Anxiety: Panicking about Panic: A powerful, self-help guide for those suffering from an Anxiety or Panic Disorder (Panic Attacks, Panic Attack Book)

I’ve suffered with anxiety most of my adult life and in recent years have managed to cope with it extremely well. After a period of sustained stress, I recently succumbed to a panic attack, out of the blue, which left me reeling and crumbling (again). I needed someone to guide my thinking rationally and I was optimistic Joshua would be able to do that (as an anxiety sufferer himself and now psychotherapist). His writing is just what I needed to restore rational thinking and the book is easy to read over an afternoon. It calmly explains the what’s and why’s etc of anxiety and draws upon his own experiences to support the reader. He is believable and doesn’t write in an academic way, which instantly brought me calm and comfort. Joshua is empathetic and relatable. I know the science of anxiety, but I needed Joshua to remind me and reinforce what I must do to help myself. By the end of reading this book (over four hours in one sitting) I genuinely felt relieved and more optimistic. If you suffer from anxiety, this is a very good start to helping yourself.

This is an eye-opening and deeply reassuring read from Anxiety Josh. Even as someone who has lived with anxiety for many years and who has had therapy and read countless books on the subject, I found my perspective shifting in meaningful ways. Anxiety Josh offers clarity, compassion, and practical insight that genuinely help break the cycle of fear. I’m firmly confident this book will play a significant role in my recovery, and I would recommend it to anyone seeking lasting change.

I am one of the lucky ones, although I do suffer anxiety it is not on the level that others' suffer it. However I have had frequent palpitations, breathlessness and a 'heavy chest' which seemed to be getting worse. Reading this book has almost eradicated the symptoms. I honestly thought a heart-attack was inevitable and wouldn't be too far away! This book has really helped me understand what anxiety actually is and how much it affects us physiologically which has made all the difference to my day. I don't believe in medicating conditions such as anxiety, it needs to be tackled head-on with a better understanding of what it is you're going through so I am one of those who wouldn't really visit a GP as I'd be worried that their solution would be drugs. I feel lucky to have found this book online, it's changed my life a lot. Thank you to the author for sharing his knowledge and his personal journey.

I like to reassure myself with books like these as I continue to recover, because recovery can be a very up-and-down affair and you need to ensure you don't fall back into old patterns of negative thoughts and worrying. On a bad day, you need to remain faithful, knowing that you're doing the right thing. It took me a long time to reach a point where I realised other self-help books (like 'The Secret' and books by Louise Hay/Paul Mckenna) and health supplements weren't getting me anywhere. This book is very similar to Paul David's 'At Last A Life', but is more condensed and better edited. If you read this and enjoy it, but want further books for your arsenal, I recommend the book by Paul David, but also look into the author Claire Weekes, and a book called 'A Life Less Anxious' by some other fella. There's a great podcast (free on iTunes) called 'The Anxiety Coaches Podcast' also. What you will notice with these resources is that recovery is always the same. Some people will tell you they are cured of anxiety because of Sertraline or some other drug. For me, going on medication is not the answer and only leads to dependence (and some not so nice side effects). What you need, as an anxiety sufferer, is reassurance that what you're feeling isn't something terrible. That you aren't losing your mind and that there isn't some underlying health problem. That you aren't dying. The first step in overcoming anxiety is understanding it. With understanding, fear is removed because you start to recognise that what you're feeling really is just anxiety and an exhausted mind. You should expect to feel anxious, given your history, and it would be unrealistic to expect it to vanish overnight. The worst thing you could do is go to bed praying you wake up feeling differently. That'll never happen, I'm afraid. However, once you believe recovery is possible, you can relax a bit - even on the bad days - because you know you'll get there. It's so important to rest and have fun again, like you did before these issues. But in order to do that, you need to recognise that there is no secret cure. You need to know that you cannot think yourself out of anxiety. Like Josh (the author) states, trying to think your way out of anxiety only makes the struggle harder and longer. Trust me - I'm 25 and I started to get anxiety when I was 15 (acne and a drug called Roaccutane contributed to it largely, but I was always a nervous kid really). After all these years, I tried SO HARD to beat anxiety and it's only the last year or so that I've made some progress. And this is largely down to the books I've mentioned above, which present ideas like these. The only way out of anxiety is to let go of resistance and to accept where you are, trusting that this is the answer. Once the fear is removed, your mind and body have a chance to rest fully and that's where healing can take place. So, if you've had anxiety for years, it doesn't matter. You could have anxiety your whole life if you don't recognise the underlying problem. But your search can finally end, because the answer is within you (does that sound a bit cliche?) If you want to check out some of my YouTube videos, search 'Stefan Alex Lay' [My channel will show up under the name 'You Only Live Once']. I say this so that you can see someone who has been through what you're going through and is making progress at long last. I'm a real person like you and you should relax now, knowing that your journey to recovery begins here. To summarise, I want to offer you a little further hope. Before understanding anxiety and dealing with it better, I was signed off work twice (a few weeks at a time) and I felt afraid to leave the house. The thought of getting a bus into the city was overwhelming, as was entering a supermarket full of people. I couldn't sit at a park bench without feeling like everyone was looking at me (social anxiety) and I went to London to see two of my favourite musicians (Charlie Simpson & Blink 182) but was so worn out by anxiety, that I barely enjoyed myself. That was a year ago. Now, I'm able to get the bus to work every day without a worry. I sometimes enjoy sitting on the bus and reading. Other times, it's just a chore because they're slow as hell. I sit in a busy park most lunch times, in order to get away from the office for a while. Again, I enjoy myself. I went to London a couple of weeks ago (to watch live X-Factor Auditions) and had a really great day. I'm getting out more and achieving more (like facing my fears, by going to Go Ape - I was afraid of heights). It's not all sunshine and daisies though. I still do have some rubbish days where I get fed up and feel trapped in the wrong career, or have a day where I feel really anxious again (and want to hide away from the World). But the difference is, those days are much less frequent and when I have them I just do my best to accept that I feel like poop. I don't try to find 'THE ARTICLE OF ALL ARTICLES' to cure me. I just think 'Well, today sucks but there's not much I can do about it. I can't wait to get home so I can lay in bed and relax'. I still have a distance to go, but I really hope this review offers you the reassurance you crave. - Stefan

