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Summary: This Guide Will Help You Get Your Life Back!!!
Review: I cannot even begin to describe how this book has helped me. After being diagnosed with Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia I turned to it and here I am almost fully recovered! The lessons are so unbelievably helpful and practical. It's worth reading more than once. This book was my counselor, and I am thankful for having found it! There's no need to live in fear and this wonderful book can help you overcome those fears or at least learn to accept them and continue living a full and happy life.
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Summary: Made me change views about "self-help"
Review: I don't like self-help books, I regard them (probably because of a very technical background) as snake oil sales tools. But I do have to say that Mr. Peurifoy's book lays a very real and clear image about anxiety, phobias and a method to deal with them.
The difference, and the only reason I took the time to read the book is that Mr. Peurifoy, besides counseling, is a teacher by training, so he lays out his book like an anxiety course (he uses footnotes, end of chapter exercises, additional recommended reading material, references to associations, etc)
The result is that I became interested in the subject and decided to help myself by understanding my situation, convincing myself about the possible routes to heal and then acting with conviction.
So... did I like the book? Yes, I do recommend it as a clearly written and practical method to deal with anxiety.
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Summary: A Life saver!
Review: I stumbled across this book in the library at a point where I was beginning to think I was really losing my mind. This book was a big help to me because I don't feel so alone now and I have started to understand my condition better. This book is like a great novel, which one of the other reviews states. It certainly captivates me! And the author is right; you really should take your time reading it, because there is so much to learn here, and you don't want to miss anything. You'll refer to it again and again. The language is easy to understand and the tone is never condescending. I love it.
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Summary: The Best Thing in the World
Review: I tried a number of methods to try to control my own anxiety; my doctor turned me on to this book and it was absolutely the most helpful thing in my struggle. I was skeptical at first; I've never been part of the "read this book, it will change your life" school -- no book ever had that effect on me, but this one did. I can't recommend it highly enough if you've dealt with panic attacks and/or anxiety.
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Summary: If you want self help, THIS is the book...!
Review: I was having problems in my marriage a year and a half ago, and I became anxious to the point to have sleepless nights (I felt asleep while driving once). I underwent psyquiatric treatement (my one and only), with the usual doses of pills for a mild anxiety. Meanwhile, I browsed this website, find this book and decided to give it a try; it helped me more than those sessions and pills (although I will confess not reading it all). The first 3 chapters described exactly what I was feeling, and the more I read, the more I regained control of myself. Sometimes (when sad) I re-read some highligths I made to keep me in a good mood (and I'm still happily married...) I also recommend "The Little Book of Calm" by Paul Wilson (in this website too).
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Summary: outstanding aid for anxiety sufferers
Review: If you are seeking help with any kind of anxiety this is the book for you. Very well balanced with chapters on both the physical and the cognitive (mental) aspects of dealing with anxiety. This book is written in precise, easy to understand language, accesible to everyone. Don't be "anxious" about picking it up! I found the chapters on breathing and meditation especially helpful, though as I read on, I was able to make use of much of the advice in the cognitive realm as well (i.e., challenging beliefs that can cause frustration and anxiety). Thanks Mr. Peurifoy!
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Summary: a must read for people who wants to overcome pad
Review: It's a very valuable tool for me to deal with my anxieties and panic disorder. It's very informative and easy to read as if the author is talking to you personally. It teaches us how to deal with stress,change our negative thinking pattern, techniques to reduce anxiety symptoms and a lot more.This book was recommended to me by Mary a reader and I want to thank her for it.
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Summary: This program WORKS!!
Review: This book avoids all the hype and moralizing and psychobabble, the useless anecdotes so often found in the "Quick Tips To Anxiety Relief" genre.It's a solid, step-by-step program of cognitive techniques which, when practiced and mastered SLOWLY over time, can change your life.I know from personal experience. After three years of therapy for Generalized Anxiety Disorder, I decided I was getting worse, not better. I had the good fortune to find this book at the library, and was excited to see that it took the responsibility for "changing me" out of the hands of a therapist and put the responsibility squarely where it belonged: on me. Starting in 1992 I spent over a year mastering the skills, and still use the book once a month for reference and a bit of a "refresher course." What can I say? My symptoms have vanished! No more undiagnosable stomache and joint aches, no more pills, no more panic attacks. Even my ALLERGIES have disappeared! It's amazing how much of our poor health is stress-related, and even more amazing how a book like this can help one to unlearn a lifetime of bad thought habits (like perfectionism.) If you're motivated to change your life, the program works. That's the best review I can give it!
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Summary: One of the better books on the subject.
Review: This book is definitely worth a read. However, you'll find that the amount of information is a little overwhelming. If you plan to pick and choose what you can use, then it's a decent book. I've sufferred from panic/sociophobia for years and the information in this book is nothing new. Parts of it, if practiced, can be helpful, but none of it is a cure, a breakthrough, or even a novel approach to the problem. It is, however, comprehensive.
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Summary: Made me change views about "self-help"
Review: This is a bargain! I have used this book with many clients who suffer with PTSD, OCD, specific Phobias, and other severe anxiety disorders. For those suffering trauma symptoms but lack the memories of the events that likely generated these symptoms this book offers an approach that does not directly address the issue of trauma (as you know, PTSD is an anxiety disorder. Some have suggested it should be called "Chronic Fear Disorder.") Rather it teaches you how your body works when it gets overloaded by fear and anxiety. Several psychophysisiological theories are explained and diagrammed. The criteria for various kinds of anxiety disorders articulated and explained (so you can see which one or ones you suffer from). A pre-test is included that you can take and score yourself -- and retake as you progress through the program to chart specific changes you make along the way. The author walks you through the irrational thinking patterns that accompany anxiety symptoms that seem to "come out of nowhere" and tells you specific ways to counter these irrational thoughts. Further, it gives you practical information about the roots of the "high anxiety personality" and some of the possible causes being so endowed. The book teaches numerous exceptionally effective techniques for regaining a sense of control and self-efficacy. These include establishing a daily routine of decompressing, cognitive monitoring, desensitization, visualization, tips on overcoming perfectionism and the excessive need for approval and control. I have my patients "memorize" the chapter (I think it is Chapter 5)on the 10 most common cognitive distortions that accompany anxiety and depression. When they do this (it is easier to memorize than you think) they are able to immediately recognize when they are falling into a thought pattern that amplifies anxiety. A motivated person learns quickly how to self-correct and replace anxiety producing thoughts with calming ones that put life into perspective. It helps to know that your "crazy" thoughts are actually quite common and shared by others who suffer with various forms of anxiety.
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