You have to respect that this woman was producing these findings in the 70s and 80s and it's mainly relevant to today. There are some references she makes to practices more common of her era but it's done in a way to give you comfort if that's the treatment you are getting... She ALWAYS reassures that you can succeed on her method alone. This is a book I revisted after two years. I have been recommended the book by an old lecturer/professor in my Mental Health Studies class at university. She said it was helpful for her own struggles and felt that I would appreciate it too with what we had discussed. Sadly I had never ended up finishing her copy and then when I got around to buying mine, I never ended up touching it and soon forgot about it. CBT aims to help us learn to recognise these unhelpful patterns, and break down and approach problems in a different way to improve how we feel. Does CBT work? My retraction of 1/2 a star wasn't because this book has any negative aspects but simply because I am yet to fully explore it's full potential and to put it into practice, as mentioned earlier on in my review.

There are many self-help options for anxiety. And if you’re reading this, you’ve already taken an empowering step toward taking care of yourself. But now I know better, and thanks to this book I have a better understanding of how I can deal with anxiety and fear better in the future. There's a part about how if you face your "terrible feelings" and try to make them worst you will find that you cannot. We shrink from feelings for fear of making them worse but by facing them we lose some of the fear and it may actually have a calming effect. So much of living with anxiety is the anticipation, the nerves are intimidating and feel over-powering. When practised with a therapist, CBT has been shown to be clinically effective in improving anxiety, low mood, stress and sleep problems, as well as many other mental and some physical health conditions.

Whether breakdown be mild or severe, the basic cause is fear. Conflict, sorrow, guilt or disgrace may start a breakdown, but it is not long before fear takes command. Even great sorrow at the loss of a loved one is mixed with fear, the fear of facing the future alone. Sexual problems are most likely to cause breakdown when accompanied by fear or guilt. Guilt opens the door to fear. Anxiety, worry, dread are only variants of fear in different guises. (p. 19).

In his book “Why We Sleep,” Dr. Matthew Walker, professor of neuroscience and psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, says, “The best bridge between despair and hope is a good night’s sleep.” Drinking too much caffeine can make you more anxious than normal. This is because caffeine can disrupt your sleep and also speed up your heartbeat.Browse our online range including our range of mental health resources, wedding favours, Pause for Mind and greetings cards.

A chance find that I read with caution - you're vulnerable and you want sound and good advice. Dr Weekes earned trust by understanding and accurately describing what it's like, then offers her advice in a kind but no nonsense tone: face, accept, float, give it time. You may have heard of CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy), wondered how it works, what it's good for and whether it could help you. Needless to say, I'm glad I still held onto it. I felt like I was able to better understand how to cope with a lot of things that I never knew how best to cope with. There are so many ways to look after your mental health and well-being that I have always had the tendency to overthink it. In the past year, I had been working on a lot of things I know needed working on (i.e. overthinking). Anyhow, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and for what it read as. Largely common sense and parts of it were pretty eye opening. The next time you feel a spasm of fear, instead of shying away from it and trying to forget it or control and prevent it coming, as you have done in the past, I want you to examine it as it sweeps through you and even to describe it to yourself, noting in detail its various component sensations. When you do this, you will find that the wave of fear strikes hardest when it first strikes, and that if you stand your ground and relax, it quietens and disappears. When you have learnt to face fear this way, and see it as no more than a physical feeling, you begin to lose your fear of fear. You step outside a vicious circle. A spasm may come from time to time, but you learn to disregard it. Eventually it means so little that you hardly notice it in passing."

Peer support brings together people who've had similar experiences to support each other. Many people find it helps them to share ideas about how to stay well, connect with others and feel less alone. You could: Peace of mind is possible, even in a frantic world and despite challenges. If you're experiencing emotional turmoil or anxiety, these tips can help… READ MORE One of the reasons for this is that some people find noticing their negative thoughts too intense, and it can make them feel worse. If you try mindfulness and still feel unwell, ask your GP or therapist about other things you could try.

Plus important chapters on depression, sorrow, guilt and disgrace, obsessions, sleeplessness, confidence, loneliness and agoraphobia. To help you find ease, Beachamp recommends dabbing lavender oil on your wrists, putting them up to your nose, and taking three breaths — inhaling through your nose and exhaling out of your mouth. The reason for my high rating is because I found this book to be completely different to any other self help book that I have read in the past. Often these books outline the same sort of processes so you keep being fed the same sort of information but this book seems to have a more relaxed approach to dealing with stress, anxiety and depression...and in some ways a more realistic approach. It teaches you the methods of 'floating' not 'facing', 'accepting' not 'fighting' and 'comfort' not 'conflict'.

I read this book during an anxious period and the simple and effective advice was something that was so easy to implement straight away and although it didn't solve all my problems (obviously), it did help me manage my symptoms of anxiety. My favourite thing, which sounds so silly but is so effective, is to imagine 'floating' when you are anxious about something. So if you're nervous about travelling, you just 'float' there. It sounds ridiculous, but there it is: it helped! She also urges the reader to accept their physical feelings of discomfort. They won't hurt you. You shouldn't try to 'fix' the problem causing them as this usually leads to more rumination and circular thinking which worsens your anxiety. Another piece of her advice was to get out of bed as soon as you wake up, but I'm still working on that one (thanks Reddit). My doctor actually recommended this for me to read and it’s really helped me deal with anxiety and stress. Anxiety is usually a natural response to pressure, feeling afraid or threatened, which can show up in how we feel physically, mentally, and in how we behave.