Treatment for Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Treatment for generalized anxiety follows the same general pattern as
treatment for other fear disorders. The focus is mostly on disrupting the
internal dialogues that create and maintain anxiety.
Catherine and I worked for several months on getting her anx-
iety under control. She was referred to me through her work, but
in treatment I brought in her husband, her son, and even her
best friend. We worked out programs for exercise, relaxation, and
cognitive strategies for dealing with her self-defeating explosions
into worry.
I won’t say that Catherine isn’t anxious anymore. But her
worry—which she tries to limit to 30 minutes a day—is far more
constructive. When she catches herself thinking about possible
disasters, she’s able to stop herself before she blows things too far
out of proportion and asks, quietly in her own mind, what she calls
“Dr. Bernstein’s question”: What are you going to do about it?I can’t ask for more than that.142 ❧Explosions into Fear