Overcoming Agoraphobia A Self-Help Manual
Overcoming Agoraphobia A Self-Help Manual
Overcoming Agoraphobia A Self-Help Manual
agoraphobia
A self-help manual
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Contents
Page
Section 1 – How to use this manual 3
Section 2 – What is agoraphobia 4
Section 3 – How to overcome agoraphobia 11
Section 4 – Help (overcoming obstacles in treatment) 18
Section 5 – How to prevent agoraphobia from
returning 21
Section 6 – Case study 22
Section 7 – End of treatment goals 26
Section 8 – Personal diary 27
Section 9 – Weekly targets & homework diary 32
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Section 1
This manual has been written to help you overcome your problems and should only
be used in addition with seeing your therapist on a weekly basis. There are 7
sections of this manual and although most people will want to work through it
section by section, each section can be read on its own. In some sections there are
exercises for you to do which will help you understand why you have agoraphobia,
what keeps the problem going and how to treat it.
It is important to remember that this manual has been written as a general guide and
you will need your therapist's help to individualise your treatment with you. The
overall aim of the manual is to teach you to become your own therapist.
We have tried to make this manual user-friendly and helpful. We would welcome
your comments on the manual, so please let us know what you think.
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Section 2
What is agoraphobia?
Agoraphobia is a fear of being in situations from which the person sees that escape
may be difficult or embarrassing. A person with agoraphobia may avoid a range of
situations, e.g. queues, public transport, large crowded shops, supermarkets,
shopping centres. In these situations the person feels anxious with panic feelings
(butterflies in the stomach, palpitations i.e. increased heart rate, hyperventilation
etc). The person feels that when they panic something ‘bad’ will happen. These
fears are usually about a fear of illness and harm (e.g. having a heart attack, dying,
stopping breathing) or a fear of public scrutiny and embarrassment (e.g. falling
down and making a fool of oneself).
To help cope with their agoraphobia many people use ‘safety behaviours’ which
help the person to feel less anxious. Such ‘safety behaviours’ might include things
such as being with someone that they trust, being near a hospital or first aid point,
carrying something such as an umbrella or a good luck charm of some kind.
Is agoraphobia common?
Agoraphobia is common with 1-3% of the population suffering from it. It is twice
as common in women as it is men.
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What causes agoraphobia?
There are many different explanations of why people develop agoraphobia. Some
believe that there is a genetic link (i.e. inherited) whilst others suggest that life
events (such as a bereavement or other traumatic event) may trigger it. It has been
suggested that an imbalance of chemicals in the brain cause it. Others argue that
agoraphobia is learnt, for example a person has a spontaneous (out of the blue)
panic or anxiety attack in a public place and following this they associate panic/
anxiety each time they go out. This feeling becomes more crippling and the person
learns that avoidance relieves anxiety thus an association develops between going
out and panic attacks.
However, no one really knows what causes agoraphobia and for many people it is
often difficult to pinpoint to one single cause. Often there are a number of factors,
which leads to its development. Many people like to understand why their problems
started and your therapist will work with you to try to find a possible explanation. It
would be helpful if you could write your own ideas in the box below about why
you think the problem started and what are the things that maintain or factors that
keep the agoraphobia continuing.
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Why does my agoraphobia continue?
Understanding why agoraphobia continues or is maintained is central to
understanding how treatment works. A good starting point is to look at what anxiety
is. Anxiety can be seen to have 3 basic components: physical feelings, thoughts
and behaviour, which are separate but linked to each other.
Physical feelings – these are the bodily feelings you have when you feel anxious
for example palpitations (heart racing) hyperventilating (feeling as though you are
having difficulty breathing), butterflies in the stomach, feeling sick, sweating,
shaking, trembling.
Thoughts – these are worrying thoughts or images which are often but not always
linked to the physical feelings. For example palpitations may lead to the thought "I
am going to have a heart attack", or hyperventilating may lead to "I am going to be
completely unable to breathe and die". Other people have thoughts which are about
embarrassing yourself "I am going to make a fool of myself", and some people fear
that they will go mad.
Behaviour - these are our actions or what we do when we are anxious. The most
common type of behaviour is avoidance. Other behaviours include escape where
someone may try to go into a situation but run away when they feel anxious. Many
people will seek some reassurance, such as being accompanied when they go out.
