Complete Idiot's Guide to Conquering Fear and Anxiety

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power. You may not know your enemy's name or face, but walk around shadowed by a vague uneasiness and sense of impending doom. Or you recognize yourenemylizards, public speaking, elevators, thunderstormsbut seem powerless to conquer it. Sitting back helplessly, as the fears take command of your relationships,your decisions, your actions, you sidestep through life to avoid bumping into a spider, an elevator, a math test, a boss, or a romantic interlude. You have somethingbeyond reasonable fear. You have a phobia.You may feel shame and embarrassment at being so "weak," as if something is profoundly wrong with you, and wonder why you can't just pull yourself up by yourbootstraps. But overwhelming fears don't discriminate weak from strong personalities, as John Madden and others illustrate.Like many, you might find it hard to share feelings so frightening and irrational, which is why less than one fourth of people receive treatment for crippling fears.Unfortunately, this can begin a downward spiral leading to a string of failures that can rob you of your health, livelihood and personal life.Yet, if you're one of those who did seek help, you may not have found it helpful. Going from doctor to doctor, you may have been one of those misdiagnosed as the"worried well," a hypochondriac or malingerer whose symptoms are "all in your head."Page 10In Your Head, Your Face, Your TummyNothing is all in your head. This is splitting the mind and the body into two separate entitiesas if the mind were something "out there." Thoughts, feelings, bodilyreaction, outward expression and action intertwine. At any one time, fears comprise:Feelings:Fear, anxiety, worry or terrorDepression or other disturbing emotions
Page 11Thoughts:"I'm crazy""I'm weak""I'm numb"Bodily experience:Pounding heartQuick, shallow breathingTense musclesSweatingShaking limbsDizzinessWeaknessButterflies in stomachNausea or crampsConstricted or dry throatOutward expressions:Appearance: Eyes and mouth open wide; white of eyes seen; lips tense, brows raised and drawn together; neck and shoulders rigid; hands tightly clenched.Actions: Pacing; wringing of, and/or vague gestures with the hands; wiping the brow; touching hair or face; cringing; hands and lips tremble; voice quivers orbecomes hoarse.This is an expression of fear from thelab of Dr. Carroll Izard of theUniversity of Delaware.
Page 3 and 4: THE COMPLETE IDIOT'S REFERENCE CARD
Page 5: Page iConquering Fear and Anxietyby
Page 8 and 9: Page ivCONTENTS AT A GLANCEPart 1:
Page 10 and 11: Page viAGlossaryBFurther Reading an
Page 12 and 13: Page viiiLess Well Known Anxiety an
Page 14 and 15: Page x8The Doctor Is In101Take a Pi
Page 16 and 17: Page xiiRoots of People Allergy 168
Page 18 and 19: Page xivKnead Away Tension 237Don't
Page 20 and 21: Page xvi21After It All Comes Crashi
Page 22 and 23: Page xviiiThe Complete Idiot's Guid
Page 24 and 25: Page xxAcknowledgmentsHeartfelt tha
Page 26 and 27: Page 1PART 1THE HEART OF YOUR FEARS
Page 28 and 29: off the plane at a stop halfway to
Page 30 and 31: as a predator or a fire, but appear
Page 32 and 33: Page 8Drive miles out of your way t
Page 36 and 37: Page 12Responses:Flee from danger b
Page 38 and 39: scurrying across the floor, the chi
Page 40 and 41: Dahlia arranges all of her packaged
Page 42 and 43: Page 18How Long Do They Last?The te
Page 44 and 45: Page 20Claustrophobia (fear of encl
Page 46 and 47: Agoraphobia, the most common phobia
Page 48 and 49: Page 24Sleep difficultiesConcentrat
Page 50 and 51: Page 26Washing, checking and counti
Page 52 and 53: Page 29Chapter 3Fear TriggersWhat t
Page 54 and 55: Hypoglycemia: Are you a junk food j
Page 56 and 57: Page 33NonPrescription "Drugs":La
Page 58 and 59: Levinson maintains that 90 percent
Page 60 and 61: Page 37It's well known that what yo
Page 62 and 63: Page 39If you're fearprone, littl
Page 64 and 65: Page 41
Page 66 and 67: Page 44Fear ListSome Fear Much Fear
Page 68 and 69: Page 46Renetta, on the other hand,
Page 70 and 71: Page 48Secure AttachmentSome people
Page 72 and 73: Page 50Later, more got added to the
Page 74 and 75: ehavior, and an ongoing hypervigi
Page 76 and 77: Take the legend of Harry Houdini. F
Page 78 and 79: Page 57Chapter 5Chasing Away Your C
Page 80 and 81: Page 59(table continued from previo
Page 82 and 83: Page 617. Initially, take your chil
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Page 63Sevenyearold Nadia stood
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Page 65HelplessnessThe younger you
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Page 67TVHorror movies and televisi
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Page 69PART 2MAKING IT ALL BETTER"T
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Page 72Deep RelaxationMost people t
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The more stressed you feel, the qui
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A host of other things can trigger
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Page 784. Place the tip of your ton
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need to be developed again. So, hav
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Page 827. Neck: Pull your head way
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During the day, if you feel tension
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If you find that neither repeating
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Page 88Moreover, since our patterns
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youa parent, a spouse, a child. O
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hit her. When she was eight, she wa
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As with psychoanalytic treatment, h
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Paradoxical intention: In this tech
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Page 98Wearing the goggles (or usin
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Page 101Chapter 8The Doctor Is InAn
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Page 103If you look to the experts,
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similar to a hormone called epineph
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Page 107TricyclicsThese are the old
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Page 109Once fully withdrawn from t
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Dina was chronically stressed and h
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Page 113Kava CombiningTo enhance ka
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Page 115Chapter 9And There's More..
