Description
Book SynopsisUN-AGORAPHOBIC offers a comprehensive, step-by-step self-help programme for overcoming agoraphobia and panic attacks. Since overcoming his own disorder twenty years ago, Mathew has been leading support groups and recovery programmes for people with agoraphobia. He understands what agoraphobes need and how to deliver it. No one knows exactly what causes agoraphobia or panic attacks, but it clearly involves some misfirings in the brain. The good news is that recent neuroscience research suggests the brain is retrainable - at any age.The basis for any recovery plan for anxiety disorders is a highly structured approach each day. Mathew provides a daily schedule that lays out a clear set of steps and considerations for conquering this affliction, including: · writing every day · cultivating present-moment thinking · taking a new approach to food and eating · choosing a therapist · starting a peer support group · using visualisation techniques specifically designed for overcoming anxiety and panic · taking medications, if appropriate · dealing with children, spouse, parents, friends, colleagues, teachers, bosses and more · taking your first trip out of the house Mathew includes FAQs, general survival tips and a special chapter on tips for spouses and loved ones. UN-AGORAPHOBIC is candid, funny, prescriptive and spot on for panic disorders - by an author with a lot of life experience under his belt.
Trade Review"Using his own experience and what he's learned in support groups and counseling sessions, journalist Mathew sets out to assist victims of agoraphobia overcome their panic attacks and anxiety. After giving basic information about the condition, he proposes a highly structured hour-by-hour plan for each day, which entails journaling, performing relaxation exercises, learning a new skill, and rewiring one's brain. The author's advice on seeking help from therapists and lawyers as well as dealing with partners and bosses rounds out the text. VERDICT: Mathew not only delivers assurance to those suffering from panic attacks and agoraphobia but provides a way through difficult situations." ―Deborah Bigelow, Library Journal
