Anxiety Therapy & Anxiety Help

Robin Meade struggled with and overcame Anxiety and Panic Attacks

In her new book “Morning Sunshine”, Robin Meade discusses how she was able to overcome disabling anxiety and panic attacks, that “plagued her own personal life for so long.” Robin Meade is the anchor of HLN’s morning show, “Morning Express with Robin Meade.”

Robin’s history of anxiety problems stemmed back to her younger years, and ironically, on Sept 11, 2001, her very first day at CNN’s Headline News, when the country itself went into shock, she noticed a strange phenomenon – her anxiety subsided. It was a classic case of “taking one’s eyes off yourself and putting them on others” – she noticed that due to her need to focus on reducing her audience’s fears and anxieties, that her anxiety and panic subsided.

Her story goes on to tell of the work that she did through a doctor’s care to learn about, accept, and eventually dispel her disabling anxiety issues. And then she offers advice to anyone with anxiety issues – to take action, and find a solution. Talking with others, realizing that it can happen to anyone, knowing there are solutions – these can all take away the fear that helps to reduce the cycle of panic and anxiety attacks.

She points out how people shouldn’t assume that just because some people are on television, popular, or seen as a role model, that they are immune from the challenges we all face, and in fact that it’s likely that those challenges are amplified.

Our goals and dreams are part of our future, and the future is an element that many people have difficulty coping with, due to its ‘unknowability’. Due to fear, anxiety and panic, many people put their future on hold, or never get ‘out of the gate’ in moving to their potential.

Fear, stress, the unknowable future. She describes the cycle realized by many as a “pendulum”, a force that wants to try to move us into the future, where the unknown lies. Her description sums it up so very well: “If I can make that pendulum be still, I can stay in the present. If I can stay in the present, I can quiet my anxiety.”

I applaud Robin Meade for her transparency and candor in her new book, “Morning Sunshine.” The book style is very warm, inviting, and reads easily. It is another confirmation that the non-drug approach to reducing and eliminating anxiety and panic has validity and the capability to cure permanently.

Save 32% on Robin’s book here!

Book review by David Jensen

Here are just a couple testimonials from people who tried the Panic Away technique, found relief that had previously alluded them, and wrote to tell about their experience.

You can find dozens more testimonials about Panic Away technique by Joe Barry on his informative website.

Thank you so much for helping me with such a grave issue in my life…
Hi Joe, I really found your book very helpful with my anxiety issues. Most of my problem was when i was driving in the car. I decided to face this problem head on. Thank you so much for helping me with such a grave issue in my life. My doctor wanted to start me on medication, but being a nurse myself, i didn’t like the side effects that the med would cause, so I chose Panic Away instead. You really saved me, Joe, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Your Friend for Life,
Carol

This program is what all those who suffer from this condition need. Its the real stuff. Do your self a favor and get it for your self or a loved one. It will make a huge difference for you and them.
I got it for a loved one who is cured and while reading it I noticed I was less stressed in a stressful world. Thanks Joe
Best Regards,
Carl

Like all your other success stories (I) was initially very skeptical but was willing to at least give it a go…..
7 years ago after starting a very stressful new job in a foreign country and undergoing a 14 month probationary period I finally succeeded in getting the job, but about 4 months later I started to suffer from anxiety although I didnt call it that at the time. It became a problem in the mornings when I would wake up, and immediately start the cycle of negative thinking which would inevitably lead me to throw up, this continued for 3 months every morning the same routine which developed into a side phobia of eating out in restaurants and worrying continuously if there was something wrong with me. I somehow overcame that period in my life but could not attribute anything in particular to my recovery, so of course the niggling worry of its imminent return was always on my mind. Once again Joe, I cant thank you enough, for being a beacon of light to me in my time of need, and not just throwing out some coping mechanisms but actually leading me to cure myself completely. I will and am in the process of recommending your book to anyone who will give me a chance.
God Bless You,
David

I want to thank you for your miracle book…
I downloaded it on wednesday and read more than half of it the same day. On the very next day I was already experiencing the benefits of it. For the first time in more than 10 years I was able to visit some friends on a 6th floor and enjoy myself. I’m usually very tense and only think about running downstairs before I explode.
On Friday I was able to go to my parents house. I had not gone there in almost 4 years, and i was completely relaxed!!! I was also able to go to my brothers wedding the same day. I was very sad thinking i was not going to go, but thanks to you i not only went but i enjoyed myself without any tension and without MEDICATION. I can’t remember ever feeling so wonderful. I feel freedom. No doctor, treatment, book or medication has done what your book had done for me.
Thank you thank you thank you.
Claudia

Dozens more testimonials can be found on Joe Barry’s site.

Important information about Anti-Anxiety Drugs

While there are many pharmaceuticals on the market to day that can relieve the symptoms of anxiety, in most cases, medications will not provide a long-term solution to the causes of anxiety, fear, or panic. There are side-effects, some more pronounced than others, and it’s good for you to explore your options, if you do indeed decide to implement a medicinal approach. Being able to make an informed decision is a key to your attitude and success in treating your symptoms. It is also very important to consider the more long-term effects of lifestyle changes, various therapy approaches, and the less intrusive methods available today.

