A Little Peace of Mind: The Revolutionary Solution for Freedom from Anxiety, Panic Attacks and Stress

by Nicola Bird

Do you feel like anxiety is making your life smaller? Are you always worried about the next panic attack? Or are you so stressed that you can't remember when you last felt peaceful and happy?What if there was a simple solution that meant you could stop coping, and start living?For more than 20 years, Nicola Bird experienced anxiety and panic attacks, sometimes so severely she couldn't leave the house. She tried everything, including medication, psychiatric counselling, yoga, and NLP. Then she stumbled upon a completely different way of understanding the human mind that changed her relationship with anxiety forever.In A Little Peace of Mind, Nicola opens up about her own experiences and shares simple ideas to help you realise your own innate mental health and wellbeing.At the heart of this understanding, you'll discover the peace of mind that has been eluding you all this time.

Genres: Nonfiction

220 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 7, 2019

Reviews

[Soni Shaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book to read in case you want to understand the concepts of anxiety, panic attacks and peace.

Anxiety is not a problem to be fixed but a normal human feeling to be understood. And this is the essence of this book.

The book starts with a dialogue from my favorite series ‘Friends’ where someone says to Chandler that ‘You’re a funny guy… I’d hate to be there when the laughter stops.’ And it did hit me hard.

I have read too many books on mental health, anxiety, and depression over the last few years. But whereas every author before has talked about how do we deal with anxiety, this book simply treats anxiety as something so common that it need not be dealt with.

The author’s situation where she was blank after she achieved one of her biggest goals is something we have all been through. It is like you are super excited thinking that your world will change once you reach this feat, but then there is nothing there.

The fastest way out of mental illness is to learn what it means to live in peace. Understanding dissolves anxiety without you having to do anything. We all feel our thinking every moment and keep deciding that some feelings are okay and some are not. We sometimes experience anxious thoughts too, as does every other human being but the moment we decide that anxious thoughts are not okay to have, then the problem starts.

Anxiety is just a huge amount of swirling, fast, frantic thought and the corresponding feelings that get ‘stuck’ by our very efforts to be rid of it. We label it, we decide it’s a ‘thing’ and by doing so hold it more firmly in place. We look out for it, we get familiar with our symptoms and then we start constantly to scan for them. We get caught up in the idea that it’s up to us to fix ourselves. Similarly, anger, hatred, annoyance are just feelings and nothing more.

We all just need to become wise to understand that all our thinking can not be trusted.
Whether we realize it or not, what drives most human action is ultimately a desire for peace, love, and contentment and to feel comfortable in our skins. And simply not understanding where that feeling lies results in a sense of lack or yearning in our lives.

We feel that having a calmer surface which includes filling our lives with a lot of things like charity, having kids, taking care of our parents, will help us to have a peaceful life. But we miss is the point that what matters is not what happens in the outside world but rather within the inner self. We tried changing jobs, marrying, and whatnot, but nothing helps. Because nothing from outside can help.

We focus on behaviors that have resulted due to our anxiety like our ability to not go to work, our ability to not drive and accordingly we decide our own possibilities. But our behaviors are all results of our thoughts. And hence our possibilities are never limited by our anxiety

There are three fundamental misunderstandings about thoughts –
1.Some thoughts are better than others and so replacing one type of thought with another is a good idea.
2.There’s an assumption that we’re in control of what thoughts we think, so replacing one with another is possible.
3.That spending time thinking about your thinking is useful and will help in any way with your anxious feelings.

So, when we’re not thinking about something – it ceases to exist for us.
Whether we know it or not, the feeling we’re seeking is the simple one of love and contentment. The feeling that everything is perfect and there’s nowhere we’d rather be than right here, right now.

When we start to see the true nature of thoughts we become less compelled by our thinking. We don’t have to feel anything about anything. And at the same time, we are free to feel anything about anything. Being present doesn’t mean we don’t have anxious thinking, it just means it’s free to show up without impact. When we experience insecure thoughts we feel anxious and scared but we should do nothing about it.

We cannot control our thoughts at all and thus controlling anxiety by controlling our thoughts is not an option is that might look terrifying. So all we have to do is to be at peace with any thoughts whether happy or scary. And that is how we will reach the state of peace.

Mind is ever-present. Everything that exists, including us, is made of it. We can never be separate from our minds because we’re made of it. It’s all there ever is. When we start to see that we don’t need to plan and what-if because we’ll always know what to do at the moment, it just starts to get quieter inside our heads. Ultimately the peace of mind is what we’re made of. Seeking over.

