Reddit reviews Panic Attacks Workbook: A Guided Program for Beating the Panic Trick

I can actually relate because I have panic disorder with agoraphobia, and it sucks very very much. But I think it is actually important to work on self esteem because it relates very strongly to your anxiety. I don't have social anxiety either but I am very aware that my emotional state is closely linked with how I feel with my anxiety. If you take the time to work on your self esteem in conjunction (I know it takes a LOT of time and emotional energy to work through anxiety, believe me) with the work you're doing for your anxiety, you will actually make more progress in overcoming the anxiety itself. The human brain is a strange thing, but this is what I have found over 4 years of dealing with this disorder. Best of luck.

Also, here are some resources you can check out if you wish to make further progress with the disorder:

http://www.amazon.com/Panic-Attacks-Workbook-Program-Beating/dp/1569754152

^ This book was extremely helpful to me, and opened my eyes to a lot that I couldn't see clearly.

http://www.paniccure.com/Default.htm

^ This website and the guy who runs it are very encouraging and helpful. I do sessions with him over Skype and the program has REALLY helped me.

I recommend you this book.

http://www.amazon.com/Panic-Attacks-Workbook-Program-Beating/dp/1569754152/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1345155982&sr=1-6&keywords=anxiety+workbook

Are you me? Your experience is pretty much the exact same as mine. I was fine and normal before a panic attack came at me out of the blue in October, with the nausea, dizziness, and depersonalization. It lasted about a week before I went to the doctor and got some meds.

I also got a workbook, which I love, http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1569754152/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1453743756&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=panic+attacks+workbook&dpPl=1&dpID=51ZmPSuGZ7L&ref=plSrch

Additionally, I started running too!

I'm probably gonna pm you, hope you don't mind but I've never so closely related to someone else's experience.

One of the big things about exposure is that it doesn’t work if you just go out, and then leave the situation you fear while you’re still anxious. That way it just reinforces why you don’t like to go to those places. However it works extremely well when you stay in the situation until you’re anxiety has completely passed or decreased significantly. Everyone is different, and everyone’s methods for calming down are different, which is why it’s important to speak to a professional and create a proper plan for your exposure, and develop the bag of tools you’ll need for it to be effective.

I’ve been listening to an audio book called Panic Attacks Workbook: A Guided Program for Beating the Panic Trick, by David Carbonell. I haven’t finished the book but I’ve been listening to a chapter per day and it’s made a huge difference already. It’s taught me a lot about the ins and outs of panic disorder and agoraphobia, and maybe you could find some benefit from it. I don’t have the resources currently to see a solid psychologist so I’ve had to resort to this but it’s been working well so far. I’ll link where you can get it if you want to check it out. Again I haven’t finished it so I can’t vouch entirely for its effectiveness, but it’s inexpensive and so far has been a great help to me. Might be able to give you some tools for when you do your own exposure as well.

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/1569754152/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Nzg6BbPWV435A

You can look online for literature that may help you in beating the anxiety you're having. The simple answer is you'll have to walk into class one day, sit down, and take an exam. You and I both know it's terribly harder than it sounds though. This is the book I use https://www.amazon.com/Panic-Attacks-Workbook-Program-Beating/dp/1569754152. It's a therapeutic approach towards a non-medicated rehabilitation to anxiety inducing environments. The author is great and he writes the book as if you're sitting in the office with him. This is the best source I have for you but I hope you'll find somebody in your life that's supportive in your endeavors!

This is part 2 of the other reply. I separated it because the other was getting long and this will have a different flavor to it anyway. I'm trying to collect resources here that will act as the best substitute for what you will get in therapy that you can start using to make a difference now. I'm no expert of course, but I've been down a few of the same roads before and I at least know part of what they will tell you in advance :)

> Well I am extremely panicky about going downstairs as I really don't know my grandparents well. Also they don't like the food I cook (strong spices) so they make little comments. Also, I have a fear I have always had, of eating in front of people. Plus I can't stand eating noises. I can get food no problem, I always try to have some carrots and fruit in my room along with some bread, but it's not really a replacement for a home cooked meal. I also (irrationally) fear people judging me if I buy something.

