126 Don’t Let A nxiety Run Your Life
escape out of the ceiling hatch, for example, will probably do
you more harm than good). Indeed, research has shown that
increased use of adaptive emotion regulation strategies is
associated with lower rates of anxiety and depression,
whereas maladaptive strategies are thought to potentially
cause several psychiatric disorders and maintain them over
time (Aldao and Nolen- Hoeksema 2010).
Adaptive Emotion Regulation
Several types of adaptive emotion regulation skills have
been shown to be especially helpful for managing anxiety
across of a variety of situations and contexts. These include
reappraisal, problem solving, acceptance, and decentering.
Although these strategies might seem fairly straightforward
or easy to implement, they all require effort and practice,
especially during times of anxiety.
R EA PPR A ISA LIf you were thinking about selling something valuable,
such as a home or a prized collection, you likely would want
to know how much someone might be willing to pay for it.
To estimate its value, you might hire someone to appraise its
worth. If you didn’t agree with the appraiser’s assessment,
you might ask him or her to reevaluate. W hen it comes to
emotions, it’s often helpful to use a similar approach, espe-
cially when the emotion is problematic or has proven too
difficult to manage.
Reappraisal, or reinterpreting, entails generating neutral
or positive interpretations of the relationship you have to a
feared object or situation. It alters the emotional signifi-
cance of a situation by changing the way you think about