As you may or may not know I suffer from Anxiety and Panic Attacks, I'll link my post here where I talk about my experience.
I recently purchased two Anxiety related books off of Amazon and now after reading both I'd like to share my thoughts on them.
I've also filmed a review over on my YouTube channel which you can see below.
I've also filmed a review over on my YouTube channel which you can see below.
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| Rating: 4/5 Pages: 132 |
The first one is called "Making Friends With Anxiety" by Sarah Rayner.
Out of the two books this one was my favourite as I found it to be written on a very personal level and it was extremely relatable.
This book is broken up into 7 chapters each focusing on a letter of the word Anxiety. For example A is for Adrenaline and T is for Time. One thing Rayner really focused on was making this book easy to read when having a panic attack therefore its all broken up into small paragraphs and the most important info is highlighted in bold text. I can see this being really helpful as I like Sarah find it hard to focus during an attack.
This book starts off with acknowledging the signs of anxiety and learning about symptoms that come with it. For me this was something I already know about and wasn't that helpful however if you think you may have anxiety and don't know a lot it could help. She also goes through the types of anxiety which helped me to know which category I fit in (Generalised Anxiety Disorder and Panic Disorder).
One thing I liked that Sarah included was the medical reasons behind some of our symptoms for example "Blood is taken from areas of the body where it's not needed, such as the stomach, because in a life threatening situation, you're not going to stop for food. Thus when you're afraid, you may feel sick and unable to eat." This is reassuring to know the reason behind what you're feeling.
Sarah goes over some of the things you can do to help with your anxiety from Yoga to medication. I've tried a lot of different things and have just finished Hypnotherapy sessions. I found it helpful to know a little more on different types of medication as this may be the next option I take. Sarah includes a few breathing exercises which is good for those who havn't been to a doctor/counsellor or searched for some online and is one of the reasons why this is a good book for people who don't yet know a lot about their anxiety.
Sarah talks about not fighting your anxiety and to acknowledge that its there but at the end of the day it is just anxiety and it is just adrenaline causing it. This can be helpful however I sometimes find it useful to almost do the opposite and distract myself during a period of anxiety or when I'm having a panic attack. I'm not saying this is the correct thing to do but it's what I do to cope.
Sometimes when your enduring a long period of anxiety it can become second nature to expect to wake up and have an anxious day however this is not the case and Sarah has a tip for this. "When you wake up tomorrow, rather than think ' I'm going to have an anxious day and feel rubbish' you could venture to consider ' today might be ok after all'". Another tip Sarah gives is "If you are triggered, try to remember that the sense of panic will pass. Nothing in life in permanant including anxiety."
One quote that she included which really stuck with me was said by Frank Zappa "A mind is like a parachute, it doesn't work if it's not open". I like this quote as I feel you do have to be quite open minded with anxiety as you have to be able to try different coping methods and want to learn and analyse more about yourself and your anxiety.
Sarah talks and demonstrates what happens when you avoid a anxiety prone situation for example getting on the tube or going out with friends. For me it is key to try and not avoid the situation but to face it and prove to myself that I can do it. Yes I know this is easier said then done and I have struggled a lot of times with this but to just slowly push myself out of my comfort zone helps to not completely isolate myself.
One thing Sarah suggests and has been recommended to me numerous times is to talk to yourself during a period of anxiety how you would talk to your best friend. You're more likely to be reassuring and give yourself realistic facts.
Overall I really liked this book as it felt very personal and relatable. I would really recommend it to people who are just starting to be aware of their anxiety or have had a panic attack for the first time.
The second book is Anxiety: Panicking about panic by Joshua Fletcher. As you can see from the caption above I only rated this book 2/5 this was largely down to how scientific it felt and impersonal.
It felt that Joshua was talking to us as if we didn't know anything about anxiety or that he was trying to explain what its like to someone who's never experienced it before. For me it felt quite redundant reading a lot of the book but for someone who wants all the scientific facts this is the book for you.
Throughout the book it seemed that Josh was repeating a lot of the same information and it just seemed like we were going over the same thing just worded slightly differently.
This book is split up in four parts the first being about Anxiety and diagnosing if you have it ( chances are if you picked up the book you know you have it), the second being symptoms. In the third part Josh goes over how to cope with anxiety mentally and physically. Personally I feel the last part could be the most helpful, its an emergency panic attack help page. This is literally a couple of pages that are meant to help calm you down and reassure you during an attack and I can see this being very helpful.