These are the areas in addition to the anorexia where therapy will be the most beneficial. There are a few main things that therapy will provide for you, and some of them you don't have to wait for a professional to tell you to start getting benefits. The first thing you get in therapy is patient education. In your case, "What is anxiety, how often and in what ways does it affect people, and what treatments or strategies tend to be effective for managing this?", and "What is anorexia, how often and in what ways does it affect people, and what treatments or strategies tend to be effective for managing this?". It's dangerous to assume that just because you are personally experiencing these phenomena that you know the answers to these questions... In my case, my biggest struggle has been with depression, and even well into my treatment in professional therapy, I didn't understand that "feeling sad" wasn't even a necessary component of depression, and that really held me back for a long time from understanding/believing that depression was truly what I was going through.

To this end, I've gone and done some basic searching to find the reading that I would do if I were in your shoes. These are by no means the only or best resources, but given that I know very little about eating disorders, the random google search will tend to be far more practical and informative than it will be misleading:

http://www.recoveryranch.com/articles/eating-disorders/eating-disorder-your-life/

http://www.womenshealth.gov/publications/our-publications/fact-sheet/anorexia-nervosa.html

http://psychcentral.com/disorders/eating_disorders/

The second main thing that therapy will help you do is to learn how you interact with the world, and how your mind processes information it receives. In particular, most of these processes are invisible to us if we don't really slow down and learn to recognize the signs, and there are ways that they can go wrong, so that the information that reaches our conscious mind has been severely distorted as compared to objective reality. I want to emphasize here that there is no magic to therapy... it's pretty common in today's society to have this mental image of going into therapy and talking about your problems for an hour and then somehow the fact that you told all of this to a stranger suddenly makes you feel better. If that were the case I would tend to suspect such a person wasn't really in that much need of therapy in the first place. In my experience, the biggest gains from therapy come out of the work you do every day between sessions to change your mental state and environment. The professional guidance is important and useful to figure out where to focus your limited resources to have the most beneficial impact, and to help you understand what is and isn't genuine progress so that you don't fall prey to the traps of your own thinking, but the hard work is really done by you.

With that in mind, I think you might find some benefit from a good self-help workbook or two. The workbook aspect is key here, because a lot of the relief will come by actually doing the exercises recommended by the workbook, and answering the questions thoughtfully and learning about yourself during that self-reflection. These are the same things that therapy will generally ask you to do (although much more personalized and with other complicating factors taken into account), and I think you could expect at least some initial benefit. It will also help make the therapy sessions more productive once you are able to get to them, since you have some idea of what you are already trying to do, and the therapist will be able to help you understand the finer points more readily than if you are going in blind.

For anxiety and panic, the following two workbooks both come recommended by my therapist and my wife's (she also has panic attacks, though not as frequently now as before):

http://www.amazon.com/Anxiety-Phobia-Workbook-Edmund-Bourne/dp/1572248912

http://www.amazon.com/Panic-Attacks-Workbook-Program-Beating/dp/1569754152/

For the eating disorder, I suspect that something similar would be a good idea, but I unfortunately don't have any direct experience with this so I can't make any informed recommendations. The first book below is the most applicable that I can find that has reasonable reviews (although not as many as I would generally prefer), and the second is the most highly reviewed book that I can find about the relationship between food and emotions in general, but I think it tends to focus on overeating to avoid other emotional problems rather than a food disorder itself. This still could be helpful though because the relationship between food and emotions is always complicated, and a better understanding of this might help alleviate the fears you describe about weight gain and such.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Body-Image-Workbook-Eight-Step/dp/1572245468/

http://www.amazon.com/The-Food-Feelings-Workbook-Emotional/dp/0936077204/

That's a lot for now, I'll stop here and wait to see what you think of all this :)

It sounds like panic attacks, but that's really hard for any of us to determine. If the doctors who are evaluating you conclude that it's anxiety, then you should believe them. Remember that anxiety itself is a bunch of fearful unrealistic thoughts, so if you're feeling anxious, you're going to be more inclined to see something negative (like a physical illness) where there is none. Now is a good time to trust the doctors' assessment.

(By the way, panic attacks coming seemingly out of nowhere is common, and nothing to feel unusual about. They tend to happen when people go through a lot of change and become independent from their parents.)

