When Panic Attacks

Book excerpt: The truth is that you can defeat your fears. The author of the four-million-copy bestselling Feeling Good offers 40+ simple, effective CBT-based techniques to overcome every conceivable kind of anxiety—without medication. “Few truly great books on psychotherapy have been published, and this is one of them.”—Albert Ellis, Ph.D., founder of the Albert Ellis Institute and bestselling author of A Guide to Rational Living We all know what it’s like to feel anxious, worried, or panicky. What you may not realize is that these fears are almost never based on reality. When you’re anxious, you’re actually fooling yourself, telling yourself things that simply aren’t true. See if you can recognize yourself in any of these distortions: All-or-Nothing Thinking: “My mind will go blank when I give my presentation at work, and everyone will think I’m an idiot.” Fortune Telling: “I just know I’ll freeze up and blow it when I take my test.” Mind Reading: “Everyone at this party can see how nervous I am.” Magnification: “Flying is so dangerous. I think this plane is going to crash!” Should Statements: “I shouldn’t be so anxious and insecure. Other people don’t feel this way.” Self-Blame: “What’s wrong with me? I’m such a loser!” Mental Filter: “Why can’t I get anything done? My life seems like one long procrastination.” Using techniques from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which focuses on practical, solution-based methods for understanding and overcoming negative thoughts and emotions, When Panic Attacks gives you the ammunition to quickly defeat every conceivable kind of anxiety, such as chronic worrying, shyness, public speaking anxiety, test anxiety, and phobias, without lengthy therapy or prescription drugs. With forty fast-acting techniques that have been shown to be more effective than medications, When Panic Attacks is an indispensable handbook for anyone who’s worried sick and sick of worrying.