Living Life to the Full Course

Session 1: handout 1 of 2
Dr Chris Williams

Helping you to help yourself: key life skills for everyday living
www.livinglifetothefull.com
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Things I am learning and things I am achieving Record sheet

Chris Williams 2005 www.livinglifetothefull.com

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A Five Areas Assessment of a specific time when I feel worse with flu

Life situation, relationships and practical

problems
What time of day is it? Where am I? Who am I with?
What has been said/happened?

Altered thinking
What went through my mind at the time?

Altered feelings Altered physical symptoms

How do I feel emotionally at the time? Note down any strong physical sensations
Am I anxious/ashamed/depressed/angry? you notice at the time.

Altered behaviour
What did I do differently? Did I stop doing what I was doing, or
start doing something different to block how I feel?

Chris Williams 2005 www.livinglifetothefull.com

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The Five Areas Assessment model of Joan Smith – a 40 year old married woman.

Life situation/relationships/
practical resources/problems

Husband has had an affair and left

her 3 weeks ago.

Altered thinking
I’ve been a terrible wife. It’s all my fault he left.
I’ll never get another man.
My life is over.
Everyone will think I’ve ruined my marriage.

Altered feelings Altered physical symptoms

Feel low, no longer enjoying Not sleeping – takes 4 hours
things, no sense of to get off to sleep, waken at
achievement in things, weepy 4am, no energy

Altered behaviour
Stopped getting up in the morning. Lie in bed until
11am.
Drinking a bottle of wine a night to help get off to
sleep.
Stopped answering the phone when family and
friends phone her.

Chris Williams 2005 www.livinglifetothefull.com

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The Five Areas Assessment model of Emma Phillips

- a student approaching her exams.

Life situations, relationships,

practical resources and
problems
Facing first year exams at University
Friends who have finished their
exams keep coming by asking me to
go out

Altered thinking
I’m going to fail. I can’t take anything in.
There’s too much to do
I’ll get kicked of the course
What will my parents say?

Altered feelings Altered physical

Anxious symptoms
Ratty/irritable Not sleeping well due to
Feels low and weepy when worry
think about the exams Feel tired

Altered behaviour
Toss and turn during the night.
Can’t work for long before feeling “overloaded”
Staying in and making coffee for any my friends
when they drop in (leading to more stress)

Chris Williams 2005 www.livinglifetothefull.com

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The Five Areas Assessment model of Harvinder

- a man with previous panic attacks who is going to the shops.

Life situations, relationships,

practical resources and
problems
On the way to the shops where I
have had previous panic attacks

Altered thinking
Oh no its happening!
I’m going to suffocate and collapse!

Altered feelings Altered physical

Anxious symptoms
Panicky Rapid hearts and breathing
Tension, sweaty

Altered behaviour
Walks faster
Fills his trolley quickly
Gives up and runs from the shop
Avoids going to large shops again resulting in an
increasingly restricted life

Chris Williams 2005 www.livinglifetothefull.com

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A Five Areas Assessment of a specific time when I feel worse

Life situation, relationships and practical

problems
What time of day is it? Where am I? Who am I with?
What has been said/happened?

Altered thinking
What went through my mind at the time?

Altered feelings Altered physical symptoms

How do I feel emotionally at the time? Note down any strong physical sensations
Am I anxious/ashamed/depressed/angry? you notice at the time.

Altered behaviour
What did I do differently? Did I stop doing what I was doing, or
start doing something different to block how I feel?

Chris Williams 2005 www.livinglifetothefull.com

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Paul’s Five Areas Assessment of a specific time

when he feels worse

Life situation, relationships practical

resources and problems
What time of day is it? Where am I? Who am I with?
What has been said/happened?
10am in the room by myself
Painting, a drop of paint has fallen on the carpet

Altered thinking
What went through my mind at the time?
“I always mess things up”
“The carpet is ruined”

Altered feelings Altered physical symptoms

How do I feel emotionally at the
time? Am I anxious/
ashamed/depressed/ angry?
“Down and angry with myself”
Note down any strong physical
sensations you notice at the time.
“Pressure in the pit of my stomach
and a feeling of heaviness in my body”

Altered behaviour
What did I do differently? Did I stop doing what I
was doing, or start doing something different?

“I went to bed and avoided doing tasks where

things can go wrong”

Chris Williams 2005 www.livinglifetothefull.com

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Planning the next steps: The Living Life to the Full Course.
In this module you have hopefully found out about how upset and distress alters your thinking
and emotions, and leads to altered bodily symptoms and behaviour. The next task is to decide
which of these areas you need to focus on changing and to decide which module to complete
next.

My next steps
Workbook Number Plan to complete Tick when
completed
Session 1: Understanding why I feel as I do.
9
Reduced activity

Anxiety Control Training (ACT) 1

Learn the first stage of relaxation – and also a
more general overview of anxiety/stress
Anxiety Control Training (ACT) 2
The next step on for relaxation- to be used after
ACT 1
Practical Problem solving
Tackle practical problems such as debt,
problem neighbours, problems at work,
difficulty planning exam revision etc
Assertiveness.
Saying yes when you mean no Rebalance
relationships with this module.
Sleep and other problems.
Improving your sleep quality can make a huge
difference to how you feel
Noticing extreme and unhelpful thinking.
The first step to changing negative thinking.
Changing extreme and unhelpful thinking.
Helps you change those extreme and
unhelpful thoughts that make you feel worse.
Unhelpful behaviours
Drinking too much? Becoming too dependent
on others? Pushing others away? Helps you
make some helpful changes.
Healthy Living
General overview - covers
eating/smoking/drinking
Treatment options
– including a look at antidepressant medication
and the range of available psychotherapies.
What to expect if you see a psychiatrist.
Staying well
You’ve made some changes – and have
moved ahead. How to stay feeling better like
this.

Choose which module you will do next ………………………………

Chris Williams 2005 www.livinglifetothefull.com