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Show Prior Experience Aids With Anxiety Put people in an anxiety-causing anxiety-causing situation and most want to get the situation over quickly, however, let the anxiety anxi-ety build. THE DIFFERENCE, according to Hal Bertilson, associate professor of psychology at Weber State College, lies in the amount of experience the individual has had in dealing with unpleasant situations. "Prior experience seems to eliminate anxiety," Bertilson said. more reflective. They choose the less painful choice." Relaxation Re-laxation is the most successful tool in fighting anxiety. HE SAID, "As economic and social pressures increase we may well find relaxation to be a valuable technique in rec-ognizing rec-ognizing and defusing anxiety." "Doing that," he said, "will help us to be better able to make decisions and cope with situations." I he psychologist explained that those who use past experience experi-ence as a basis for decisions usually make the less painful choice. "IF A PERSON believes that an unpleasant event is inevitable, in-evitable, most want to get it over quickly," he said. "Most people believe anxiety builds up while waiting for it." Bertilson noted that a person per-son who chooses to deal with the situation at the moment has less anxiety than someone who puts off any decision. HE EXPLAINED, "Do you go to the dentist today, or do you wait? If you have a sliver in your finger do you dig it out now or put it off until tomorrow." "But a speedy decision should not necessarily be an impulsive one," Bertilson added. IMPULSIVE people tend to get the situation over quickly, he said, but their decision is made without much thought. "Reflectiveness." on the other hand, involves thinking the situation over and using past experience. "REFLECTIVE PEOPLE will test and make a rational decision," he remarked. "They think about it and examine ex-amine the alternatives." And this enables them to make better decisions. He explained, "Personal experience ex-perience causes people to be |