You mentioned you were fearful of having another panic attack. It may help you to know that anxiety and its symptoms are not dangerous, even though they seem that way. It feels like you're in danger, but you're not. Shallow breathing, muscle tension, feeling flush: In reality, it's just uncomfortable -- sometimes pretty uncomfortable. But the more you let that discomfort steer your behavior (e.g., by avoiding situations that seem to provoke anxiety), the stronger the anxiety actually gets.

My advice is to go see a mental health professional, especially someone who does cognitive behavioral therapy, as soon as you can. Don't let this anxiety build and build and build. Right now, you don't have the skills to respond appropriately to the anxiety, so you want to start building those skills as soon as you can. You can always address the anxiety, but you'll save yourself a lot of discomfort if you start sooner rather than later.

Here's some helpful reading:

Panic Attacks Workbook: A Guided Program for Beating the Panic Trick

I've had panic attacks since I was a young child (before anyone even knew what they were enough to diagnose me). Having a compulsive personality and self medicating are something many of those suffering with panic disorder deal with. See a cognitive behavioral specialist; if you can't make it to one, seriously buy this book (and buy it anyway even if you do go): http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1569754152/ref=redir_mdp_mobile?pc_redir=T1

Helped me out of some rough moments in my life and I bet it will do the same for you. PM me if you need a buddy - happy to converse here, talk on the phone if needed, etc.

I am currently working through my own panic disorder. This book has been really helpful.

http://www.amazon.com/Panic-Attacks-Workbook-Program-Beating/dp/1569754152

*There are a lot of things to try some important ones are belly breathing, accepting the fear (i.e. don't fight against it, ride the waves) and

>we're worried that she could actually die from her fear of death.

This is not true. It sure feels that way but it just doesn't happen. When I am in panic i usually feel like I am going to throw up/pass out/die but I never have. Also she should remember that panic attacks always end. ALWAYS.

Not therapy, but know someone who had great success with this book (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Panic-Attacks-Workbook-David-Carbonell/dp/1569754152). It's like a workbook so takes you a few weeks to work through and I think it works like CBT but not sure exactly. Just thought I would mention incase it helps.

https://www.amazon.com/Panic-Attacks-Workbook-Program-Beating/dp/1569754152/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=david+carbonell&qid=1571166746&sr=8-1

"Panic Attacks Workbook: A Guided Program for Beating the Panic Trick" by Dr. David Carbonell

Step by step, it's pretty much the cognitive retraining that I went through to get out of an acute Panic Disorder.

My personal advice- stay away from SSRI's & Benzo's if you are having panic attacks. I'm not saying that they won't work, they probably will... the issue is that you won't actually get rid of the disorder and you risk becoming dependent on medication. Panic is completely treatable through CBT. If it didn't work for you, you weren't doing it right.

The sad truth with the medical system is that few know how to truly treat this disorder. Too many people try to treat the symptoms, not the problem. The best book on the subject, without question, is this-
https://www.amazon.com/Panic-Attacks-Workbook-Program-Beating/dp/1569754152

If you are serious about your recovery, buy this book and work through it slowly. Read the chapters twice, absorb it. By the end, panic will no longer control your life. Sorry about the rant, I get so frustrated with the system and seeing it fail people like you. You can do it. Stay strong.

This is beatable.

Coping classes and group work is actually a really good idea WHEN YOU'RE READY.

If you're not ready for that yet, there are many workbooks you can get that will help you work through your thoughts and help you cope in a long term way. I would say therapy and the correct medication, (if that's something you are willing to try) is the #1 best option. However, if you don't have access to those, these workbooks can at least get you to start processing the panic.

I like this one

I've also tried this one

I'd definitely try and see a professional in person, I'm sure there are some in your area who'd be willing to make time to see you. Something like this might also be helpful in the meantime or if you have trouble finding someone. Sending good vibes your way, I know how much of a bitch anxiety/panic can be. You got this, though, normal will find you again. :)

Do you have any benzodiazepines? Pretreating with clonazepam before you go to be could prevent symptoms when you wake up. It will make you groggy, though (the price you have to pay.)

Seeing a therapist is definitely a good idea. [This book] (http://www.amazon.com/Panic-Attacks-Workbook-Program-Beating/dp/1569754152/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1372277744&sr=8-1&keywords=panic+attacks+workbook) helped me a lot with my panic so you could also try that.

For what it's worth this book helped me with panic attacks a lot in general