Getting advice

Getting advice

Listen to someone getting advice from a friend to practise and improve your listening skills.

Do the preparation task first. Then listen to the audio and do the exercises.

Preparation

Transcript

Clara: Hi, how are you? I haven't seen you in class for a while.

Ben: Good, thanks. You? 

Clara: Great, as long as I don't think too hard about all the essays I have to write this term!

Ben: Yeah … 

Clara: Hey, are you OK?

Ben: I have to admit, I'm struggling a bit. Maybe even a lot. I've not been sleeping well at all and then I can't concentrate. And all these things are just going around and around in my head.

Clara: Mmm … that doesn't sound good. So, you're sleeping badly and you can't concentrate. Is that all it is, do you think?

Ben: Well, if I'm honest, it's more than that. I'm starting to dread going outside. I find myself worrying about stupid things like what if I forget the way home. Or, what if I go to class thinking it's Monday but actually it's Friday and I'm in the wrong place at the wrong time. It sounds even more stupid when I say it out loud. It took me two hours to leave the house today.

Clara: It doesn't sound stupid at all. It actually sounds a lot like me last year.

Ben: Really? But you're so together!

Clara: I've learned to be, but even I still have bad days. I used to have panic attacks and everything. When you were trying to leave the house today, how did you feel?

Ben: Like I couldn't breathe. And my heart was going way too fast.

Clara: Hmm … that sounds like a panic attack to me.

Ben: I thought I was going to die.

Clara: You'd be surprised how common they are. Loads of people have them, they just don't talk about it.

Ben: How did you get over them?

Clara: I actually talked to a doctor about it, and you should too. But I learned some practical things as well. Though they're easier said than done, and they're going to sound weird, so hear me out, OK?

Ben: OK …

Clara: So, one thing I did was to try to reduce the power of the anxiety and the panic attacks when they came. So – and this may sound strange – at a time when you're feeling safe and OK, you literally do things that make your heart start racing faster and your breathing speed up. Like spinning around on a chair until you're dizzy or hyperventilating so you're short of breath.

Ben: That sounds awful!

Clara: It is, but it means you get used to the symptoms, so they feel less scary. 

Ben: Right. 

Clara: Then you have to deliberately do the things that usually make you feel panic. So, if it's going to class on Monday and being scared you've got the wrong day, on Monday you go to class. If you let the anxiety control you by making you stay at home, it just makes it worse the next time you really do have to go out.

Ben: And what did you do if a panic attack came anyway?

Clara: I had a distraction plan. So, I walked everywhere instead of taking the bus because the exercise helped, but also I did things like count trees or red cars or something. Whatever it was didn't matter, as long as I had something else to focus on.

Ben: I can't tell you how much I appreciate this. I thought … 

Discussion

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Average: 4.2 (36 votes)
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Submitted by iepenarandao96 on Mon, 19/02/2024 - 15:01

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I usually feel anxious the previous moments the take any kind of test regardless of whether I studied a lot for that test. Also when I'm traveling alone even if I have done that travel many times I feel worried because I start to think about the possibility of being stolen or anything. I always start listening music and deep breathing to control my emotions.

Submitted by javy lopez on Tue, 16/01/2024 - 21:46

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l nervous when i playing baseball because i love this sport and i want doing prefects the all things

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Submitted by natinnatnat on Wed, 10/01/2024 - 19:00

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Throughout my life, I have noticed that the thing that makes me most anxious is talking to strangers. I often feel insecure when going out and crossing the street or walking by a crossroad can be very stressful for me. It feels like everyone is watching me and I suddenly become hyper-aware of how my body is moving and if I am walking awkwardly. Some days are worse than others, but I have realized that it is worse to stay home and think about what I could have done.

Submitted by Đỗ Trung Quân on Thu, 04/01/2024 - 00:37

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there are many things that can drive me into anxiety, one of them is to have a presentation in front of many people. I have had this experience 2-3 times in high school and it got negative responses every time due to my fear of others' judgments and worrying about what others think about me. This semester, I am looking forward to overcoming this problem by looking for some tricks to boost my confidence as well as to ignore the distracting voice in my head.

Submitted by symplct on Tue, 19/12/2023 - 01:53

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I feel anxious about my future as I don't have any plans for it and I'm just trying to survive each and every day.

Submitted by amroelwan.com on Fri, 08/12/2023 - 21:51

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I feel anxious when I meet new people and I am afraid of saying wrong or dumb things

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Submitted by Ramiro Solana on Tue, 08/08/2023 - 21:45

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I feel anxious about the future of both my country and the world. My country has been struggling with an economic and social crisis for many years and it is difficult to think how we can overcome it. At the same time, the world is facing enormous challenges such as poverty, immigration, wars and climate change that affects too many people now and in the future.

Submitted by YukinonYui on Mon, 12/06/2023 - 09:49

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It rarely comes to me to feel anxious, but it does happen when I don't do anything. It gives me spare time to overthink and pushes me into a unstable state of mind.

Submitted by Leena Ahmed on Wed, 31/05/2023 - 13:06

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I'm getting nervous when I have to meet new people; I don't know how to start a conversation and being afraid of saying something wrong or dumb.