Wyoming School Counseling Association – Book Study 

Fall 2023 

October/November Book: Anxiety Audit: 7 Sneaky Ways Anxiety Takes Hold and How to Escape Them 

Author: Lynn Lyons, LICSW 

Book Summary  

Ask people to describe anxiety and they’ll start with the familiar physical symptoms: racing heart, sweaty palms, difficulty breathing. Anxiety, they might add, is “freaking out,” a panic attack, or a frightening loss of control. But anxiety isn’t always what we think it is, especially now. Anxiety has become the new normal, constant and simmering, disguising itself in patterns and responses we don’t even recognize as anxiety. These patterns include:

· Ruminating and worrying (and mistaking it for problem solving) 

· Going global, or seeing the world through an overwhelming, all-or-nothing lens

· Isolating and disconnecting,all too common in our "new normal"

· Creating chaos and “busy-ness”, for example, over-scheduling and multitasking

· Embracing your irritability 

· Confusing self-medication with self-care

The Anxiety Audit is a guide for us all: with no overly scientific or diagnostic language--just real talk and time-tested tactics from a respected therapist--it is a relatable and practical guide to untangling yourself from the grips of worry and fear.

Using stories, real-world examples, and helpful dialogues to retrain the way you think and react, trusted anxiety expert Lynn Lyons helps you recognize the sneaky ways these anxious patterns and cycles of worry take hold in your life.  By making small and consistent adjustments, you can reverse their negative impacts and move forward with renewed clarity and confidence. 
 

Author Bio  

Lynn Lyons is a licensed clinical social worker and psychotherapist in Concord, New Hampshire.  She has been in private practice for 30 years specializing in the treatment of anxiety disorders in adults and children. 

Lynn travels internationally as a speaker and trainer on the subject of anxiety, its role in families, and the need for a preventative approach at home and in schools. She is a sought after expert, appearing in the New York Times, Time, NPR, Psychology Today, Good Morning America, and other media outlets. 

With a special interest in breaking the generational cycle of worry in families, Lynn is the author/coauthor of several books and articles on anxiety, including Anxious Kids, Anxious Parents: 7 Ways to Stop the Worry Cycle and Raise Courageous & Independent Children, and the companion book for kids, Playing with Anxiety: Casey’s Guide for Teens and Kids.  

About Your Book Study Hosts 

Erin Curtis is a school counselor at The Shoshone Learning Center in Powell, Wyoming. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Family and Consumer Science at the University of Wyoming and a Masters of Education in School Counseling from Liberty University.  She currently serves as the Conference Chairwoman for the Wyoming School Counselor Association. 

April Petty is the College & Career school counselor at Cheyenne Central High School. Prior to this she was an elementary school counselor in Douglas for 8 years. She Currently serves as the Treasurer for the Wyoming School Counselor Association.  

Intended Outcomes/Objectives 

1. Participants will be able to identify the 7 key ways that anxiety shows up in themselves and others. 

2. Participants will be able to identify strategies and tools that can help reverse the negative impacts of anxious patterns and cycles.

3. Participants will be able to formulate and develop resources to enhance the services they provide to their population of students/coworkers that are struggling with anxiety. 

   Anxiety Audit Agenda

   October 4, 2023 – No Meeting this week, just reading!

   1.5 hours reading of the text on participants’ own time.

   Please complete the Introduction and Chapter 1 for the first meeting.

   October 11, 2023

   1.5 hours reading of the text on participants’ own time.

   1 hour of Book Study Meeting from 4:30-5:30pm.

   Please complete Chapter 2 for the next meeting.

   October 18, 2023

   1.5 hours reading of the text on participants’ own time.

   1 hour of Book Study Meeting from 4:30-5:30pm.

   Please complete Chapter 3 for the next meeting.

   October 25, 2023

   1.5 hours reading of the text on participants’ own time.

   1 hour of Book Study Meeting from 4:30-5:30pm

   Please complete Chapter 4 for the next meeting.

   November 1, 2023

   1.5 hours reading of the text on participants’ own time.

   1 hour of Book Study Meeting from 4:30-5:30pm.

   Please complete Chapter 5 for the next meeting.

   November 8, 2023

   1.5 hours reading of the text on participants’ own time.

   1 hour of Book Study Meeting from 4:30-5:30pm.

   Please complete Chapters 6 and 7 for the next meeting.

   November 15, 2023

   1 hour of Book Study Meeting from 4:30-5:30pm

   COLLECT READING LOGS & Make Up Papers

   9 hours of reading (should total at least this on your logs)

   6 hours of meeting and discussion = 15 HOURS TOTAL

   You can receive 1 PTSB credit if you attend all weekly meetings

   (or complete a summary with the questions below of your reading, if you have to miss).

   MEETING MAKE-UP QUESTIONS

   If you missed a day, please turn in a paper answering the following questions to get credit for the hour.

   1 page per chapter minimum

   (1) what is coming up for you/How what was talked about affected you/What do you relate to?

   (2) what did you learn from the chapter?

   (3) what do you want to know more about?

   (4) how you might apply this in your role at school?