Product Description

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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3793 in Books
• Published on: 2009-01-09
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 268 pages

Review
'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.'
--talkeczema.com

From the Author
Anxiety disorders are astonishingly common. They include Panic, Phobias (including Agoraphobia and Social Phobia), Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and Generalised Anxiety Disorder. For many people self-help is a viable way forward and in Free Yourself from Anxiety we aim to show you, step-by-step, how to set up and follow an individually tailored self-help programme. The book is based on Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), which is the accepted treatment for Anxiety.

Free Yourself from Anxiety is divided into four parts.

PART ONE looks at lifestyle, because very often the way you live is contributing to Anxiety. By examining each aspect of lifestyle in turn and making simple changes you can get yourself fit and ready to tackle your Anxiety driven behaviours.

PART TWO takes you through the `behaviour' part of CBT and shows you how to challenge your Anxiety in a safe controlled way, by setting small goals that take you gradually towards letting go of anxious behaviours.

PART THREE looks at the `cognitive' part of CBT and shows you how to recognise your anxious thinking, challenge it, and ultimately change it.

PART FOUR moves on to some of the deeper issues that may be driving Anxiety and explains how to delve into these. We also suggest where it might be appropriate for you to seek professional help.

Our aim in this book is to be as comprehensive as possible. Each reader will be able to decide which aspects of the recovery programme they need to complete and which are not relevant to them. In addition we have only discussed proven safe techniques.

While we were writing the book we interviewed 10 Anxiety sufferers who are in various stages of recovery and with their permission we have used their words to illustrate our points throughout the book. Instead of made-up case histories you can read about the real-life struggles, successes and failures of our group of 10.

About the Author
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.

Customer Reviews

A road map to recovery
I wish I had had a book like this when I had my first panic attacks. No one understood what I was going through, and no one, including the medical services, was able to explain what was happening and how it could be dealt with.

What everyone in this situation needs, and needs fast, are three things:
1. Reassurance that you are not the only one this has ever happened to
2. A concise explanation of the various forms of Anxiety and their symptoms; and
3. Help and advice which will set you on the road to recovery.

And this is what Free Yourself from Anxiety does. Using genuine case studies it shows that what you thought was affecting you alone is in fact quite common. It clearly and concisely explains the various forms of Anxiety such as Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD), panic attacks, phobias and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) so that you can properly identify the problem. And finally it gives a properly structured road map to recovery by taking the reader, step by step, from facing their fears to overcoming them.

Written in an understanding and encouraging way, this book is the next best thing to having a twenty-four hour therapist at your side. If you have an anxiety problem, or you know someone who has, buying this book could be a life saver.

Finally! A long-awaited resource on anxiety which is useful for therapists & clients!
As a psychotherapist, I found this book to be extremely useful. The information is practical and is applicable to real life situations. It allows the client to take responsibility for the process thereby empowering him or her. It is thorough and has a strong application component, even addressing some of the more difficult issues which other books overlook, including OCD. This is definitely a book which I will refer to as well as recommend to clients.

Free Yourself From Anxiety
Don't Mention The Snow!

I've been reading a book by Emma Fletcher and Martha Langley called Free Yourself From Anxiety and I'd like to write about a particular section of this book that I am finding especially helpful. It is the part that deals with questioning one's beliefs and I've been using it to help me to overcome agoraphobia.

A few weekends ago I stuck the questions (from page 167) on to a postcard - a neat, portable prompt, had an early night, slept well and woke up next morning full of renewed enthusiasm and determination, threw back the curtains.... only to find thick snow and it was still falling! If I had ventured out then I would have been more concerned with staying on my feet than reading a prompt card.

Seriously I found the book full of sensible, basic and practical advice. It takes the fear out of anxiety situations.

During the ensuing fortnight, whilst we were effectively snowed in, I used the time to practise some of the breathing and relaxation exercises recommended in the book. When I could finally venture out I found these techniques kept my anxiety levels within manageable boundaries, so that I could then take the time to stop and consider the prompt questions, rather than simply rushing back home.

It also gives a list of helpline numbers, and I've had a lot of help from First Steps to Freedom {}. I think anyone who has this book and the number of this helpline is bound to make progress!