How to Do Basic Counseling Skills: Role Play

Summary

The script depicts an individual grappling with severe anxiety after witnessing a car accident. This anxiety has significantly impacted their daily life, causing them to avoid driving except to work, which is stressful. They're even considering skipping a family visit due to the fear of highway driving. The individual questions why they're so affected, despite not being involved in the accident, and feels a sense of helplessness and fear that has led to a cycle of negative thoughts and physical symptoms like chest tightness and accelerated heart rate.

Takeaways

• 🚗 The individual experienced a traumatic event witnessing a car accident which has significantly impacted their life.
• 😣 The fear of getting into a car is causing them significant distress and anxiety.
• 🏠 They avoid driving except for work, even though their daily necessities are within walking distance.
• 🚫 They have stopped visiting friends and are reluctant to drive with others due to the anxiety.
• 🚸 The anxiety is so severe that they are considering not visiting family for the holidays to avoid driving on the highway.
• 🤔 They question why they are so affected by the accident since they were not directly involved.
• 🧠 They experience physical symptoms of anxiety such as chest tightening, increased heart rate, sweating, and muscle tension when driving.
• 🔁 There is a cycle of anxiety and fear that leads to self-doubt and unproductive thoughts.
• 😓 They feel weak and struggle with the emotional and physical toll of the anxiety when they do drive.
• 🗣️ The individual is seeking help to understand and manage their anxiety stemming from the car accident.

Q & A

What is the main issue the person is facing after witnessing the car accident?

The person is experiencing significant distress and anxiety, which is affecting their ability to drive and perform normal activities, including going to work and seeing friends.

How has the car accident impacted the person's daily life?

The person's daily life has been severely impacted as they are now stressed even to drive to work, avoid going to other places, and are hesitant to drive for an upcoming family trip.

What is the person's current driving behavior?

The person is only driving to work and avoids driving to other places. They also express reluctance to get in a car driven by someone else.

What is the person's emotional state when they have to drive to work?

When the person has to drive to work, they feel chest tightening, heart rate acceleration, sweating, and experience auditory hallucinations of brakes squealing and car crashes.

How does the person feel about their reaction to the car accident?

The person feels that their reaction is disproportionate to the event since they were not involved in the accident, and they question why they are so affected.

What is the person's concern regarding their upcoming family trip?

The person is concerned about their ability to drive for two hours on the highway to visit their family for the holidays due to their anxiety.

What kind of thoughts is the person having about their current situation?

The person is having thoughts of self-doubt, feeling weak, and questioning their ability to handle the situation, as indicated by their use of phrases like 'I should be over this by now'.

What is the role of the person speaking with the individual in the script?

The person speaking with the individual appears to be a therapist or counselor, as they are summarizing the individual's feelings and experiences to provide support and understanding.

What is the pattern or cycle that the counselor identifies in the person's life?

The counselor identifies a cycle of anxiety and fear leading to self-questioning and unproductive thoughts, which in turn causes further anxiety and avoidance of activities.

What is the counselor's approach to understanding the person's situation?

The counselor is summarizing the person's feelings and experiences to provide clarity and insight, aiming to understand the pattern of anxiety and its impact on their life.

How does the person describe the physical sensations they experience when driving?

The person describes physical sensations such as chest tightening, increased heart rate, sweating, and muscle tension to the point of feeling like they could pop.

Outlines

00:00

🚗 Car Accident Trauma

The individual expresses a deep sense of anxiety and fear after witnessing a car accident, which has significantly impacted their daily life. They find it stressful to drive to work and avoid driving altogether for any other purpose. Living in a community where amenities are close by has reduced their need to drive, but the fear has paralyzed them to the extent that they hesitate to visit friends or even consider driving for an upcoming family trip. The anxiety is so profound that they experience physical symptoms like chest tightening, increased heart rate, sweating, and auditory hallucinations of car accidents. This has led to a disruption in their normal activities and a sense of self-doubt, questioning their resilience and ability to overcome this fear.

Keywords

💡Car accident

A car accident refers to a collision involving one or more vehicles, which can result in damage to property, injury, or death. In the video's context, witnessing a car accident has had a profound psychological impact on the speaker, leading to a fear of driving and anxiety. The speaker mentions, 'after having seen that car accident...I don't even really want to get in the car,' illustrating the accident's role in the development of their anxiety.

💡Anxiety

Anxiety is a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease about something with an uncertain outcome. In the transcript, anxiety is a central theme as the speaker describes their fear of driving after witnessing a car accident. They mention feeling 'paralyzed by this fear,' which affects their daily life and behavior, such as avoiding driving to places other than work.

💡Stressful

Stressful refers to a situation or event that causes physical or mental tension. The speaker describes driving to work as 'very stressful' after the car accident, indicating that the experience has heightened their stress levels. This is evident when they say, 'it's very stressful for me to even drive to work.'

💡Fear

Fear is an emotional response to a perceived threat or danger. The fear of dying in a car accident is a recurring theme in the transcript. The speaker expresses, 'I could die in a car accident,' which is a significant source of their anxiety and avoidance behavior.

💡Distress

Distress is a state of extreme worry, anxiety, or suffering. The speaker acknowledges being in 'significant distress' due to their fear of driving, which is affecting their daily life and ability to perform normal activities, such as visiting friends or driving on the highway.

💡Behavior

Behavior refers to the way in which one acts or conducts oneself, especially towards others. The transcript discusses how the speaker's behavior has changed due to anxiety, as they 'don't go anywhere other than to work' and avoid driving with others. This change in behavior is a direct result of their fear and anxiety.