For example Ruth had agoraphobia and avoided leaving home alone for fear of
having a panic. She avoided travelling, shopping, and visiting friend’s etc unless
accompanied by her husband or her friend. If we look at her anxiety using the three
parts described above (physical feelings, thoughts and behaviour) we can see how
they are linked.
• Physical feelings- “my heart races (palpitations) I get all hot and sweaty, my
breathing gets faster (hyperventilation), my legs feel like jelly, and my head
pounds.
• Thoughts- “if I go out alone I become panicky and my heart starts beating fast
(palpitations) and then I think I am going to have to a heart attack and die”.
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Try to fill in the three parts of anxiety that you feel when you are anxious in the
space below.
Physical
feelings ........................................................................................................................
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Thoughts .....................................................................................................................
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Behaviour ....................................................................................................................
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If you have difficulty with this section ask your therapist to help you when you next
see them.
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Although all three of these parts are important we believe that it is the behaviour
(avoiding going out) which maintains or keeps agoraphobia continuing. This will
be explained in more detail. For example Ruth’s anxiety is triggered when she goes
out or even when she thinks of going out. She has physical feelings (palpitations,
sweating, and hyperventilation); with frightening thoughts such as “I will have a
heart attack and die”. Ruth thinks it is better to stay in (she avoids going out) which
relieves her anxiety BUT the relief is only short-term because the next time she
tries to go out the same thing happens.
As can be seen in the diagram below a ‘vicious circle’ is formed and this circle
maintains agoraphobia.
(Trigger)
Going out alone
Anxiety
Physical feelings
(Palpitations, sweating, butterflies in
stomach)
Relieves anxiety
(temporarily, until the next time
I try or do go out)
Thoughts
“I will panic which will
increase my heart rate and
I will have a heart attack”
Behaviour
Avoidance (of going out alone, travelling by bus etc)
Escape (when starts to feel panicky leaves and goes home)
Reassurance (often goes with friend/husband)
In the space below try to complete your own ‘vicious circle’. If you find this
difficult your therapist will help you.
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Triggers
Physical
symptoms
Relieves anxiety
(temporarily)
until the next time
Thoughts
Behaviour
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To overcome agoraphobia this circle needs to be broken. In the space below write
where you think this circle could be broken and how. You therapist will help you if
you get stuck.
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The ‘vicious circle’ can be broken at the behaviour (avoidance and escape). Section
3 explains how this can be done.
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Section 3
Write down what you think would happen if you stayed in the situation?
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By staying in the situation your anxiety will fall. The following diagram may help
you to understand how this works. When we are afraid of a situation like going out
we will often try to avoid it. Avoidance does relieve anxiety but only in the short
term. Avoidance can often lead to long term difficulties because the vicious circle
of anxiety and avoidance build up. Exposure is useful to break this cycle. It teaches
you to slowly face the feared situation until anxiety falls.
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How exposure therapy works
Low anxiety
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Whilst facing your fear may sound hard it is not impossible. Try to think of an
example in your life where you have felt very anxious about something and after
practice your anxiety is reduced. A common example is when we learn to drive. To
begin with the learner driver may practise at an airfield or on quiet roads, whilst
others start with a driving instructor with dual controls. With repeated practise the
learner driver becomes more confidant, tackling more difficult situations such as a
three-point turn, reversing round a corner, and an emergency stop. If the learner
driver only practised for a minute at a time then it would take a long time to
become confident, which is why lessons last for 1 hour (prolonged). After regular
and repeated practise the driver’s confidence increases. They begin to feel more
comfortable on busy roads, traffic light, and roundabouts.
In the space below try to think of an example when you have felt anxious but after
practising you have found it easier to do.
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There are 3 golden rules of exposure therapy (shown in the above example). The
first is that it is graded which means that you slowly face your fears, starting with
something that is easy and building up to harder situations. The second rule is that
you need to practise the same situation repeatedly (over and over again) until you
feel less anxious. The third rule is you should stay in the feared situation
(prolonged) until your anxiety falls (usually takes between 30-60 minutes).
• Graded – Gradually facing your fears, starting with something easier and
gradually building up to more difficult situations.
• Prolonged – Stay in the situation long enough for your anxiety to fall by
at least 50%, which usually takes between 30 and 60 minutes.
