ABSTRACT
This chapter provides some general observations about anxiety. It discusses the role of a general anxiety-creating philosophy comprising four general rigid and extreme attitudes in general anxiety. The chapter also discusses the role of specific rigid and extreme attitudes towards specific threats in specific instances of anxiety. In order to feel anxious a person needs to think that they are about to face some kind of threat. There are two different kinds of threats that a person may experience: threats to ego aspects of their personal domain and threats to non-ego aspects of their personal domain. In order to experience anxiety about the real and imagined threats in their life, a person needs a ‘general anxiety-creating philosophy’ (GAP). The first ingredient of a GAP is known as a rigid attitude. The second ingredient of a GAP is known as an awfulising attitude. The third ingredient of a GAP is known as an unbearability attitude.