I could relate to Josh with his symptoms and how he likes to distract himself during anxiety/panic attacks. However he made it seem at times that it was so easy to get over and deal with your anxiety and he just made it easier said than done.
Like I said if you don't know anything on anxiety and want some real scientific facts then this is the book to pick up.
I hope you enjoyed this post and I hope to do some more anxiety related posts soon.
Until next time, Sophie x
This book starts off with acknowledging the signs of anxiety and learning about symptoms that come with it. For me this was something I already know about and wasn't that helpful however if you think you may have anxiety and don't know a lot it could help. She also goes through the types of anxiety which helped me to know which category I fit in (Generalised Anxiety Disorder and Panic Disorder).
One thing I liked that Sarah included was the medical reasons behind some of our symptoms for example "Blood is taken from areas of the body where it's not needed, such as the stomach, because in a life threatening situation, you're not going to stop for food. Thus when you're afraid, you may feel sick and unable to eat." This is reassuring to know the reason behind what you're feeling.
Sarah goes over some of the things you can do to help with your anxiety from Yoga to medication. I've tried a lot of different things and have just finished Hypnotherapy sessions. I found it helpful to know a little more on different types of medication as this may be the next option I take. Sarah includes a few breathing exercises which is good for those who havn't been to a doctor/counsellor or searched for some online and is one of the reasons why this is a good book for people who don't yet know a lot about their anxiety.
Sarah talks about not fighting your anxiety and to acknowledge that its there but at the end of the day it is just anxiety and it is just adrenaline causing it. This can be helpful however I sometimes find it useful to almost do the opposite and distract myself during a period of anxiety or when I'm having a panic attack. I'm not saying this is the correct thing to do but it's what I do to cope.
Sometimes when your enduring a long period of anxiety it can become second nature to expect to wake up and have an anxious day however this is not the case and Sarah has a tip for this. "When you wake up tomorrow, rather than think ' I'm going to have an anxious day and feel rubbish' you could venture to consider ' today might be ok after all'". Another tip Sarah gives is "If you are triggered, try to remember that the sense of panic will pass. Nothing in life in permanant including anxiety."
One quote that she included which really stuck with me was said by Frank Zappa "A mind is like a parachute, it doesn't work if it's not open". I like this quote as I feel you do have to be quite open minded with anxiety as you have to be able to try different coping methods and want to learn and analyse more about yourself and your anxiety.
Sarah talks and demonstrates what happens when you avoid a anxiety prone situation for example getting on the tube or going out with friends. For me it is key to try and not avoid the situation but to face it and prove to myself that I can do it. Yes I know this is easier said then done and I have struggled a lot of times with this but to just slowly push myself out of my comfort zone helps to not completely isolate myself.
One thing Sarah suggests and has been recommended to me numerous times is to talk to yourself during a period of anxiety how you would talk to your best friend. You're more likely to be reassuring and give yourself realistic facts.
Overall I really liked this book as it felt very personal and relatable. I would really recommend it to people who are just starting to be aware of their anxiety or have had a panic attack for the first time.
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| Pages: 128 Rating: 2/5 |
It felt that Joshua was talking to us as if we didn't know anything about anxiety or that he was trying to explain what its like to someone who's never experienced it before. For me it felt quite redundant reading a lot of the book but for someone who wants all the scientific facts this is the book for you.
Throughout the book it seemed that Josh was repeating a lot of the same information and it just seemed like we were going over the same thing just worded slightly differently.
This book is split up in four parts the first being about Anxiety and diagnosing if you have it ( chances are if you picked up the book you know you have it), the second being symptoms. In the third part Josh goes over how to cope with anxiety mentally and physically. Personally I feel the last part could be the most helpful, its an emergency panic attack help page. This is literally a couple of pages that are meant to help calm you down and reassure you during an attack and I can see this being very helpful.
I could relate to Josh with his symptoms and how he likes to distract himself during anxiety/panic attacks. However he made it seem at times that it was so easy to get over and deal with your anxiety and he just made it easier said than done.
Like I said if you don't know anything on anxiety and want some real scientific facts then this is the book to pick up.
I hope you enjoyed this post and I hope to do some more anxiety related posts soon.
Until next time, Sophie x
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