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Setting up your own individual exposure programme
With your therapist you will have decided on your end of treatment goals and set up
your own exposure programme to help you achieve these. With your therapist you
will break these goals down into smaller steps and set weekly targets.
Each week, you and your therapist will agree targets to practice everyday (for
example, going to the local shop once daily to buy a newspaper). These targets
need to be achievable, though always causing some anxiety. Remember that you
need to make steady but gradual progress, so start off slowly. A good way of doing
this is to make a list of fears starting with the easiest. It is easiest to think of this as
climbing a ladder, start on the first rung and find your footing before your go to the
next rung. For example, someone who fears going out and travelling by public
transport might have a list like this:
Easiest -
Going to the local shop alone (accompanied)
Going to the local shop (alone)
Going by bus (accompanied)
Going by bus (alone)
Going to the local park (accompanied)
Going to the local park (alone)
Going to the supermarket (accompanied)
Going to the supermarket (alone)
Going to the local town (accompanied)
Going to the local town (alone)
Going to the shopping centre (accompanied)
Going to the shopping centre (alone)
Going by train (accompanied)
Going by train (alone)
Hardest-
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In the following space make your own list (if you find this difficult there are
examples in the case studies or discuss it with your therapist).
Easiest -
1. ………………………
2. ………………………
3. ………………………
4. ……………………..
5. …………………….
6. ……………………
7. ……………………
8. ……………………
9. ……………………
10. ……………………
11. ……………………
12. ……………………
13. ……………………
14. ……………………
15. ……………………
16. ……………………
17. ……………………
Hardest-
Setting achievable weekly targets need to be carefully thought out. Your targets
should relate to your list, in our earlier example the weekly targets might be as
follows:
Week 1 Go to the local shops with my friend every day for at least 1 hour (for 4
days) then alone for following 3 days.
and so on until you have completed all the situations that make you anxious.
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A homework diary (these can be found at the back of the manual) is used to write
down and record your targets. Your therapist will explain how to complete the
forms.
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Section 4
Help
This section is to help you with some of the common difficulties in treatment.
However if you feel that you want more help ask your therapist.
I don’t know how to cope with the anxiety when facing my frightening
situations?
This is a common difficulty and there are a number of ways of coping with your
anxiety. One way is to use coping statements, these are phrases that that you can
say to yourself or write down on a piece of card (often writing them down for the
first few weeks is helpful and then try saying them to yourself). For example they
may include things like:
“Anxiety is unpleasant but it won’t harm me”
“Although I feel anxious now I will feel better in the long-term (rather than what I
have been doing which is getting short-term relief but long-term difficulties)”.
“The physical symptoms of anxiety are similar to those when I am excited, it is the
worrying thoughts that make me feel afraid”.
“These feelings will pass”
“I am not going to die”
These are only a few examples, and there are many more that you could come up
with. In the space below write down 3 coping statements that you think may be
helpful for you. If this is hard ask your therapist to help you.
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Another way to help cope with anxiety is through controlling your breathing. Your
therapist can teach you how to do this.
My partner/friend does not know what to say when I ask them for reassurance
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Often friends and family have got into the habit of giving reassurance. You need to
talk about the treatment to the person who is giving reassurance (or give them a
manual to read). As refusing reassurance may lead to arguments we would
recommend that if you ask the person for reassurance they should answer “your
therapist has asked me not to answer that question”
I have managed to get so far but I just cannot face the next step on my list
It is quite usual to get ‘stuck’ at some point in therapy. Often the reason for this is
that the gap between the stages on the list is too big. This is a common problem
and can be overcome by breaking the stages down into smaller parts. For example a
person with a fear of using public transport will often manage the first step of going
on a bus accompanied but will find the next step on the list of going on a bus alone
too difficult. There are a number of ways to break this down i.e. getting your co-
therapist to meet you at the bus stop, having your co-therapist to drive behind the
bus eventually doing this without support. If you are ‘stuck’ and unable to find
ways around the difficulty ask your therapist to help you.
I have practised one particular task over and over again and the anxiety does not
seem to be getting any better
There may be a number of reasons for this but the most common is that the person
is continuing to avoid in one way or another. Such avoidance may not be obvious,
for example continuing to use a safety signal and it may be that you are so used to
doing it you do not recognise it. Firstly, when you do your exposure task monitor
yourself carefully (writing it down may also help) to check and see if there are any
‘hidden’ avoidance’s. If you are unable to find out what the problem is your
therapist will help you.
