Free Anxiety Help

Self-help principle #1:
Take care of yourself physically.

You already know this. Don't smoke, drink excessively or overeat. Get the proper amount of sleep and rest. And make sure you exercise -- it strengthens the self image and allows your body to release endorphines that can help you feel better.

Self-help principle #2:
Recognize that the thing you really fear the most is your fear.

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Self-help principle #3:
Become preoccupied with the pain of others, not your own.

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Self-help principle #4:
Treat your life as a series of 24-hour units -- not as one long continuum.

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Self-help principle #5:
Work on delaying your analysis and worry, not trying to stop them altogether.

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Self-help principle #6:
Recognize that avoidance of your fears is a roadblock to recovery .

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Self-help principle #7:
Stay mentally active and growing.

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Self-help principle #8:
Treat yourself with compassion, as you would someone else.

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Self-help principle #9:
Realize that courage is not the absence of fear, but acting despite it.

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Self-help principle #10:
Put things in true perspective -- don't 'catastrophize.'

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Self-help principle #11:
When you hit a setback, recognize its temporary nature.

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So you're anxious?

There's nothing unusual about such an emotion. It's part of being a human being. Fear, worry and anxiety were designed to keep us alive in a dangerous world. In many ways, that world is less dangerous today than when our remote ancestors hunted mammoths and wore animal skins. But we still have it hard-wired into our brains. Herein lies the problem.

That's not to say that it has no usefulness today. Fear keeps us from doing foolish things that would jeopardize our well being. Worry keeps us focused on valid concerns, rather than putting them off forever until the concerns grow exponentially.

The problem many of us have, however, is that fear, anxiety and worry become programs running on our bio-computers -- our brains -- when they don't need to be. There is no imminent danger to which we must respond, no legitimate concerns to address, but the programs keep running nevertheless.

We try shutting them down, but they run on and on.

The result: misery. A life not lived to the fullest. Self-limiting behavior.

Chances are, you're sick of it. You have a life with goals and dreams, but anxiety has left them unfulfilled.

There's good news. You don't have to be a slave to these emotions. Public awareness of anxiety disorders has never been greater. There are hundreds of helpful books, audiocassettes, anxiety clinics, new therapies and medications available. This debilitating problem doesn't have to rule your life any longer. There is a way out.

This Web site does not offer a "silver bullet" to slay the problem instantly. It took you time to build up the habit of anxious thinking and it will take time to break it down. But a change in perspective can help you improve in leaps and bounds rather than inches.

By adopting some commonsense habits of thought -- including new attitudes and new beliefs -- you can cut a swath through your problem like never before. You can start living again.

Anxiety wreaked havoc in my life for years before I even knew what it was. I had to wrestle against it without much direction. But the things I did to stop anxiety were the worst things I could possibly have done: avoidance, fighting furious mental battles, seeking constant assurance from my wife, overanalyzing. While they were intuitive responses (like struggling when you're caught in quicksand), they only deepened the problem.

Maybe you're doing some of these same things, and they're keeping you trapped. If so, it's time to let them go.

This site is no substitute for competent therapy or medication. But it can help you gain a new vantage point from which to strategize solutions to your anxiety problems. The ideas in this book are universal principles on which to build a less anxious and more productive life.

E-mail: stevejones53 (followed by the "at" sign) inbox.com.

Click here for the Free Anxiety Help audio site.

General info (from WebMD)

Generalized anxiety

Social anxiety

Obsessive-compulsive disorder

Panic disorder

Phobias

Post-traumatic stress disorder

Medication info (from WebMD)

SSRIs

A few good books (on Amazon.com)