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

Matching_MjMzMDU=

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 …

Task 1

MultipleChoice_MjMzMDY=.xml

Task 2

ReorderingVertical_MjMzMDc=.xml

Discussion

What makes you nervous or anxious?

Download

Worksheet85.95 KB

Try another listening

Language level

B2 Upper intermediate

Topics

conversation

Do you need to improve your English listening skills?

Join thousands of learners from around the world who are improving their English listening skills with our online courses.

Find out more

Hi Minh,

All comments are moderated before they are published, and we only do not publish when there is some problem with the comment, such as inappropriate content, links to exernal sites or personal information. I don't know if this was the case with any of your comments, however.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

What makes me feel nervous or anxiety is to do something knowing that someone is waiting for me to get great results about it.

When I read the comments and the text above I felt really surprised. I didn´t think there were so many people worried about things like me. What makes me feel anxious is the job and the economy. I have really studied hard in my life and despite I always have a job in my carreer, my contracts don´t take more than three or four months. Yep, it is true. When you want to control something the worries appear. You have to struggle every day to set your goals and I´m not able to sleep well ( no more than five hours). Might it be true that you sometimes see people that they don´t care things ?. It is only an appearance?, or is just about your personality?.

I'm really sad to admit that I get easily nervous and anxious, sometimes in an exaggerated way or about stupid things not deserving all the importance I give them. I expect events and things to happen in a certain way, but I can't wait peaceably like normal people do, I just start worrying and thinking about unrealistic troubles and issues or unexpected circumstances. The fear of failure is another feeling I usually have before any kind of experience, from social to professional experiences, which makes me hesitate and overthink a lot. I must confess that I have missed many opportunities, and I'm kind of introvert because of that, I fear not succeeding in getting on well with people, or being disappointed, so I just avoid building relationships either in a personal or professional context.

I am an introverted person and feel anxious when I go into public or in a group of people they make me feel anxious every time so I just avoid going into public.

I think anxiety appears mainly when you feel that you do not have control of something. The people that suffer this disorder, it is because they are obsessed with control their full future, every single detail about what is going to happen. And obviously, It is imposible to reach that purpose because life is unpredictable. In my case, as a football trainer, I sometimes feel a little bit anxious preparing the training. I imagine what the exercises are going to be and how I want the kids to perform them. I repeat it over and over in my mind and therefore I start feeling overwhelmed. It has no sense, because if life is unpredictable, children are even more. So, my piece of advice for you, and myself, is do not overthink so much, and be ready to adapt to any situation that arise to you. Cheers from Madrid.

I feel anxious because I don’t have job I finished university the last year and I still here stuck looking for a job in a country with awful economy, I was thinking in start my own web business but I need money to start it I thought seriously in call for a loan making an important risk. Everybody have dreams someday travel around the world, buy a house, make a family, help his parents and give support to his family with everything they needs, this situation is frustrating and sad. But everything going to be better, I know.

When people look at you and make a faking smile, particularly at work or study.

what make me anxious to talk to teacher if i had not completed the assignments or asking to them for help.To meet new people who are elder then me also makes me anxious.