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Deconstructing Anxiety: The Journey from Fear to Fulfillment - Dr. Todd Pressman
We use the Deconstructing Anxiety Method because our journey for fulfillment (i.e. enjoyment, happiness, peace) is interrupted when faced with events in life that we see as a threaten. Unfortunately, this has been happening in your life long enough that you probably do not even recognize when you are responding to a threat, meaning, the threat “Seems Normal” so your response is what you “Normally” do.
It’s important to know that the experiences we all share in are just labels we use to express what happens to us. But when we deconstruct anxiety to its root (core), you can group all of them into five different kinds of experiences or fears. They are the universal themes of loss that each of us buys into, those typical fearful aspect of existence. Of course, there are many different ways these fears manifest in the great variety of human circumstances.
What every fear out of the five is your “Core Fear”, that is how we interpret everything that is not “safe.” New understanding of the cause of suffering and how to relieve it, which without the constraints of fear, our way would then be cleared for the pursuit of unparalleled fulfillment. The Deconstructing Anxiety Method is for resolving, not just anxiety, but depression, loneliness, “stress,” relationship struggles, ADHD, and more. For anything you want to find relief from your own suffering. Or if you don’t feel like you are “suffering”, perhaps you are simply in pursuit of greater fulfillment in life.
By going through the deconstructing anxiety method treatments, you will find this entirely new theory and practice for resolving anxiety and all that blocks our fulfillment of life. The clarity of this model makes it possible to see that fear is truly the only barrier in our way. With this, we may reliably change habitual responses that negatively impact your life into free choice, meaning turning anxiety into empowerment, and the obstacles of our frustration into opportunities for a deep and lasting fulfillment of life.
Pressman, Todd E.. Deconstructing Anxiety: The Journey from Fear to Fulfillment. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
A Brief Description of Each Core Fear
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We start with the fear of the loss of love and connection (abandonment). We all know the importance of giving and receiving love. But when fear comes along, we engage in faulty strategies for protecting our experience of love. Betrayal, rejection, loneliness, disinterest, caretaking, shame, and neediness are some of the disguises for the core fear of loss of love and connection. It also describes the universe of relationship struggles and fighting that leads to seperatios and divorce.
Pressman, Todd E.. Deconstructing Anxiety: The Journey from Fear to Fulfillment (pp. 103-104). Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Kindle Edition.
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Identity is defined as who we truly are, beyond the masks we wear. Authenticity is a rare thing. Most of us hide our true selves to some degree in the interest of protecting our integrity & pride or avoiding its loss. The fear of losing our identity, nevertheless, remains, and we long for the freedom to simply “be” as we actually are, without judgment, without pretense.
Pressman, Todd E.. Deconstructing Anxiety: The Journey from Fear to Fulfillment (p. 104). Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Kindle Edition.
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Fear of the loss of meaning is fairly self-evident. Meaning is simply that which gives value and worth to our experience—the experience of ourselves and the world around us. Without such meaning, we are exposed to an inherent sense of emptiness, along with a feeling of being cut off from where (meaningful) life is happening. This is the essence of depression and existential isolation. It too is one of the basic categories of human suffering and fear. This is why we continually project meaning onto our circumstances, trying to make sense out of things in a way that promotes fulfillment but all too often finding the opposite when fear dictates our projections.
Pressman, Todd E.. Deconstructing Anxiety: The Journey from Fear to Fulfillment (p. 104). Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Kindle Edition.
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Purpose is closely associated with meaning. It can be defined as the action component of meaning, the movement to actualize meaning in our world. This is the drive for fulfillment, that which impels us to create (i.e., to create what is meaningful). Our purpose is that which will make positive change, bringing us closer to fulfillment. It is the urge to realize our potential and reach our goals. Where meaning is an assessment of the value of things as they currently exist, purpose is the drive toward improving that value in the future. To lose our purpose stimulates a fear of having nothing to look forward to—no hope. This can readily evoke a fear of losing meaning as well.
Pressman, Todd E.. Deconstructing Anxiety: The Journey from Fear to Fulfillment (p. 104). Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Kindle Edition.
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The fear of death is fundamental as well. It is a constant pressure in the background for most of us, most of the time. As the ultimate form of loss, death takes away all chance to reach fulfillment in this lifetime. While many come up with different belief systems to soften its impact, bargaining with our experience to find some comfort until we have fully resolved the projections we have attached to it, the fear of death remains a powerful influence in our life.
Pressman, Todd E.. Deconstructing Anxiety: The Journey from Fear to Fulfillment (p. 104). Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Kindle Edition.