Fire yourself!

[Guest guest]

While working through Forsyth's text book (ACT for Anxiety

Disorders) I was really struck by the image of the employed Anxiety

Manager. After all, that's been my full time job for the last 20

years. So as I am now beginning to " play " with my panic disordered

mind I thought it would be fun to Fire Myself.

Kind of like the epitaph exercise, but instead of how would you like

to be remembered … it's more like how would you like to be fired.

Some version of the Anxiety Manager walks into the boss's office

and sits down and the boss says ….

" I'm sorry Jo, there is no easy way to say this. But you are

fired. I know you've been with the Life Firm for 20 years now and I

really want to acknowledge your hard word and dedication to the

company. You have been an exemplary employee. You have worked

around the clock seven days a week. Goodness Jo, looking through

your personnel file it seems you haven't taken any vacation or sick

leave since the day you were hired. But the fact is Jo, the Board

has reviewed our mission statement and we have decided that your

position is not in line with company goals. The Anxiety Management

business is cutting into the Life Firm profits. So we have to let

you go. "

My own conditioned mind tried to jump right in and say `Well that's

cute but how does it really help? You are still panic disordered

and you won't be able to just stop being the Anxiety Manager just

because you pretended to fire yourself!' So I could either take

sides with conditioned mind and explain this as one in many defusion

techniques … or I can just witness the thought and thank my mind for

doing what it does best.

The cool part for me, after firing myself this morning, was that

when I noticed that I was wearing the " Anxiety Manager " hat again

today, I could stop and remind myself that I am no longer getting

paid for this service. I can still be the Anxiety Manger if I

choose, but I realize now there is no pay off. It is not in line

with the mission statement of the Life Firm – my values.

Just another metaphor for the day.

~Em