Passing on tips for dealing with anxiety
A very nice woman who was in my Cindy training group is a therapist, and after some of the women said they had major fear of going down hills (one had had a very bad accident going down hill), she posted this information. Hope it's helpful:
These training rides are actually a perfect opportunity to use what is
called systematic desensitization (aka "gradually getting used to what
scares you") to overcome worry (thinking about what might happen),
anxiety (minor physical symptoms) and panic/phobia/ post-traumatic
reactions (major physical symptoms often leading to avoiding the
activity altogether, and/or flashbacks, nightmares, or scary thoughts
that won't go away).
Some suggestions:
(1) Check out the Anxiety & Phobia Workbook, or a similar self-help
book. You can overcome this without formalized therapy, if you take a
systematic and structured approach. This particular book is good, but
there are plenty of others like it in the psychology/self- help section
of most bookstores. What you should look for is a book that explains
anxiety and phobias and their treamtent, and provides a structured
approach, preferably with both written and practical activities, in a
format/style that you feel comfortable with.
http://www.amazon. com/Anxiety- Phobia-Workbook- Edmund-Bourne/ dp/157224223X
(2) Do-it-yourself systematic densitization
(2a)Learn some relaxation techniques and practice regularly them when
you are NOT riding -- meditation; deep breathing or counting your
breaths; visualizing/ imagining, in great detail, something that calms
you and makes you feel good (I usually imagine napping on a beach in
the sunshine). Interestingly, smiling a little bit (some call it the
Buddha smile, or the Mona Lisa smile) can actually calm you and
improve your mood, even if you are just faking it at first. So try
that, too -- be sure not to grit your teeth behind the smile!!
(2b) Create a "fear hierarchy," with 8-10 "levels" of scariness
related to whatever it is that bothers you. At the "scariest" end is
the thing that you are working toward -- e.g., riding down a
moderate-steep hill, in a group of riders, and going faster than, say,
10mph. At the other end, you might have "riding down a gentle slope by
myself, riding the brakes," or maybe it would even be something like
"looking at pictures of people biking down hills." Anything that makes
you feel a little more anxious than normal is acceptable. Fill in the
steps in between Level 1 and Level 10-- riding steeper hills, going
faster, riding in a group or around curves -- in whatever way fits
your thinking/fear.
(2c) Plan some rewards/incentives. You are doing hard work, and you
deserve something for it! For me, the reward is usually chocolate or a
good meal, or a new book from a bookstore -- might also be bike gear
that you want but don't *need*, or a manicure/pedicure/ spa trip. Come
up with a series of them, so you can reward each step of the process.
(2d) Give yourself some reality checks. Most anxiety comes from
overanticipating the likelihood of a negative event (e.g., "I will
definitely crash") and from overestimating the impact of the event if
it happens (e.g., "I will die."). Remind yourself that if you are calm
and careful, you *might* fall or crash, but you probably won't (think
about how many cyclists ride down how many hills every day); if you
*do* fall or crash, you will be hurt but probably not irrevocably
(again, consider all the bike accidents you know about; scrapes and
bruises are way more common than more severe problems. If you've had a
very bad experience in the past, that doesn't mean all your
experiences will be that bad; it was unlikely but it happened, and it
has no bearing on what will happen next time. Talk to other cyclists
about it, and find out about their experiences. Finally, remember that
the calmer you are when you're on your bike, the more you will be able
to concentrate on riding properly, and the more likely you will be to
stay in control while you're riding.
(2e) When you can dependably use your relaxation techniques to slow
your breathing and your heart rate a bit, start at the low end of the
scariness scale. Just *think about* doing the thing at that end. When
you feel yourself getting anxious, use your relaxation technique to
calm yourself down. Do this for 10-20 minutes a day (i.e. imagine,
feel mild anxiety, relax, and repeat) until that image or idea no
longer causes an anxiety reaction. Then actually *do* the thing you
were thinking about and see how that goes; again, use your relaxation
technique and the Buddha smile to calm yourself back down. Once you've
conquered the first step of the fear hierarchy (or rung of the
ladder), give yourself whatever treat/reward you've planned! Don't
forget this step, and get someone to help remind you or encourage you
to do this piece. Heck, get them to give you a massage as the reward!
When you are ready, move up to the next thing on the scale, using the
same basic approach. If you get to the point where you're actually in
the saddle and on a gradual hill (have a friend with you to help!!),
remember that you can stop after just a few feet, and calm yourself,
and then go on. Give yourself lots of time and encouragement. It's
okay if some steps take more rounds of practice than others.
(2f) Use your training group to the extent you are comfortable doing
so. We are all in this together, and so far I've seen nothing to
suggest that people would be anything less than enthusiastically
supportive and helpful in whatever ways you might need. If you feel
comfortable telling the group about your anxiety (especially before
you're experiencing it, when it may feel too vulnerable to do so),
tell them! Tell people what might be helpful for you -- do you need to
check in with someone when a hill is coming up? Do you need to tell
someone what your calming images are, so they can remind you? Do you
want someone to stop and breathe with you at the top of a hill? Do you
want everyone but the ride leaders to just let you alone? Are we
allowed to cheer for you at the next regroup point? (We might want to,
you know!!)
Over time and with structure (that's where the book comes in handy),
this really does work. I am a college professor, so I sometimes teach
classes of 50-100 students, and I also make presentations to
various-sized audiences at conferences about 2-3 times a year. I had a
public speaking phobia, and I used to panic and usually throw up
before every class I taught. Now, I am a little anxious before
teaching or speaking, and my voice sometimes shakes a little or I lose
my train of thought -- but I keep going without a hitch, and I usually
get good evaluations from students and conference attendees.
(3) Brief therapy can also be very useful for stuff like this, and
there's a technique called EMDR that is particularly effective; it
usually takes only 2-3 sessions for a trained EMDR practitioner to get
good results for phobic/panic/ post-traumatic reactions. So, if you
want to try some of this stuff but would prefer to have professional
guidance, you needn't worry that it will take forever and break the
bank!!
