Resources and Risks Scheme

The Primary Assessment: Risk Magnification

Based on Lazarus' theories of stress, anxiety arises from a faulty internal mathematical equation.

The first variable is primary appraisal, where the subject analyzes the stimulus or situation.

In the anxious mind, there is a systematic tendency to overestimate the risk or threat.

The stimulus is automatically categorized as dangerous or harmful, magnifying both the probability of the worst occurring and the severity of the consequences.

For example, in the face of a mild stomach upset, an objective assessment might suggest "something went wrong," but the primary assessment of a person with health anxiety might be, "This is the onset of a serious and fulminant illness."

The Secondary Assessment: Resource Minimization

The second variable in the equation is the secondary assessment, which corresponds to the analysis of self-efficacy or available coping resources.

The anxious person systematically underestimates his ability to handle the situation.

He ignores his past skills, resilience, social support network or logical ability.

Following the above example, the person not only believes he/she has a serious illness (high risk), but also thinks, "I won't be able to handle the pain, I won't know what to do in the hospital, I'll collapse." She perceives herself as fragile and unable to cope with the challenge.

Perceived Imbalance as the Source of Anxiety

Pathological anxiety settles in the gap between these two eva luations. It occurs when the perceived threat is much greater than the perceived resources (Risk>Resources).

If a person has to give a talk (situation), and assesses that the audience will be hostile and critical (high Risk) and simultaneously believes that his mind will go blank and he will not know how to speak (low Resources), the inevitable result is high anxiety.

Cognitive treatment seeks to rebalance this equation: adjusting the perception of risk to reality (the audience will probably not be as hostile) and enhancing the perception of resources (I have notes, I have practiced, I can answer questions).

Summary

Anxiety arises from an unbalanced internal equation. In primary assessment, the anxious mind systematically magnifies the likelihood and severity of the perceived risk or threat.

Simultaneously, in the secondary assessment, the individual underestimates his or her coping abilities. He ignores his past resources and resilience, perceiving himself as fragile and unable to handle the feared situation.

Pathology sets in when the perceived threat greatly exceeds the perceived resources. Cognitive treatment seeks to readjust this mental mathematics to balance the perception of reality.