Medications for anti-anxiety include traditional benzodiazepines, antidepressants and beta-blockers. While many times effective at treating symptoms, these pharmaceuticals should not be considered final solutions.
1. After discontinuing the medications, symptoms often reappear.
2. There are risks to many of these medications.
3. There are unpleasant side-effects associated with some medications.
4. Many anti-anxiety medications can be habit-forming or addictive, both physically and mentally.

In my mind at least, it would be important to learn more about the ways to control the fear and anxiety in ways that don’t involve taking these risks, which I will continue to explore.

A new study hopes to inform policymakers on the benefits of improving access to psychological therapy for individuals experiencing depression and anxiety.

The UK investigation reviewed the effectiveness of an ‘Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT)’ program in a group of patients referred for treatment for depression or anxiety under Doncaster Primary Care Trust.

The results are published in the British Journal of Clinical Psychology.

A total of 3,994 patients were referred for treatment during the 12 months from August 2006, and 2,795 went on to receive one or more appointments through a stepped-care collaborative approach.

Most of the patients received low intensity cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Their progress was closely monitored and those who needed it were quickly stepped up from low to high intensity treatment.

The clinical levels of depression (measured using the PHQ-9) and anxiety (measured using the GAD-7) of the 2,017 patients who had come to the end of their treatment by the census date, was measured at each contact, and these results were analyzed by Professor David Richards of Exeter University.

By the end of the census, 76 percent of depression sufferers who completed treatment were either in recovery or remission, as were 74 percent of the anxiety sufferers.

For all patients, (including those who dropped out of treatment), these figures were 61 percent (depression) and 62 percent (anxiety).

The average duration of treatment sessions was just 2 hours 45 minutes; most patients received low intensity CBT – the majority of which was carried out over the telephone – however, one-third of patients also received support for antidepressant medication.

Professor David Richards said: “The combination of psychological treatment and low intensity telephone based delivery produced significant clinical results for the depression and anxiety sufferers in the program.

“Although follow-up data on these patients will be important to investigate the lasting effects of the treatment, our results tell us that delivering psychological therapy in the method used in the program is an effective way to give depression and anxiety sufferers the psychological help they need.”

The National Advisor for Primary Care to the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme, Alan Cohen, said:

“Following the success of the Doncaster demonstration site, IAPT has gone from strength to strength. This month we expand to 115 IAPT sites around the country with over 2,200 people working in services, including over 800 people who have undertaken the IAPT training programme. 73,000 patients have entered services, 26,000 of which have completed treatment and recovery rates are well over 30 per cent and rising all the time.”

Source: British Psychological Society

San Francisco Chronicle

Although numerous anecdotes exist on the benefits of companion animals (from service and therapy animals to family pets) on human health, in-depth studies have been rare. Now, according to the New York Times, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development is spearheading a new effort to determine whether these animals can have a tangible effect on the well-being of children.

Michal Czerwonka/The New York Times

Tommy Conforti, a cancer patient, and Lady, a therapy dog.

In partnership with the Waltham Center for Pet Nutrition in England (part of the Mars candy and pet food company), the child health institute is seeking proposals that “focus on the interaction between humans and animals.”

In particular, it is looking for studies on how these interactions affect typical development and health, and whether they have therapeutic and public-health benefits. It also invites applications for studies that “address why relationships with pets are more important to some children than to others.”

People who are currently working with animals are confident that the research will back up their own observations. At Children’s Hospital of Orange County in Southern California, for example, volunteers regularly take their dogs to visit patients. Children being treated for serious illnesses often suffer from anxiety or depression and the dogs are known to visibly “brighten them up.”

Some patients who have refused to speak will talk to the dogs, while others who have refused to move will reach for the dogs so they can pet them. For these reasons, animals have become an important part of the therapeutic program, especially in the areas involving speech and movement.

“The human-animal bond bypasses the intellect and goes straight to the heart and emotions and nurtures us in ways that nothing else can,” said Karin Winegar, whose book “Saved: Rescued Animals and the Lives they Transform” (Da Capo, 2008) chronicles human-animal interactions.

How have your own children benefited from having pets?

Posted By: Amelia Glynn (Email) | October 07 2009 at 12:37 PM

Anxiety is largely the result of a response to fear, and that’s not all bad. In fact, much of our anxiety comes from mixed feelings about whether it is bad, or if it’s bad enough. We rationalize its presence because of this dual nature. On the one hand you want to be responsible for solving your issues, on the other, you feel like you can’t gain control over your emotions. As a result, anxiety can come and go, and when it isn’t present, it’s rationalized as being okay.

But chronic worrying can have strong negative effects, from becoming irritable and grumpy, to a feeling of helplessness, that if left unchecked can create negative behavior and self control. It is important that the fear, worry, anxiety and panic cycle be controlled. This can occur with medication, or by using proven techniques for ending the cycle.

The price for not intercepting the cycle is an escalating spiral of anxiety and compromise that can result in chronic anxiety, which in turn can lead to panic. It’s important to stop worry and anxiety at their healthy levels, and to do so means changing your attitude that worrying serves a purpose. Fear and fear response is positive, as long as it is real. But as we all know, fear can breed fear. That’s why taking control with a long term strategy is so vitally important.