Overcoming
PANIC
ANXIETY
&
PHOBIAS

New Strategies to Free Yourself
from Worry and Fear
Shirley Babior, LCSW, MFCC
Carol Goldman, LICSW


Panic attacks are terrifying experiences that seem to strike suddenly and from nowhere! The sensations can be so extreme that you think your life is in danger, the feelings so painful that you dread, maybe more than anything else, having them happen again. You may find yourself on guard every waking moment, scanning situations for danger so you won't be caught by another surprise attack. The idea of being trapped by these paralyzing, painful fears is almost too much to handle. Are you dying? Or worse yet, are you crazy? Who can you confide in? What on earth can you do? Are you the only one who feels this way?

If you suffer from unexpected panic attacks, you know how devastating they are in your life, but you may not be aware that they impair the quality of life for millions of other sufferers -- you are not alone. Fortunately, because this problem is now being addressed openly, embarrassment and shame need no longer keep people from seeking help.

As frightening as your symptoms and experiences are -- and as unlikely as it may seem to you at the moment -- you can get better. You can learn to manage these feelings. it will take work, and it will take courage on your part, but using the suggestions in this book, you, like thousands of others, can recover. At the end of each chapter, you will find stories of real people who made successful recoveries from anxiety problems as bad or even worse than yours.

Your symptoms may be different than those in these stories, but they can be just as distressing. Many people who suffer from stress and worry do not experience panic attacks. If this is true of you, instead of the acute, overpowering fear associated with panic, you may be chronically anxious, continually worrying about the future events -- including the possibility that you might be even more anxious later than you are now!

Many people struggle every day with panic and anxiety, but others face their terror only in specific situations. If you fear flying, public speaking, or small enclosed places, you may be able to function quite well when not confronted with those situations. If you have a specific phobia, however, you may find that it restricts your freedom and lowers your self-esteem....

If you do not have one of these specific disorders but are experiencing a lot of stress and tension, read this book for general stress management. You will gain a variety of coping skills which can be used whenever pressure increases beyond what is comfortable and healthy for you.

[from the softbound edition]
Babior and Goldman, Overcoming Panic, Anxiety and Phobias

About the Author
Shirley Babior, LCSW, MFCC, is a therapist in private practice in San Diego, California, where she is Director of the Center for Anxiety and Stress Treatment. She specializes in treating anxiety disorders, in groups and individually. As a Certified Employee Assistance Professional, Shirley provides services to employees suffering from anxiety and stress in the workplace. She has lectured in the treatment of anxiety disorders at numerous professional meetings and adult education workshops. Shirley is a former regional governor of the Phobia Society of America and board member of the Society of Behavioral Medicine.

Carol Goldman, LICSW, was director of Behavior Associates from 1977 to 1989. She is a founding director of the Boston Institute of Cognitive-Behavior Therapies, a training program for mental health professionals. As the past president of the Greater Boston Phobia Society, Carol worked with professionals and anxiety sufferers to increase public awareness about anxiety disorders. Carol is currently in private practice in Boston, Massachusetts. She specializes in cognitive-behavior therapy, family systems, and couples therapy, and provides training to professionals on brief treatment and managed care.

[from the softbound edition]

Table of Contents
Introduction   x

How to Cope with Panic, Anxiety, and Phobias
Strategies to free yourself from worry and fear   1

Practicing New Ways to Relax
Techniques for reducing the physical symptoms of anxiety  29

Cognitive Techniques for Overcoming Anxiety
Thinking your way to recovery  47

Learning to Face Situations I Fear
Exposure techniques for overcoming avoidance  75

Why Am I Having Panic Attacks Again?
How to manage setbacks 107

How Family and Friends Can Help
Do's and don'ts for those who care 117

Appendix
More information and materials to support your recovery 123

Worksheets
133

[from the softbound edition]


Reviews
"Shirley Babior and Carol Goldman have written a terrific handbook to help the many millions of people who suffer from panic and other anxiety disorders. Their approach is sound and effective."

--C. Barr Taylor, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry,
Directory of the Anxiety Disorders Clinic,
Stanford University School of Medicine

"My number one resource for symptom reduction; comprehensive yet succinct, an invaluable daily reference for long-term recovery from all anxiety disorders."

--Julie Britz, M.S.W.
Psychotherapist
Harvard Community Health Plan

"Most patients with anxiety disorders are treated by primary care physicians, not psychotherapists. At last here is an excellent book we can recommend to reinforce therapy and help patients help themselves."

--Maurice Martin, M.D.
Clinical Instructor
Harvard Medical School

"Babior and Goldman have written a book that is quite valuable for the very many patients who ask the treating physician for guidance in contributing to their own treatment. This book has no jargon, advances no theoretical claims, avoids the usual disparaging remarks about medical treatments, and makes no unrealistic promises. This book will certainly help the very many patients who want to take an active role in their own treatment."

--Rodrigo A. Muñoz, M.D., F.A.P.A.
Vice-President American Psychiatric Association
Clinical Professor of Psychiatry,
University of California, San Diego

"Overcoming Panic, Anxiety & Phobias is the perfect little handbook for the anxiety sufferer. It's basic, simple and state of the art."

--Cyma Siegel, R.N.
Editor-in-chief, Publisher
The National Panic/Anxiety Disorder Newsletter

"This book is a great resource. It was comforting to find out I was not alone, and that there are practical solutions to rid myself of unnecessary fear. I plan to give copies to friends and coworkers suffering from similar problems. This book is a must first step to regaining control of your life."

