if youre curious or are lookingfor other ways to let go of anxiety, feel to visitwww.MastermindSuccess.com.au and get your own copyof one of my books.


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Afterword

I trust you learned a how we create anxiety, and

stress ourselves... but more importantly, NOW you have twopractical and directly actionable tools to help you deal withanxiety more efficiently.This book is not meant to be an absolute compendium ofevery technique available but rather a practical guide for youwith tools you can use in your daily life to deal with anxietyand stress.

Of course there are many more techniques from NLP or othermodalities you can use to get rid of anxiety, and stress... AndI encourage you to test them out, and keep the ones that give

you the best results... Time Line Therapy created by Dr.Tad James have exquisite techniques to let go of anxiety,

phobias, negative emotions and limiting decisions in the blink

of an eye.

Just to give you a glimpse of the power of the Time LineTherapy techniques, I revealed one of these, the Fast


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Anxiety Relief in Farewell to Anxiety 7 Quick &Simple Steps to rid yourself of anxiety!Also to go withisFarewell to Anxiety The Action Book Make sure youcheck them out.A more traditional and widely used technique, is meditation.I did not talked about meditation in this book because Idevoted an entire book on this topic.Farewell to Anxiety Meditation, The Ultimate Guide to Quieting The

Mind...is the ultimate guide on meditation.

The Farewell to Anxietyseries is available from our onlinestore, just click on the link below to get your own copy and

discover the Magic of Time Line Therapy.

www.MastermindSuccess.com.au

Ok, so now I think it's time for me close, and let you applythese techniques by yourself and enjoy the rewards... I have nodoubt that you'll see, hear and feel the difference andexperience profound shifts in your reality.

To your Success & Freedom,Olivier

Brisbane, April 2009


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r. Olivier Becherel, Ph. D

Trainer & Master Practitioner of NLP,Time Line Therapy and HypnosisCell & Molecular Biologist, ResearcherHead of Research & Development atMastermind SuccessAuthor

Olivier was born, grew up and studied in France where obtained aPh. D in Molecular Genetics & Cellular Biology from Louis Pasteur

University, France. Several years ago, Olivier and Marcia moved toAustralia. Currently, Olivier is a Senior Research Officer at theQueensland Institute of Medical Research in Brisbane. Olivier's workon neurodegeneration led him to study extensively humanbehaviour, Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), and severalaccelerated human change technologies, including the psychologyof excellence and success mindset.

Olivier is a Trainer & Certified Master Practitioner of NLP, TimeLine Therapy and Hypnosis, and has a profound curiosity &

inspiration for the Human Mind with its unlimited potential.Integrating his scientific knowledge and biomedical expertise, NLP,leadership, success mindset, and human behaviour, Olivier aims atunleashing the power within individuals to help them achieveexcellence, success, and live a vibrant, joyful, balanced andmeaningful life.

www.MastermindSuccess.com.au

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