💡Community

A community refers to a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common. The speaker mentions living in a community where amenities like the grocery store and dry cleaner are nearby, which allows them to avoid driving for most needs, further illustrating the extent to which their fear has limited their activities.

💡Trip

A trip refers to a journey or an excursion, often for a specific purpose. The speaker talks about an upcoming trip to visit family, which they are apprehensive about due to their fear of driving on the highway. This keyword highlights the broader impact of their anxiety on their personal life.

💡Traumatic event

A traumatic event is an experience that causes severe emotional shock and distress. Witnessing the car accident is described as a traumatic event for the speaker, which has led to their current state of anxiety and fear. The therapist summarizes this by saying, 'you've witnessed this traumatic event.'

💡Anxiety-provoking

Anxiety-provoking refers to something that causes anxiety. The act of driving to work is described as anxiety-provoking for the speaker, who experiences physical symptoms like 'chest tightening up,' 'heart rate accelerates,' and 'hands are like sweating' when driving, indicating the intense anxiety they feel.

💡Self-questioning

Self-questioning involves reflecting on one's own thoughts, feelings, or actions. The speaker engages in self-questioning, as seen when they say, 'I should be over this by now,' indicating a struggle with self-doubt and expectations about their recovery from the anxiety caused by the car accident.

Highlights

Witnessing a car accident has caused significant distress and fear of driving.

Subject feels stressed even driving to work, which is necessary for their job.

Driving to other places besides work has become very stressful.

Proximity of daily necessities like grocery stores and dry cleaners reduces the need for driving.

Fear has paralyzed the subject, affecting their social life by avoiding seeing friends.

Subject is unable to imagine driving on the highway for an upcoming family trip.

Anxiety is causing significant distress and affecting behavior.

Subject is questioning their ability to function normally due to anxiety.

Thoughts of 'should be over this by now' indicate a struggle with self-expectations.

Subject feels they should not be so affected by an accident they were not even in.

Driving to work is now anxiety-provoking and leaves the subject feeling wrecked.

Physical symptoms of anxiety are present, such as chest tightening and accelerated heart rate.

Mental imagery of car accidents causes additional stress while driving.

Subject experiences heightened senses, such as hearing brake squealing in their mind.

Muscle tension is so severe that it feels like it could pop.

Difficulty in swallowing is another physical symptom experienced due to anxiety.

A cycle of anxiety and fear is identified, causing the subject to question their abilities.

Unproductive thoughts like feeling weak are a result of the ongoing anxiety cycle.

Transcripts

[Music]

so um I think that right now um I think

after having seen that car accident um

and now the way that I feel just even

when I'm in the car

um that now I don't even really want to

get in the car I don't it's very

stressful for me to even drive to work

but I mean it's my job I have to get

there um but I don't really drive any

other place and I live in a community

where my grocery store is right down the

street and my dry cleaner um but I don't

drive to go see friends um I'm just you

know I'm just sort of paralyzed by this

fear that even though I wasn't in that

car accident that um that I could that I

could die in a car accident um this is

causing significant distress yes a

yes I would definitely say it's

significant yeah um and and affecting

your behavior yeah things you would

normally do has change yes I don't I

don't go anywhere other than to work

it's very it's very stressful for me to

even get to work I don't go and see my

friends if they come see me that's fine

but I don't really want to get in the

car and drive anywhere and I sure don't

want to get in the car with somebody

else right um and

I've got this trip coming up um my my

family lives just a couple hours down

the road and I need to drive home um I

can't catch a flight but I'm not even

sure that I'm going to be able to go

home for the holidays because I cannot

imagine driving on the highway okay for

two hours so yeah again it's just

significantly you've witnessed this

traumatic event um which would rock a

lot of people's world and and it sounds

like that's what it's happening right

now um and so I guess kind of at the

halfway point you know of the of the

session here I'm wondering if maybe I

can just summarize a little bit what I'm

understanding you say you know you're

you're talking about feeling anxious

okay if I take a note or two oh yeah

sure talking about feeling this anxiety

in different areas um of your life

um you had mentioned that you know the

the feeling anxiety and the fact that

it's limiting you it's you're you're

having some thoughts about should be

over this by now yes and I wasn't even

in the accident so why am I so affected

by it I should be over this by now I

shouldn't be so disrupted disruptive a

lot of shoulds then a lot of should be

better why why is this happening to me

there must be something okay okay why

can't I handle this yeah

okay and then as you mentioned the

behavior is that you're no longer doing

some of the things that you enjoy and

and even when you are driving to work or

whatever it's very problematic it's

anxiety-provoking you get to work and

you're a wreck sorry for the woring but

yeah yeah yeah I I am I mean it's like I

was saying I just I can feel my chest

tightening up and my heart rate

accelerates and my hands are like

sweating as I'm holding on to the to the

wheel and I can even hear the sound of

like breakes squealing they're not but I

can just hear it in my mind and that

sound of running into each other and my

muscles feel so tight that they could

pop and you know it's just even hard to

swallow I mean it's it's just a struggle

okay okay

so if we can kind of see this as a

little bit of a a a pattern kind of a

cycle that's happening um not a pattern

in your life but kind of How It's

Working it seems that um the anxiety the

fear and so forth that you're feeling is

causing you to you know to question

yourself and your ability to be able to

function and you're starting to kind of

Wonder uh and and maybe have some

thoughts that are not productive yeah

like I feel like weak or yeah

[Music]