CH
	
APTER	ELEVEN
The	Road	Ahead
Long-Term	Outlook
It	is	estimated	that	one	in	five	adults	in	the	United	States	meets	the	diagnostic
criteria	for	an	anxiety	disorder.	As	prevalent	as	anxiety	is,	it	is	also	highly
responsive	to	treatment.	But	how	can	we	tell	who	will	get	better	and	who
won’t?	Well,	I	see	it	consistently	in	my	practice,	and	research	backs	this	up:
When	people	adopt	these	three	“beliefs”	they	typically	are	able	to	learn,
sooner	rather	than	later,	to	manage	their	anxiety	symptoms.
1.
	
Believe	you	need	to	change:
	
Doing	the	same	things	you’ve	always
done	keeps	you	stuck.	Open	yourself	up	to	new	ways	of	thinking	and
behaving	and	you’ll	start	changing.
2.
	
Believe	in	the	strategies:
	
Self-doubt	and	second-guessing	the	process
is	only	a	distraction	from	building	the	new	habits	that	will	take	you
away	from	anxiety	and	toward	greater	calm.	The	strategies	in	this	book
are	all	evidence	based,	
which
	
means	research	has	proven	their
effectiveness.	The	strategies	work,	they	really	do!
3.
	
Believe	in	your	ability	to	grow:
	
As	we’ve	seen,	people	just	like	you