We should be open to considering that you could be OK with not being OK. We do not need to be anxiety-free to be fine. And that’s the most important thing to accept.

Every human being is sitting in the middle of mental health – they just don’t know it.’
SYDNEY BANKS

[Ana Ochoa-Fagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Down to earth

Wonderful book that shares the nature of the human life and how can thoughts create different feelings and realities. It makes our journey here much easier and less frightened . This book shows us that the only thing we need to relay on in this world is a wisdom in ourselves that we share with the universe that is always accessible. Nicola's words are the seed we all need to find our peace of mind..

[Catrin]

DNF this. Apparently anxiety isn't a thing and I shouldn't be giving it so much time....five chapters in and no help with what I should actually do about it other than don't give it so much time...helpful

I'm very satisfied that a) my anxiety is a real thing and b) previous CBT has given me some actual tools to deal with it

Thanks, but no thanks

[Smaugonen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has helped me a lot.

[Kristyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished this book last night and I’m honestly still processing. But WOW…this book will challenge your thinking.

The basic concept is that ‘Having Anxiety’ does not have to be the center of your universe. Rather, anxiety is just one of many emotions that come and go on a daily basis. It is not something to cope with, work on, or obsess over. It is just an unpleasant feeling that happens sometimes. And that’s okay.

The book further challenges your “thinking about thinking” with a great deal of metaphors and comparisons that will help you understand thought and consciousness. It gets really deep and can be hard to grasp, but the author uses a familiar tone and writing style to joke at these complexities and simplify them.

I cannot possibly further explain this book and do it a justice. You have to read it for your self, in its entirety, to reach understanding (btw it’s only 200 pages and they’re small pages at that).

Finishing the book, I felt an overwhelming urge to stand in awe and weep. The concept is so simple yet so groundbreaking. If you struggle with Anxiety, I highly recommend this book. You MUST approach it with an open mind, because it’s a little out there, but it is SO worth it!

[Terra Mae · Rating 1 out of 5]

What the... What???

This has to be the worst book on anxiety I've ever read! To sum it up: your anxiety is caused by your thoughts, so stop thinking anxious thoughts. No, wait, just stop thinking any thoughts, because they're not really your thoughts, anyways. I have no idea how this poor excuse for a book got so many positive reviews!!! I mean, I can't be the only one thinking that this is a bunch of psycho-babble that someone came up with to make a quick buck! Honestly, it's completely belittling to anyone who truly struggles with anxiety and stress. It took me back to the days when my abusive ex husband told me I didn't need prescription anti-anxiety meds because it was all in my head. Who does this author think she is, belittling people in that way?? I'm truly very sorry I wasted my money on this crud, and I hope this review will prevent anyone else from making the same mistake!

[Kirill Medvinsky · Rating 1 out of 5]

Warning: The «3 Princiles» that Nicola pushes, is yet another wacky “new-age cult”. It indeed has some useful ideas, but the Syd Bank worship is like Ron Habbard in Scientology… be careful, people, IT IS a damn cult: join it, and after a short period of “feeling on top of the world”, one gets sucked into chasing the feeling, losing time, money and sanity in process.

PS: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archiv...

[Chris Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bravo 👏

I thought this book was really cleverly written. I felt chunks of anxious thinking falling away as I devoured the content in 2 days, I had a really strong calling to read this book and it's by far and away the best I have read on anxiety and peace of mind. I suddenly feel more genuinely positive and at peace than I have done in forever and I have no idea why. I would recommend this little gem to anybody :).

[Amandatory Reading · Rating 1 out of 5]

Was excited to read this book and maybe learn more about the 3 principles. I listened to audiobook instead. Not only is there a lot of filler talk in here, but also not a lot of help. Anxiety is just your thoughts on fire. Obviously! I don’t need several chapters explaining this to me. Also, the author repeatedly stating how you are the smoke machine, not the smoke is odd. 🤷‍♀️ She seemed to talk in circles and my anxiety was actually heightened by the time I finished audiobook. The only takeaway is less is more with anxiety. Which I did know, but might help somebody who did not understand that. The more you obsess on the meaning of your anxious thoughts, the more you try to do to fix your anxious thoughts and run from them, then the worse your anxiety is going to be. Trying to live your life without focusing on anxiety and trying not to rationalize your thoughts helps calm it down in the long run. Adding solution on top of solution can make anxiety much worse due to constant focus on it. But I didn’t need this book for me to already know that. Once again someone claiming to have the solution to your mental health issues, but really it’s a lot of talking and no solving. This is why I don’t give into self help books much. Hard pass on this one as a recommendation.

