An example in the classroom may be a young pupil with ADD in whom the gruff commands of a perhaps well-meaning but authoritarian teacher trigger anxiety. The child will become overaroused and will not “pay attention,” which raises the teacher’s ire. His disapproval, in turn, will further lock the child into his anxious state. “Marty would do much better if he would only learn to concentrate,” the teacher will write in his report card.
