Anxiety disorders can rob you of independence, happiness and self-esteem. This book will enable you to free yourself from the crippling effects of anxiety and to go on to a happier and more fulfilled life. The authors describe simple self-help techniques and practical tips derived from years of helping people with anxiety problems. This book enables the reader to: assess what changes you need to make; create a personal recovery programme; set realistic goals and work towards them; change unhelpful ways of thinking; and, take back control of your life. The techniques can be used for all forms of anxiety: phobias (including Agoraphobia and Social Phobia), Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Panic Attacks and General Anxiety Disorder. However bad your anxiety, and however long you've had it, you can recover. Using true life examples from anxiety sufferers, this book shows you just how you can do it.
REVIEWS:
'We always praise the set out of the How to Books, but here it is more importance than ever. You don't open the book and feel overwhelmed, inadequate or misunderstood. It really is like counselling in a book, and gives you the facts to help you take control. If your worry or phobia is relatively minor or worrying major, this book will be the start of making definite changes.' www.frombumptogrump.co.uk 'I firmly believe that this book could help sufferers take control of their anxiety. The book is written in a very sensible and practical way. There are lots of handy hints and tips given to each chapter. I ended up reading it from cover to cover' www.talkeczema.com
AUTHOR BIOG:
Emma Fletcher is a counsellor with 20 years experience of helping people with anxiety and of training counsellors and volunteers on anxiety help-lines. Martha Langley is a writer and has spent more than ten years as a volunteer on anxiety help-lines. They have written this self-help guide because they are passionate about helping people to recover from this sometimes devastating condition.
CONTENTS:
Who this Book is for
Acknowledgements
Dedication
1 The Black Hole of Anxiety
PART ONE
2. Are You Sure it's Anxiety? 3. Depression
4. Anxiety Disorders
5. Helping Yourself to Overcome Anxiety
6. Two Key Skills
- Goal Setting and Relaxation
7. Causes of Anxiety Disorders
8. The Connection between Mind, Body and Spirit
9. Taking Exercise to Help Anxiety
10 Examining Your Diet
11. More about Diet
12. Understanding Alcohol, Nicotine and Other Drugs
13. Your Sleep Patterns
14. Positive Experiences
15. Achieving Life Balance and Managing Your Time
16. Review - Lifestyle Changes
PART TWO
17. Taking the Next Step
18. Examining Anxiety Behaviours
19. What Do You Want to Achieve? 20 Looking at Change and Risk
21. How Your Anxiety Affects Your Friends and Family
22. Learning about Exposure Work
23. Planning Your Exposure
24 Exposure for OCD
25. Working with a Helper
26. Exposure - Coping Skills
27. Exposure - Your First Goal
28. Plateaux and Setbacks
PART THREE
29. Anxiety on Trial
30. Let the Trial Commence
31. The First Two Charges Against Anxiety
32. Anxiety is Charged with Distorting Your Personality
33. Anxiety is Charged with Extreme Thinking
34 Anxiety is Charged with Selective Attention
35 The Final Charges Against Anxiety
36. Another Approach - Logical Argument
37. The Verdict
38. Other Techniques to Use to Change Your Thinking
39. More about Thought Processes
40. The Vicious Circle
41. Working on Your Negative Core Beliefs
42. Changing Your Negative Core Beliefs
43. Summary of Work with Core Beliefs
PART FOUR
44. Why Me?
45. Dealing with Withheld Feelings
46. Assertiveness
47. Self-confidence and Self-esteem
48. Problems and Decisions
49. The Meaning of Life
50. Dealing with Maintenance Factors - Summary
51. Finale
52. It's Okay to be Me
Extra Information
Appendix 1
Appendix 2
Appendix 3
Index.