What are you REALLY afraid of?..
How to find the hidden fearful thoughts
The ‘downward arrow technique’
Many of our anxious thoughts are ‘surface level’ thoughts – thoughts that arise as a RESULT of our underlying fear which we may not even be consciously aware of.
For instance, if you panic in a shop you may think “I need to get out of here” – that thought is NOT the ‘fear’ thought – it is the ‘escape’ thought.
The fear thought would be the deeper thought that is CAUSING you to feel a need to escape..
Downward Arrow Technique
SURFACE THOUGHT
‘I need to get out of here’
.