Words are important. Words matter. Somewhere along the way, you were taught the phrase, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” While this childhood phrase can be a defense against verbal bullying and name-calling, they carry a great irony.

When I am working with people who struggle with anger, often in our sessions, I invite them to bring into their awareness a recent situation where they felt angry.

The final factor that fuels the myths of anxiety is reason giving. As you think about your anxiety and fear, and its presence in your life, you probably have lots of reasons about why you can or cannot do certain activities in your life.

One of the most common strategies used to deal with these threatening thoughts and feelings related to anxiety is to avoid them. This is a common strategy because, first of all, it seems to work.