CHAPTER 9
Planning Ahead We have now gone over the 3A Toolkit for managing anxiety or worry and we will now finish putting together your personal 3A Toolkit that highlights the strategies that are most helpful for you. You have already been considering what works for you by noticing your own experience of stress and anxiety (Awareness), you have learned to label this experience (Assign A Label), and have been practicing top-down, bottom-up, and relationship strategies (Action) to manage your response to stress and anxiety. You have also learned that even when you are not able to manage the anxiety or stress in the moment, you can still learn a lot after the fact by going through the debrief. By continuing to practice working on the Awareness, Assessment, and Action components of the 3A Toolkit, you will develop the capacity to regulate your response to stress and anxiety and work toward integration.
YOUR OWN 3A TOOLKIT You now have all the pieces to assemble your own 3A Toolkit. Let’s first review the overall plan for shrinking worry: Then let’s look at what a filled in 3A Toolkit might look like:
3A TOOLKIT AWARENESS
(Collecting information)
ASSIGN A LABEL
ACTION
(Organizing information)
MINDFULNESS AWARENESS
What are you feeling right now?
Body Activation • What do you notice?
“I feel
• What is your level of body activation?
(Responding to the Information) BODY CALMING ”
• Match the strategy to your level of body activation Helpful Thinking • Messages of safety • Specific helpful thoughts
Thinking • Is this thought helpful?
Relationships • Receive support from others • Treat yourself with kindness and compassion
Relationships • Are there supportive people to help you? • How do you treat yourself?
© 2020, MEG KAPIL, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
61