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Page 117Anxiety and Eating HabitsAr
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Page 119Food Allergies Trigger Anxi
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Page 121Detoxify Your LifeIf you ar
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Page 123In addition to releasing pe
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Page 125Lubricate Your System with
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Page 127
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Page 131Chapter 10Escape from Psych
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increased as the weeks went by and
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Page 135They seek out all night sup
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Sensory defensiveness: You get easi
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Page 139If you employ the selfhel
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Page 1415. Walk (run) into the park
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Page 143Free Your Imprisoned Feelin
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Page 145If you don't have such a "s
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Page 148Fear Is in the AirWhy are s
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and do their crossword puzzle or re
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Page 152Orientation in space impair
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Page 154Mental FlightsOnce you know
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Once you get the knack of it, your
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Page 158Bring along some relaxing e
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Page 161Chapter12Antidote to People
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contact is a sports club, where he
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feel uncomfortable and stop talking
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Page 167(table continued from previ
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Page 169by strangers while working
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Page 171And they exaggerate the con
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Page 173Cooling DownSince you are n
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Page 175''I'm happy that you asked
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Come armed with an excuse for your
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Page 180Butterflies Big TimeStage f
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Page 182Eyes of the Past on YouSir
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Page 184SelfPerceptions:How much
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Breathing Exercises: Do your deep b
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Page 1881. Overgeneralization: You'
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Page 190Public speakingFear: I will
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Page 192Show TimeWhat should you do
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Page 194Doomed Before You StartDo y
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The same need for perfection happen
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Page 198Talent can, however, overco
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Page 200I'll Never Beat This Perfor
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Page 202Learned HelplessnessAfter a
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Page 204Destructive thought: Even i
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5. Give yourself lead way: The more
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for your math test but it's ten o'c
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Page 211PART 4ANXIETY...PANIC... OB
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Page 214foods. When she did, the sa
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Page 2162. A panic attack will not
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Page 218Were you alone or with some
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Page 220
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Page 222Catch Your Panic Before It
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Page 2241. If you can, leave the si
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Page 226
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He's been a nervous type for as lon
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Page 230Roots of High AnxietyDid yo
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Page 232A critical, angry parent: T
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in danger and take immediate self
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Page 236Defusing the Panic ButtonTh
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Page 238CranioSacral Therapy: Throu
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Page 240Can't Relax!So, you've done
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Relaxation techniques and drugs, th
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Page 244Get plenty of fresh air and
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Page 247Chapter 17Avoiding Sidewalk
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or greater awareness. And there may
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Page 251Common Obsessions:Contamina
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After reading this chapter, you mig
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The first hints that OCD was a biol
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Page 257Other Ways to Steady the Ti
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Page 260Unimaginable Real FearFor t
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Page 262You relive the event daily
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Though more men are exposed to trau
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The few days following the trauma a
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Page 268Something about the eye mov
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Page 271PART 5CHILDHOOD FEARS"Mommy
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he won't disappear down the bathtub
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anxieties, and obsessions and compu
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Page 278Who's in Charge? Nature or
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Of all childhood memories, few are
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Page 282
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She will now feel that she has to h
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Page 286Just the FactsChildren can
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Page 288Avoid "Sink or Swim"Don't f
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Page 290If you want to know what ma
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Page 293Chapter 20No More "I Don't
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comfort, and protection evokes a de
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parents will argue if he's not arou
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Page 299It's Okay to Be AfraidAlway
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Page 301One Day at a TimeIf your ch
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Page 303
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When he was four, his mother told h
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Page 308Childhood HorrorsAll childh
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It is a premature introduction to s
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mansion, the sight of injured or de
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Page 314These fantasies and distort
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Page 316Old Enough to Imagine and U
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Page 318DepressionFlight into prema
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Page 320When You Need Help to Put Y
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Page 322When No One Listens!Sixteen
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confusion and protect them. They wa
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Page 326It's important that you don
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The most distressing situation is g
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them with that which gets the smile
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Back Off: Don't pressure your kids
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Page 335APPENDIX AGLOSSARYAcrophobi
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Psychodynamic TherapyA type of ps
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Page 340Diet and NutritionAirola, P
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Page 342Childhood Anxiety Disorders
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Page 344Obsessive Compulsive Founda
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Page 346Allen, Woody (screen writer
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Page 348Hypoglycemia: A Better Appr
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Page 350connectedness, importance,
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Page 352goalsettingagoraphobia (f
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Page 354menagoraphobia (fear of ope
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Page 356hormonal imbalances, 31hype
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Page 358cognitive therapy, 9697dr
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Page 360substances/foods to avoid,
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Page 362Wwalking, aerobic exercises
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Complete Idiot's Guide to Conquering Fear and Anxiety

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