Soothe Your Nerves : The Black Woman's Guide to Understanding and Overcoming Anxiety, Panic, and Fear

Rating:
Summary: Must-Have on Black Women's Book Shelves
Review: As a black woman who has suffered from "bad nerves," Dr. Angela Neal-Barnett's book "Soothe Your Nerves" was a welcomed and much-needed work in my life. Everyone has heard of the SUPER WOMAN, those women who can be mother and worker and homemaker and lover, and whatever other titles there are to staple onto her. This super woman icon is even more prevalent in the black community, and when you have a culture that for the most part, would rather work out their problems themselves instead of seek outside help, it's not hard to see why thousands of black women suffer from anxiety disorders.

What Neal-Barnett does in "Soothe Your Nerves" is first reassure women by letting them know that they are not weak because they need help, and then she explains reasons why black women-historically-have not sought outside help for their problems. From there, Neal-Barnett offers a variety of methods for women to utilize in order to begin the healing process and embark on reclaiming their lives. Outside of the great information that Neal-Barnett provides in the book, what I loved most about it is that I finally 'felt' that I was not alone, that there are others, like me, who need guidance, who need to be reassured that there is nothing wrong with them, that these problems can be removed. Neal-Barnett's book, I believe, can be used as a bridge to spark discussion and bring forth community among black women so we can create support systems and give the help that so many sisters need.

Shon Bacon

Rating:
Summary: an important book
Review: As a black woman who has suffered from "bad nerves," Dr. Angela Neal-Barnett's book "Soothe Your Nerves" was a welcomed and much-needed work in my life. Everyone has heard of the SUPER WOMAN, those women who can be mother and worker and homemaker and lover, and whatever other titles there are to staple onto her. This super woman icon is even more prevalent in the black community, and when you have a culture that for the most part, would rather work out their problems themselves instead of seek outside help, it's not hard to see why thousands of black women suffer from anxiety disorders.

What Neal-Barnett does in "Soothe Your Nerves" is first reassure women by letting them know that they are not weak because they need help, and then she explains reasons why black women-historically-have not sought outside help for their problems. From there, Neal-Barnett offers a variety of methods for women to utilize in order to begin the healing process and embark on reclaiming their lives. Outside of the great information that Neal-Barnett provides in the book, what I loved most about it is that I finally 'felt' that I was not alone, that there are others, like me, who need guidance, who need to be reassured that there is nothing wrong with them, that these problems can be removed. Neal-Barnett's book, I believe, can be used as a bridge to spark discussion and bring forth community among black women so we can create support systems and give the help that so many sisters need.

Shon Bacon

Rating:
Summary: Must-Have on Black Women's Book Shelves
Review: As a black woman who has suffered from "bad nerves," Dr. Angela Neal-Barnett's book "Soothe Your Nerves" was a welcomed and much-needed work in my life. Everyone has heard of the SUPER WOMAN, those women who can be mother and worker and homemaker and lover, and whatever other titles there are to staple onto her. This super woman icon is even more prevalent in the black community, and when you have a culture that for the most part, would rather work out their problems themselves instead of seek outside help, it's not hard to see why thousands of black women suffer from anxiety disorders.

What Neal-Barnett does in "Soothe Your Nerves" is first reassure women by letting them know that they are not weak because they need help, and then she explains reasons why black women-historically-have not sought outside help for their problems. From there, Neal-Barnett offers a variety of methods for women to utilize in order to begin the healing process and embark on reclaiming their lives. Outside of the great information that Neal-Barnett provides in the book, what I loved most about it is that I finally 'felt' that I was not alone, that there are others, like me, who need guidance, who need to be reassured that there is nothing wrong with them, that these problems can be removed. Neal-Barnett's book, I believe, can be used as a bridge to spark discussion and bring forth community among black women so we can create support systems and give the help that so many sisters need.

Shon Bacon

Rating:
Summary: Fills a needed void
Review: As an African American female and a doctoral student in psychology who specializes in research and treatment of anxiety disorders, I personally and professionally recommend this book to all readers who think they may suffer from "bad nerves." It is difficult to discuss anxiety disorders in a community as easily "spooked" by talk of mental health concerns as ours is, but Dr. Barnett manages to pull it off. My only slight criticism is that Dr. Barnett seems to often make the assumption that all of her readers are not only Christian, but Southern Baptist. Other than that, this is a very much needed addition to the popular literature on anxiety in African Americans, and I hope that individuals who could benefit from this book will pick it up.

Rating:
Summary: Encouraging people to seek help when needed
Review: Dr. Angela Neal-Barnett practiced psychotherapy especially with black women who typically avoid such treatments because the community and family expect these super strong females to overcome their case of "bad nerves". Dr. Neal-Barnett contends that "bad nerves" is a euphemism for anxiety and a myriad of fears and phobias. She ties her anecdotal findings with religious beliefs so as to make the case that more black women need professional help. However, the image of superwoman and the lack of African-American female psychotherapists lead to the use of home remedies for such problems as obsessive-compulsive disorder, overeating and drug and alcohol abuse.

