ANXIETY AND A TAX ALLOWABLE DOG !
In respect of how metaphors are used in this book, let us give you one simple and memorable example of how a ‘tax allowable' dog could help those suffering with ‘unwanted intrusive thoughts.’ Unwanted intrusive thoughts [UITs] are something that can trouble people a great deal. Such thinking is often linked to OCD and rumination. Rumination has been linked as a maintaining factor in a number of psychological disturbances like depression and guilt. So you may see that UITs are an important subject. Rumination is the process where sufferers keep thinking about difficulties and problems, worrying that they should have done this or that, and what the consequences might be of not having done this or that. If you suffer with UITs you do not need us to tell you how troublesome it is!
Some time ago I asked a colleague to explain how my colleague could justify the cost of keeping his pet dog as a taxable expense! The very thought of it made my eyes sparkle with delight! I’m sure we have all had acquaintance with grumpy, bouncy dogs, dogs for the blind, sniffer dogs, fast greyhound dogs, damn right ferocious, and sometimes adorable dogs, but a tax deductible dog – how delightful I thought. My colleague told me he brought his friendly dog into the therapy room to say ‘hallo’ to his client. However the client had been primed to completely ignore the dog. After initial attempts at ingratiating himself with the visitor, the dog eventually, like all dogs will, got fed up, and went and laid in the corner of the room to sulk. This, my colleague explained, is a great way to demonstrate to client’s who have unwanted intrusive thoughts, that if they leave the thoughts alone instead of paying lots of attention to them, they will abate and go away.
The ‘tax allowable’ dog, is just one example of teaching an important technique for dealing, not only with unwanted intrusive thoughts, but other disturbances as well, such as anxiety and sleep problems.
You might find this metaphor simplistic, but it’s difficult to forget and we are sure you will find many other examples in this book which will ‘stay with you’ for a long time to come.