Overcoming the Fear of Fear: How to Reduce Anxiety Sensitivity

by Sherry H. Stewart, Steven Taylor (Foreword)

Anxiety isn't all in your head. When you feel nervous, symptoms such as chills, sweating, heart palpitations, and shaking can affect your whole body. If you worry that others notice these anxiety symptoms or fear that they could be harmful to your health, you may have anxiety sensitivity. Anxiety sensitivity is the fear of anxiety-related sensations, a condition that affects approximately 16 percent of the population. People with high anxiety sensitivity often fear these bodily sensations even more than the situation that caused their anxiety in the first place. This fear of fear can lead them to avoid activities that might trigger their symptoms, and can cause other mental and physical problems down the road. Overcoming the Fear of Fear provides you with all the tools you need to stop fearing your anxiety symptoms for good. You'll learn to use cognitive behavioral techniques that have been proven effective for people with anxiety sensitivity. These techniques can help you reduce your anxiety sensitivity, prevent recurrence of panic attacks, and start living without fear.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help

216 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2007

Reviews

[Randall Russell · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't find this book to be very helpful. Overall, I thought it was very generic and simplistic, and in some cases repetitive, and the suggestions for dealing with anxiety seemed to me to be rather simplistic, especially considering that both of the authors are PhDs. As an example, the authors talk about dealing with anxiety by changing your thoughts, which sounds easy, but in the case of anxiety is quite difficult to do (and if it were easy, don't you think that anxious people would have already done it?)! The authors also briefly discuss relaxation techniques, such as breathing, but don't go into very much depth, and again treat these techniques as if they're easy to do, and always 100% effective. So, I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone who's looking for solutions to feeling anxious, because I think the approach is too simplistic, and not very realistic.

[Armagan (any pronouns) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a some kind of academic book but the language is more than accessible. I am glad that it presents practical suggestions such as focusing on (diaphragmatic) breathing, benefiting from physical exercise, asking "so what if..." questions in potentially panicking situations. The book gives various information around the concept of "Anxiety Sensitivity" and discusses the effects of high levels of AS. There are short questions for the reader to test his/her anxiety related issues. I would suggest this book to anyone with anxiety disorder, panic attack. Suggestions are not groundbreaking, but useful for building a framework and it is good to read and be aware of anxiety.

[Zach Koenig · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a sufferer of anxiety, from time to time I need to peruse self-help books like this one to keep things in perspective. I mainly ended up skimming this one, but that is because Anxiety Sensitivity isn’t the exact issue I have.

I actually wish I would have had this book 10 years ago when I developed a panic disorder that had me worried about every outside or internal change in stimuli. I had no idea what was happening to my mind/body, and this text could really have helped me out in that regard. I’m sure it has (and is) helping others today in that capacity.

[Frances · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you've ever let your fear hold you back in life or been so tied up in anxiety that you felt you could not cope this book is for you.

[Sally]

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