--Dominick J.
San Diego, California

"Babior and Goldman's book, Overcoming Panic, Anxiety, & Phobias, explains plainly and in clear English how to understand and deal with these disorders. It encourages patients to look at their disorders in hopeful terms and gives them practical strategies. This is truly a remarkable self-help book."

--Joel L. Becker, Ph.D.
Associate Clinical Professor
Department of Psychology, UCLA
Instructor, Department of Psychiatry
UCLA Medical Center

[from the softbound edition]
Read more reviews of this book on the
Amazon.com website:
Overcoming Panic, Anxiety and Phobias:
New Strategies to Free Yourself from Worry and Fear

Overcoming Panic, Anxiety and Phobias on Amazon.com


Excerpts
Every anxiety disorder involves negative thoughts: beliefs that something worrisome will happen to you or to others. The nature of these beliefs varies depending on your anxiety problem. For instance, if you have a panic disorder, you may fear dying or losing control. If you have a social phobia, you may fear behaving with others in a way that humiliates you. If you suffer from a generalized anxiety disorder you may be convinced that a disaster will occur to you or to your family or friends. Life feels out of your control.

In these anxiety situations, the persistent belief that something dangerous will happen increases the uncomfortable physical sensations in your body and the anxious thoughts in your mind. In the face of increasing distress, you may attempt to deal with your fear in one of several ways. You may try to:
  • avoid thinking about whatever your fear,
  • distract yourself from it, or
  • focus on your thoughts of impending danger in hopes of averting disaster.
Unfortunately, these attempts to evade the problem and ignore the fear are often unsuccessful.

In an attempt to prevent whatever you fear from occurring, you may avoid situations that seem risky. Once this avoidance takes over and becomes a pattern, you can end up feeling like you're living in a straitjacket, unable to do many of the things others can do. In addition, panicky and phobic feelings give rise to an instinct to flee the immediate situation. This can lead to a hasty departure! If you feel less anxious when you escape, you strengthen your impulse to flee the next time you are in a scary situation.

These responses can actually make your anxiety worse by strengthening your belief that what you fear is dangerous, is likely to happen, and that you are helpless to protect yourself. You will soon see that by practicing the techniques and strategies in this book you can begin to challenge your fears and overcome them.

Overcoming Panic, Anxiety and Phobias:
New Strategies to Free Yourself from Worry and Fear
pages 5-6


Perhaps the boss doesn't say hello. You may see this as evidence that he wants to fire you. In the same way, you can begin to interpret any event as full of danger. If people don't smile, you may believe that they think you are boring and that they don't want to be with you. Or when your heart beats rapidly, you may think you could have a heart attack, although these palpitations may have happened before and medical tests show you to be in good health.

Almost any event, physical sensation, or image can provoke worry, anxiety, or panic once the Frightened You takes over. Think about a recent anxiety or panic attack and try to recall the thoughts that went through your mind. Record them on the "Catching Anxious Thoughts" worksheet. If you have difficulty identifying your thoughts, try to imagine yourself in the anxious situation as if you were in a movie. Review the scene in your mind and write down your reactions.

Often the thoughts you are aware of represent only some of your concerns about a situation. They are one link in a chain of related fears. It is important to bring all the other thoughts into your awareness, for often a deeper concern is driving the rest. Uncovering all the meanings will help you get to the heart of the matter.

Overcoming Panic, Anxiety and Phobias:
New Strategies to Free Yourself from Worry and Fear
pages 48-49


Everyone experiences setbacks at one time or another. You will know you're moving ahead in your recovery when you are able to experience fluctuations in anxiety and worry without panicking and without losing your connection to your newly improved self.

Setbacks can happen for many reasons, but one may be that you set very high standards for yourself, possibly higher than anyone could achieve. If you believe you need to do everything as perfectly as you can, then even a small setback can easily seem like a catastrophe.

If you believe you must always control your anxiety and that you have failed when you can't the setback cycle is perpetuated. The "should's" and the "have-to's" press in on you. You may think, "I might scream and make a fool of myself right here in front of everybody. I'll never be able to control my worry. I must have been wrong about getting over my anxiety -- and after all my hard work."

Automatically the Frightened You focuses on the worst possible outcome. It is easy to once again exaggerate the likelihood and severity of danger; however, you can learn to recognize these responses, to again use all the strategies that have helped you, and to turn the setback into another piece of evidence that your worst fears don't happen.

The triggers of setbacks vary. Most often, they are part of the process of discarding old patterns of worry or fear and learning to have faith in the new, more Rational You.

Overcoming Panic, Anxiety and Phobias:
New Strategies to Free Yourself from Worry and Fear
pages 107-108

[from the softbound edition]
Read more about this book on the
Amazon.com website:
Overcoming Panic, Anxiety and Phobias:
New Strategies to Free Yourself from Worry and Fear

Overcoming Panic, Anxiety and Phobias on Amazon.com

Purchasing
Overcoming Panic,
Anxiety and Phobias:
New Strategies to Free Yourself
from Worry and Fear
Babior and Goldman's book
Overcoming Panic, Anxiety and Phobias:
New Strategies to Free Yourself from Worry and Fear
may be purchased through Amazon.com.

Buy Babior and Goldman's Book

Other Books by
Shirley Babior and
Carol Goldman
Learn more about this audio cassette program
also prepared by Shirley Babior and Carol Goldman:

A 10-Week Recovery Program for
Overcoming Panic, Anxiety, & Phobias




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