I noticed some of the low rating reviews on here mentioning their issues with the author having a
7 figure business and going on ski trips. She never stated having money or going on vacation was solution to anxiety. She mentioned how trying to run a company and traveling with anxiety can be really hard. I don’t understand where people got the idea that being rich makes you immune from mental health issues. If anything, the author proved the fact that even when having money and the financial capabilities to receive proper treatment, that anxiety might still exist for people. I’m not going to fault the author for having more money than me and assume her life must be perfect.

[Eliza · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is actually really good, but it isn’t a quick fix pill. The bottom line of the book, as I perceived it, is recognizing that anxiety is caused by your thoughts. This is true for most people, most of the time, but not always. There are many reasons a person may feel anxious, like hormones, food sensitivities or overindulgence, and nutritional imbalances. If one who is sensitive to caffeine or sugar, for instance, has too much of this, they may feel anxiety, and thinking alone won’t make it go away, or prevent it from returning. That was my only real issue with the author, that she puts her “it’s all in your mind” theory out there as the only possible cause or help. I do feel that after one changes their diet, lifestyle, and addresses nutritional deficiencies, changing your thoughts is the next step to overcoming anxiety, and gaining some peace of mind. One of my favorite lines is “You don’t have anxiety. You just really, really think you do”. If that line feels like a massive a-ha for you, then read the book. You won’t regret it.

[Joana Gomes · Rating 1 out of 5]

It’s hard to believe this was written by a qualified psychologist. And that it has so many good reviews on Good Reads. It is honestly one of the worst books I’ve ever read. Let’s start with the fact that a psychologist proposes the notion that 1) anxiety is -just- bad thoughts and bad emotions (could this be any more simplistic?) 2) you can just choose not to care or not to pay attention to said thoughts and emotions. 3) anxiety isn’t really a ‘thing’ since everything is in your head and it’s up to you to stop making anxiety a ‘thing’. I have trouble understanding the need for the childish metaphors and analogies. There’s an excessive amount of enumeration throughout the whole book. Not to mention the number of grammatical errors. I applaud the attempt by the author but, to put it plainly, this book ain’t it. It’s infantilising, reductive and borderline offensive to people whose lives are severely impacted by anxiety.

[lotte langs · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the sort of book I’d normally read but was recommended this book from a nurse practitioner - it’s a cute little book and presented beautifully but quite poorly written with a lot of “I’ll tell you the answer in the next chapter”.

A lot in this book that I couldn’t get on board with - first of all. Bob. And snargleblart or whatever she wants to call it. Childish and not needed. The mention of “yes I still have anxiety but I have a 7 figure income, a perfect life and skiing holidays lost me a bit. The book also constantly refers back to Sydney Banks Three Principles - mind, consciousness and thought. Well after reading into him a bit it’s a bit new age/borderline Scientology for me.

There are some useful bits in here that provided me with a bit of a “penny drop” moments and “oh god I can’t believe I’m not the only one that thinks this”. But these are pretty fleeting. Easy reading, a little bit helpful but overall wasn’t what I was expecting.

[Helena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Knowing Nicola from our year at Supercoach Academy in 2014, I am happy to say I can corroborate her "slowing down to the speed of life", which to a large extent is what this book points to. Or rather, that which the book points to, sort of seems to land us (people. You. me. Nicola.) in that very space. A lovely one at that. Cuz with it, comes the fascinating ability to be in that which is and be completely fine with it, whatever it is (high's and low's alike).

[Seda Nesrin · Rating 1 out of 5]

She lost me in the very first chapter, when she started talking about her extremely successful life with a 7-figure income from her business, husband, three children, dream house, lifestyle abroad, etc. Girl, your type of anxiety is a very different kind of anxiety. Also, awful writing style and poorly written.

[victoria ⋆ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sadly didn’t work for me and I also found the intended audience was more adults than myself as it kept referring to children and it kept making it difficult to relate to myself

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I suffered from anxiety for 10 years. I tried everything. EVERYTHING! This was the only thing that worked. Nicola is brilliant and relatable.