This book is written in such a manner as to encourage African-American females and others to seek professional help and where to go to find that assistance. Current medicines that are commonly prescribed at least in the white communities are also described. Though aimed at the black women, any person who suffers from anxiety and panic attacks will find this guide a solid first step. Dr. Neal-Barnett provides solace and assurance to overcome the fear of those first steps towards seeking help, something this reviewer first hand understands the difficulty due to the social stigmatism.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Women of all colors, unite and buy this book
Review: Even if you're not a Black woman you probably have one for a friend or co-worker. So give the sister Dr. Angela Neal-Barnett's SOOTHE YOUR NERVES. Let's face it, Black women do have much to worry about, some of which Dr. Neal-Barnett addresses: sexual assault (women of color are twice as likely to be assaulted as white women because they are seen as "easy" or lesser), violence and violent deaths of loved ones, the "acting white" stigma, teen pregnancy, discrimination, and now the "down low" phenomenon, plus the historic strength that they have modeled in a kind of two-for-one Superwoman mold. These are realities that everyone needs to understand, especially women. By reading this book, white, Hispanic and Asian women might confront their own anxieties and their own stereotypes and offer support and help to the sistahs in their lives.

However, nowhere does the book mention misogynistic hip-hop or philandering among black men. A Strong Black Woman is supposed to keep the sucker in line. Easier said than done. Nor does the book deal, except in mentioning not being able to pay for psychiatric treatment, the effect that poverty has, let alone single motherhood. Perhaps Dr. Neal-Barnett is trying to lift up the Black woman from stereotypes by portraying successful women as suffering from compulsions, anxiety, fear, and the ultimate stereotype of the Strong Black Woman, popularized in the media. She does this most effectively by portraying Black men as loving partners with frustrations of their own in dealing with their anxious mates, although not the self-destructiveness in Black men.

However, treating Black women and Black men as victims is as destructive as the Superwoman myth (are you listening, Jesse Jackson?) This sensitive, intelligent treatment of a complex subject deserves to be read and reread.

Rating:
Summary: an important book
Review: I've struggled with depression and anxiety for years and felt guilty about it because black women are taught that such things only happen to weak people or to whites. This old folk tale has ruined countless lives and came close to killing me. And then I found this book. It was the first inkling that my problems didn't stem from weakness or lack of character but was a genuine illness. I've since got up the courage to see a therapist and I'm doing better than I ever have before and it all started because I happened to see this book on the library shelf.

Rating:
Summary: Mental Health Strategies
Review: In her book SOOTHE YOUR NERVES, Dr. Angela Neal-Barnett tackles the most common psychological disorders afflicting women of color and presents them in a succinct, easy to read self help format, aimed at equipping black women with the necessary tools to effectively cope with these stressors. She also attempts to explode the myth of the strong black women by citing numerous case studies of black women who suffer from various forms of psychological disorders.

She starts out with a definition of anxiety and fear and then
expounds on the way they are manifested in women of color and impact their day to day existence. She includes screening tests to help recognize symptoms of mental illness and offers information on the different types of therapies and resources available to help black women battling mental health problems.

SOOTHE YOUR NERVES takes the reader on a journey of self discovery as it provides step by step guidance on how to recognize and even self treat symptoms of anxiety, panic and fear. This author does a marvelous job of interpreting clinical information in a manner easily understood by the layperson. While Dr. Neal-Barnett's book appears to be specifically geared toward black women, all readers can benefit from this book.

Reviewed by Autumn
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

Rating:
Summary: Helpful and informative book concerning AA women
Review: Soothe Your Nerves explores a topic that many women, especially black women, don?t discuss but find that we suffer from a lot. ?Nerves? is what we call it, when in fact we are suffering from a treatable and curable ailment called Anxiety. Many black women have been raised to believe that we shouldn?t seek or accept professional help for problems and we?ve been so conditioned to adapt to our problems that we readily don?t recognize we suffer from this condition. Using examples of people she?s knows and/or has treated, Dr. Angela Neal-Barnett exposes anxiety, panic and fear and gives advice on how treatment can turn a life around.

Soothe Your Nerves contains self-assessments to recognize Obsessive Compulsive Disorders, examines the types of drugs commonly prescribed for treatment, and even takes the time to distinguish between psychiatrists, psychologists, counselors and lay personnel by degree and length of internship. She further lists websites and other helpful numbers for people seeking assistance with personal issues. I like the use of examples the best and while I don?t think that we are actually searching for ourselves through the pages, the subjects Dr. Neal-Barnett chooses to highlight are wonderfully illustrated with people we might encounter in our lives. We might encounter ourselves. A strong proponent of ?Sister Circles?, there are even examples of charters and step-by-step instruction on starting a circle.

I am especially pleased to see that faith is mentioned in the book. Oft times, as illustrated in the book, we are taught that if we pray more and seek to turn our lives more toward our Creator, all things will be solved. It is nice to be reassured that seeking professional help for a mental issue isn?t turning away from our faith but rather allowing professionals to further enhance our faith walk. Dr. Neal-Barnett even mingles her Sister Circle concept in the church. Soothe Your Nerves has opened a door enabling more people to walk through, explore and accept. Simply by reading this book, a person is taking the first step to self-discovery and self help.