This is my first ever review for a product on Amazon, it’s just not something I usually do, but I feel compelled to do one for this book, simply because if you are someone like me, this book is needed. I am currently 7/8 months deep into what’s been possibly the scariest and most awful period of my life. I seemingly out of the blue suffered a panic attack in work and the spiral I fell into has been relentless ever since. I’ll spare any more detail, but if you suffer from Anxiety or Panic attacks, then you know exactly the fear I’m referring to, and the day to say symptoms that you experience. This book, if nothing else, gives understanding and content at a time where that has felt impossible to come by. Anxiety has become somewhat of a vicious circle for me, constantly trying to assess what’s wrong, and constantly attributing my experiences to a wide array of different ailments. When you’re dealing with this it’s easy to convince yourself that no one knows what it’s like and that your situation is unique and dangerous, THIS IS NOT TRUE. This book alleviates a lot of these thoughts, as I read it, I find myself smirking, because time after time, things that I do and think and happen to me, are described, and things I fear on a daily basis are painted in the light they actually sit in. One thing I think all Anxious people strive for, is reassurance, the problem with Anxiety is, it’s not tangible, it creeps up on you at a sub conscious level, and so when it manifests itself with the physical symptoms (that unless you have experienced you will not understand or attribute to anxiety) you panic that something serious is wrong with you. I feel like everyone who suffers with Anxiety simply wants a concrete explanation of what’s occurring, why it’s occurring, and what to do to help stop it, but this is hard to come by from people who don’t have a full understanding of what you are going through. “Just relax, don’t overthink, stop worrying, chill out, who cares what people think” all spring to mind as pieces of careless advice from people, but they don’t understand the day to day torment you are going through. This book helps, this book offers a lot of reassurance, and you know the author has experienced Anxiety, because I find that the book describes my situation absolutely perfectly. If you are suffering at the moment, do not hesitate to buy this book, I am not out of the situation yet, and it won’t happen over night, but I feel like I am on my way, and this book has certainly been an antagonist for that.

I doubt anything is a powerful as the initial panic or situation that caused the trauma and/or depersonaization, however it is good that more is being written about the latter two and as attached to anxiety too. When just suffer with these things or get little resonse when we try to talk to doctors. People use the word 'anxious' and consider it means little to them or others. However anxiety causes, depression, panic attacks and depersonalization. All are horrible and each one gets worse and the latter is little known at all. It means you feel as if you are out of this world, that something strange has happened, you are not real, you are terrified, you think something awful is going to happen to you and you certainly don't know what to say to people and know you are going to die or go mad. None of these things will happen but the body reacts as if it will. This took explains what it is, how to deal with it and that you are not mad. It gives insight into something those and other did not understand. This give understanding. CBT is used with most of this type of thing and EMDR a lot in America but rarely spoken in the UK, but you will learn to understand what all these short forms are and that you are normal, can live normally and learn who to go to when the medical professional look at you blankly.