I have managed to stop the avoidance, but I still get the thoughts
This is a common problem, our experience is that first the behaviour changes (i.e.
going out, using public transport etc) but people continue to have worrying
thoughts (such as they may panic). However these thoughts reduce in time as the
person gets more and more used to going out.
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Section 5
This section is important and we would suggest that you read it before you
complete the treatment. There is a lot of evidence that the gains made during
treatment will remain. However you need to practise your weekly targets regularly
and eventually these will become a normal part of your life.
It is useful (particularly for the first year) to monitor yourself to ensure no signs of
agoraphobia are recurring. We often suggest that people should keep a weekly diary
of their progress. If you have a co-therapist through your treatment it is important
that they are aware of the things that can lead to set back.
Your therapist will discuss and develop an individual relapse prevention plan with
you. You will also be given an appointment with your therapist at 1,3, and 6 month
following treatment where you can talk about your progress and problem solve
difficulties that may arise during this period.
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Section 6
Case study
Zoe is a 32-year-old woman who is married and has 1 child aged 4 years. Her
main difficulty is a fear of panicking in a public place and collapsing.
Her problems started in her early 20’s when she had a panic attack on a bus. The
next time she tried to go on a bus she felt anxious and came home. She tried a few
more times but failed. Since then she avoided all public transport but overcame
travelling difficulties by learning to drive (except on motorways). However after the
birth of her child 4 years ago Zoe’s agoraphobia worsened. She generally felt more
anxious and when her child was 6 months old she had a panic attack whilst driving.
She rang her husband who picked her up and took her home, but after that avoided
driving altogether. Zoe also started to feel anxious in large shopping centres and
supermarkets and started to avoid them.
Zoe came for treatment because she was worried that her problem would get so bad
that she would not be able to get out of the house. She was also worried that she
would not be able to take her child to school. Zoe was depressed with a loss of
interest in previously enjoyed activities (such as reading, watching television, and
making specialist cakes).
At assessment the above details were gathered and when we talked about thoughts
feelings and behaviour Zoe described the following:
Feelings - “when I feel anxious I feel ‘butterflies’ in my stomach, heart racing and
hot, when I panic these feeling become much worse and intense, and I feel
everything closing in on me”.
Zoe always found things easier if she was with her friend or husband and that
pushing her child’s pushchair helped (safety behaviours). The treatment was
explained to Zoe and together with the therapist the following problem and goals
for treatment were made.
Problem - ‘Fear of panicking and then collapsing in places where escape is difficult
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which results in an avoidance of using public transport, driving, queues,
supermarkets, large shops and supermarkets. This problem impairs my home and
social life.
Goals
1. To walk (either alone or with my daughter) to the local supermarket 3 times a
week and stay for at least one hour.
4. To go to the local shopping centre alone and shop in large stores for 2 hours at
least once a week.
After setting the problems and goals Zoe made a list of fears starting with the
easiest.
Shopping at the local supermarket (with husband/ friend) when not busy
Shopping at the local supermarket (daughter in the buggy) when not busy
Shopping at the local supermarket (with daughter walking or alone) when not busy
Shopping at the local supermarket (with husband/ friend) when busy
Shopping at the local supermarket (daughter in the buggy) when busy
Shopping at the local supermarket (with daughter walking or alone) when busy
Driving to my friends house (approx. 30 minutes) with my husband/friend
Driving to my friends house (approx. 30 minutes) alone
Shopping at the shopping centre (with husband/ friend) when not busy
Shopping at the shopping centre (daughter in the buggy) when not busy
Shopping at the shopping centre (with daughter walking or alone) when not busy
Shopping at the shopping centre (with husband/ friend) when busy
Shopping at the shopping centre (daughter in the buggy) when busy
Shopping at the shopping centre (with daughter walking or alone) when busy
Driving to an unknown place (approx. 30 minutes) with my husband/friend
Driving to an unknown place (approx. 30 minutes) alone
Driving to my parents via the motorway (approx. 60 minutes) with my husband/
friend
Driving to my parents via the motorway (approx. 60 minutes) alone
Driving on the motorway to a place I have not been before (with husband/friend)
Driving on the motorway to a place I have not been before (alone)
Travelling by bus to shopping centre (with husband or friend)
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Travelling by bus to shopping centre (alone)
Travelling by bus to a place not visited before (with husband or friend)
Travelling by bus to a place not visited before (alone)
Travelling by train to a fiends (with husband or friend)
Travelling by train to a friends (alone)
Travelling by train to a place not visited before (with husband or friend)
Travelling by train to a place not visited before (alone)
Once the list had been made weekly targets were set. What weekly target/s do you
think Zoe should begin with?
