Free Yourself from Anxiety

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.