Free Yourself From Anxiety: A self-help guide to overcoming anxiety disorder

Description

Anxiety disorders can rob you of independence, happiness and self-esteem. In this book, 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. 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.

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.

'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 'The case studies were interesting and valuable, giving hope and something a newly diagnosed anxiety sufferer can identify with.' The Parkinson 'Easy to understand...well laid out...this book tells you how. There is so much help, support and information in this book...I was very impressed.' No Panic Newsletter. 'It is presented in a very accessible way, with easy-to-read, well spaced and brief chapters on various aspects of anxiety...a lot could be gained from this book...good value.' The Idenpendent Practioner. 'There is a great need for easy-to-read books on anxiety from quality sources, and this book does just that. The simplicity behind the techniques Fletcher and Langley offer will help many with anxiety find some comfort.' http://psychcentral.com