Reddit reviews Don't Panic Third Edition: Taking Control of Anxiety Attacks (Newest Edition)

No, no, no, I don't think you're just being a hormonal teenager. It is not uncommon for anxiety to first show up in your late teens and early twenties. Mine appeared when I was 19. I overcame debilitating panic. I went from being unable to leave my room for weeks (19), to a firefighter and paramedic (20), graduating undergrad (24), to a fancy gig at Apple (25), and to now law school (26). It can be done!

The following were key to managing my anxiety:

• Mindfulness - even if not straight sitting meditation, cooking, gardening, art can all be mindful.
  
  
• Yoga or any other exercise but I have to say a good cardio-yoga is good
  
  
• Diet - I strongly recommend going vegan!-it's been [shown] (http://planetgreen.discovery.com/food-health/vegetarians-happier-than-meat-eaters.html) to curb anxiety.
  
  
• Sometimes medication. I still take medication, no shame there!
  
  You will want to seriously consider working with a mental health professional you like. You can find therapists here at Psychology Today or here at AADA. Even though I have successfully managed my anxiety, I still 'check in' from time to time with a therapist, it's good.
  
  I also cannot recommend 'Don't Panic' by Reid Wilson more. You will learn all about panic, where it comes from, and how to overcome it. It's the latest, most effective, scientific-based treatment for panic. Make sure you get the new third edition.
  
  If you want a good laugh about your anxiety, which I recommend, check out the comedy of Sara Benincasa, my college RA is now a semi-famous comedian and has a one-woman show about her agoraphobia and a book coming out early next year!
  
  The good news is there is no so much overlap between modern Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Buddhist meditation, they integrate very well. Many Western Buddhist teachers are also mental health professionals that blend the two disciplines, e.g. Jon Kabat-Zinn.

This book was written by an anxiety expert: https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Panic-Third-Control-Anxiety/dp/0061582441

Feeling Good and Don't Panic are both well regarded books that focus on cognitive behavioral therapy.

The author of Feeling Good also made a workbook to help people process their reactions and feelings.

My husband has chronic depression, and highly recommends both.

https://www.amazon.ca/Dont-Panic-Third-Control-Anxiety/dp/0061582441

This is a really good book that helped me.
One of the best strategies I learned to cope with panic attacks was, essentially, “bring it on!” Fear begets fear, and panic attacks will happen when you’re in a state of fear - it’s what our brains have been trained to do. By challenging the panic attack to do it’s worst, your brain will decrease the adrenaline, and instead of amplifying the panic, you’ll start to relax instead.

Outside of seeing a therapist I've found that meditation and exercise are the best ways to deal with lowering my overall anxiety level. Several years ago I had a significant bout of anxiety and panic attacks that were pretty debilitating. I ended up seeing a therapist who specialized in anxiety disorders (I've dealt with panic attacks nearly my entire adult life). He introduced me to simple meditation and breathing exercises that really worked in reducing my overall baseline anxiety levels.

The meditation exercises allowed me to better cope with periods of new stress simply because my overall anxiety level was now starting at a lower position whenever new stress/worry showed up. If my overall anxiety level was hovering around a 7 out of 10 and some new stress showed up it was easy for it to go right to a 10 out or 10. With the meditation exercises it brought my overall level down to around a 4 out of 10. When new stress showed up I would still experience worry and anxiety but it wouldn't send me over the edge into panic attacks and the cycle of worry that would keep me amped up for weeks on end.

There are a couple of good books dealing with this. The Relaxation Response and Don't Panic that were really helpful.

If you choose to see a therapist (something I've found very helpful multiple times throughout my life) look for one specializing in anxiety disorders and cognitive behavioral therapy. They can help you reframe the way you think about anxiety and stress and help provide new coping mechanisms.

The meditation routine is like a discipline. You have to keep it up in order for it to work. I've gotten out of the habit of doing it (like right now) several times only to pick it back up again when I realized I was getting myself into a bad place.

Hope this is helpful. Good luck!

It sounds like your body is having a fight or flight response. A few suggestions.

• You might want to check out the book Don't Panic: Taking Control of Anxiety Attacks or something like it
  
  
• Maybe try mindfulness meditation
  
  
• High intensity interval training. In between sets, try to calm your breath using the techniques I mentioned in the first post. That will get your body used to stress and recovery and will train you to use breathing to calm the nerves
  
  
• Also, you might want to try some pranayama breathing exercises
  
  
• Lastly, you may want to join a social anxiety group therapy program. I'm joining one next month, Ill let you know how it goes

Do you mind self-help books? Because this one has been on my shelf for a while and it's quite helpful.

Don't Panic Third Edition: Taking Control of Anxiety Attacks, by Reid Wilson, PhD.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0061582441/

Wilson is Director of The Anxiety Disorders Treatment Center, Chapel Hill and Durham, North Carolina.

The book has helped me a lot. Besides the exercises, or self-interventions, it was also quite heartening to read some of the case studies, as they read just like my life. If you'd changed the names, some of the cases described me perfectly. That made me feel better because I knew I wasn't alone. Others were feeling exactly what I was.

If you're concerned about giving the author money, buy it used. There are some for less than three dollars.

Reading novels is also good. One thing a therapist told me is that it's very helpful to distract yourself from your problems sometimes. It's wearying to just be with them all day long.

Good luck and good health.

Diligently work through Reid Wilson's short book Don't Panic Third Edition: Taking Control of Anxiety Attacks. You will likely learn to minimize the severity of panic attacks. Having a tranquillizer available to put under your tongue will minimize worries that feed anxiety.

Copy-paste form my previous thread so it doesn’t go missing:

Here are some resources that I think are essential reads for anyone suffering from ROCD and/or depression

ROCD: Relationship OCD and the Myth of "The One" - Great writeup written by therapists who are specialized in treating ROCD

Love You, Love You Not - Excellent ROCD 101 short book targeted towards people who have ROCD. It's very insightful as it is written by someone who has dealt with it and learned to successfully manage it. I just re-read it recently while going through a relapse, and it punched me with even more power than the first time

Imp of the Mind - Although it does not talk about ROCD specifically, it is all about Pure O. It helped me to look at ROCD and other intrusive thoughts in my head from another perspective. Some of the cases in the book are bizarre and funny, which made me feel like i don't have it so bad

Brain Lock - This should be part of anyone's OCD treatment swiss-army knife!

The Noonday Demon - If you struggle with major depression, as I do, this is dense but an incredible read. The author has a TED talk that is really good: Depression: The Secret We Share

Don't Panic - This one borders more on self-help books, which I kinda don't like, but a must-read if you struggle with panic disorder

[Dr. Reid Wilson] (http://www.anxieties.com). He's in Chapel Hill. One of the most respected specialists in the US. He's written several books including [Don't Panic] (http://www.amazon.com/dp/0061582441/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_lf1qtb0MFAGQR).