This book by far has got to be one of the most helpful books , it is just as good as the book i have read called " At last a life by paul david " I must say that joshua fletcher has a great way of explaining what is happening to our bodies during these scary times , This book is a must have to read and refer back on as it makes u see sense of what causes things and makes u feel that you are not losing your mind as we feel we are.. it is just our nerves being pumped to the max with adrenalin . this chemical is sent out from the brain thinking you are in danger ; this book teaches u that as simple as a thought or maybe a memory , or an emotion distress,s you but rather than your brain just being a good ole brain and thinking oh thats just a thought or a feeling an emotion.. it goes completely bonkers and think right theres threat theres danger . quick pump and fire loads of andrenalin through the blood so u can escape ."" even though u dont need to escape.. you then feel the panick here it comes.""" get me out of here omg whats happening to me""" brain now fires out more of that chemical as ur now panicking about the panicky feeling your feeling.;;;; great book and hopefully my brain gets tired of misleading me down the ohhhh your in danger rubbish and rather than fight or flight i just tell myslef Hay whats there to be scared of its anxiaty my brain is doing its job... just working over time and its not paying off.... i need a god damm pay rise from all this work .. : )

I found this book whilst searching for help with understanding what my close friend endures living with Anxiety. Although not a sufferer myself, with the help of the diverse chapters, I could quickly flick to the appropriate pages, bringing me to an understanding of what was happening to my friend as they shut themselves away. I've been told before what my friend is experiencing, but this book expands on my knowledge from what my friend felt comfortable telling me and I feel like I am more prepared and confident to offer help. It's a subject that is often ignored and books like this only help to remove the stigma associated with Panic attacks and those that suffer with Anxiety. This book would be invaluable to a new sufferer who maybe doesn't have a comprehensive understanding about what they are experiencing and in my case if the sufferer is young and new to dealing with Anxiety issues. As an outsider looking in, it really helped me grasp what my friend is perhaps too embarrassed to talk to me about and by using this book as an aid, I really feel I can be more of a help and not just remain quiet and helpless, ignoring my friends issues because I felt before that I couldn't understand. The affable author writes in an understanding way and "Part 4" has a really helpful emergency help page that offers a calming approach to dealing with a possible attack, before and in the early stages. Having it easily accessible on my phone at all times is a bonus too. A great little book that has given me a coherent introduction to Anxiety and all that is associated with it.

Book is very helpful for people experiencing anxiety. Do give it a try Accept everything The book will help you understand your anxiety

“Anxiety: Panicking About Panic” is a book for those of us who suffer from anxiety and even panic attacks. It’s split into three parts – Part 1 outlines the typical symptoms of anxiety and helps the reader acknowledge their problems; Part 2 explains the causes and effects of the symptoms, and Part 3 is the part that gives advice on how to cope with and defeat anxiety. The book concludes with the author’s personal journey of battling anxiety. The first thing I’d like to say is that I truly wish I had known about this book during and after law school – it would certainly have saved me a lot of time spent in the counsellor’s office! Panic attacks and anxiety are terrible things that are quite common and are, unfortunately, rarely talked about and acknowledged. As the author correctly points out, if not dealt with, anxiety can easily lead to depression which is a very horrible illness and shouldn’t happen to anyone. The advice the book gives is most certainly helpful and applicable to many people who don’t understand what is happening to their mind and body. The book provides a comprehensive list of most common physical and psychological symptoms of anxiety, most of which I easily recognised from my years of struggling with G.A.D. The overwhelming symptoms are very difficult to bear, especially if you don’t know what and why they are occurring. Luckily, “Anxiety: Panicking about Panic” helpfully addresses the what and the why of anxiety symptoms and provides the do’s and the don’ts of dealing with the issues. It doesn’t oversimplify the problem, nor does it make it into something intimidating and scary that requires immense strength and immediate medical intervention. Instead, it provides a very helpful guide to acknowledging the problems and working through them, using the author’s own experiences. Panic attacks aren’t glossed over either – an explanation of what they are and why they are not to be feared is provided, together with some very helpful ways of dealing with them. One of the most helpful things in this book is the author’s explanation of the “loop” – the catch-22 situation that occurs when an anxiety sufferer begins to feel anxious and panicky about being anxious and panicky and about everything that comes with it. While reading that part, I felt as though I was reading about myself – I was (and to an extent, still am) that person who immediately starts researching everything that could be wrong with me when something feels wrong, and it inevitably lead to being trapped in a vicious circle of anxiety. The author clearly and succinctly explains why it is a terrible idea to do so and ways to avoid it, using both text and graphs. The “loop” is a very easy and a dangerous trap to fall into, but it can be avoided if one has a book like “Anxiety: Panicking about Panic” close by. I would definitely recommend this book – in this day and age, there are many causes for anxiety and few well-known ways of working through it. I believe, therefore, that it would be quite helpful to most people.

There's not much to say... if you suffer from anxiety and/or panic disorder, you can't do any better than with this book.

As a sufferer of severe social anxiety for more than three years, 'Anxiety: Panicking about Panic', has left me feeling as though I can conquer this issue that has engulfed almost every aspect of my life. The author goes into great depth providing information on what anxiety is, and its very many symptoms as well as mentioning the number of different anxiety disorders that are out there. I have found Joshua Fletcher’s Anxiety Scoring Method to be extremely helpful in identifying and managing my anxiety levels. Anxiety is a very difficult thing to comprehend until you have experienced it first-hand and the author’s knowledge based on his own experiences is what makes this book so relatable. The thing I will most take from this book is that I now have the tools to no longer let fear dictate my life.

Nothing beats a book like this written by someone who has walked the talk. Strongly recommend it.