Zoe decided that the first thing she would tackle would be getting to the local
supermarket, and for the first week her target was:
1. To walk to the local supermarket with a friend or husband and stay for 1 hour
every day.
Zoe was asked to keep a record of how much anxiety she felt in this situation with 8
meaning panic and 0 meaning no anxiety. The next week Zoe had achieved this, and
as her anxiety had fallen from 6 to 2 in the last 2 days she had done it alone. She
was delighted with her progress and the next week started driving to friends but
also continued going to the supermarket. Each week she moved up between 1-2
steps on her hierarchy.
But it was not always easy and many times Zoe felt like giving up. It was Zoe’s
sheer determination and hard work that led to her getting better. She found the
anxiety difficult to cope with and wrote coping statements on a piece of card. She
also kept her own personal diary of her progress, so that when she felt like giving
up she was reminded of the progress that she had made. At the end of treatment Zoe
had made very good progress and was able to travel, shop and visit friends. On
some days she still felt anxious but persevered. She achieved all her goals. Her
depression improved without any other treatment. At 1-year follow-up Zoe had
improved on all the gains she had made during treatment and no longer thought of
herself as having agoraphobia.
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Section 7
End of treatment goals
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0 2 4 6 8
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Section 8
Personal diary
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Weekly targets
Goal
1…………………………………………………………………………………
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Goal
2…………………………………………………………………………………
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Goal 3
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Goal
4…………………………………………………………………………………
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Use the scale below to rate your anxiety
0----------------------2----------------------4----------------------6----------------------8
None Mild Moderate
Much Extreme
Weekly targets
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Goal
1…………………………………………………………………………………
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Goal
2…………………………………………………………………………………
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Goal 3
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Goal
4…………………………………………………………………………………
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Use the scale below to rate your anxiety
0----------------------2----------------------4----------------------6----------------------8
None Mild Moderate
Much Extreme
Weekly targets
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Goal
1…………………………………………………………………………………
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Goal
2…………………………………………………………………………………
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Goal 3
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Goal
4…………………………………………………………………………………
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Use the scale below to rate your anxiety
0----------------------2----------------------4----------------------6----------------------8
None Mild Moderate
Much Extreme
Weekly targets
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Goal
1…………………………………………………………………………………
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Goal
2…………………………………………………………………………………
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Goal 3
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Goal
4…………………………………………………………………………………
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Use the scale below to rate your anxiety
0----------------------2----------------------4----------------------6----------------------8
None Mild Moderate
Much Extreme
Weekly targets
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Goal
1…………………………………………………………………………………
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Goal
2…………………………………………………………………………………
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Goal 3
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Goal
4…………………………………………………………………………………
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Use the scale below to rate your anxiety
0----------------------2----------------------4----------------------6----------------------8
None Mild Moderate
Much Extreme
Weekly targets
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Goal
1…………………………………………………………………………………
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Goal
2…………………………………………………………………………………
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Goal 3
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Goal
4…………………………………………………………………………………
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Use the scale below to rate your anxiety
0----------------------2----------------------4----------------------6----------------------8
None Mild Moderate
Much Extreme
Weekly targets
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Goal
1…………………………………………………………………………………
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Goal
2…………………………………………………………………………………
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Goal 3
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Goal
4…………………………………………………………………………………
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Use the scale below to rate your anxiety
0----------------------2----------------------4----------------------6----------------------8
None Mild Moderate
Much Extreme
Weekly targets
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Goal
1…………………………………………………………………………………
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Goal
2…………………………………………………………………………………
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Goal 3
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Goal
4…………………………………………………………………………………
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Use the scale below to rate your anxiety
0----------------------2----------------------4----------------------6----------------------8
None Mild Moderate
Much Extreme
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