Anxiety, Phobias and Panic: Taking Charge and Conquering Fear : A Step-By-Step Program for Regaining Control of Your Life [Paperback]

Reneau Z. Peurifoy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1991 | ISBN-10: 0929437136 | ISBN-13: 978-0929437132 | Edition: 2

Struggling with Anxiety, Phobias, or Panic Attacks? Discover Proven Strategies that can Help You Conquer Fear and Take Charge of Your Life! Are you one of the nineteen million Americans who suffer from anxiety-related problems? Don't lose hope! Take action today with techniques that have helped thousands of people overcome their anxiety and live full and satisfying lives. Now in this new, updated edition of his classic guide, Reneau Peurifoy, an internationally recognized expert in the field, incorporates the latest available information and research. He presents a step-by-step program of fifteen manageable lessons that you can use to: * Identify and reduce the sources of your anxiety * Minimize and manage stress more effectively * Discover relaxation and other methods to ease symptoms of anxiety * Recognize and change harmful modes of thinking * Learn how to stop worrying and avoiding things * Manage anger and build self-esteem * Avoid relapses and keep moving forward. You too can live a happy and healthy life that's free of... Anxiety, Phobias, and Panic.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Decades ago, when Peurifoy, a researcher and therapist, became interested in studying agoraphobia, not much information was available about the painful, self-imprisoning, psychological affliction. Victims of irrational fears avoid leaving their homes, driving alone, shopping and opening the door to the postman. Their families' finances and wellbeing suffer as well. Now, thanks in part to Peurifoy's immersion in the subject, anxiety related avoidance behavior such as social phobia and obsessive-compulsive disorder can be managed, if not completely eradicated in some cases. What makes this revised edition of his 1988 guide better than others on the topic is its range and accessibility. Explaining the complicated dynamics of the nervous system, including the brain, Peurifoy presents a practical, thoroughly informative manual in which he persistently encourages the reader to perform the recommended activities for the best results. Disabling panic attacks, the reader learns, arise from the crossed wires of a complex biological system. Panic symptoms experienced during one frightening event become linked with exaggerated thoughts and feelings, which themselves attach to other events. Using Peurifoy's guiding principles, the victim learns to sidestep conditioned behavioral and cognitive responses. Performing the appropriate lessons, the reader can improve lost self-esteem and assertiveness, manage anger and negativity, reduce perfectionism and regain the ability to move freely in the world. Peurifoy, it seems, has put his whole life's knowledge and work into this book, so that it benefits people with even simple anxiety. And he has given victims of acute anxiety, phobias and obsessive-compulsive disorder real reason to hope.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Dr. Reneau Z. Peurifoy lives in Sacramento, California. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 284 pages
• Publisher: Lifeskill Pubns; 2 edition (September 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0929437136
• ISBN-13: 978-0929437132
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,599,862 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

After more than two decades as a therapist and teacher, Reneau Peurifoy has become a master at reducing complex ideas into simple, easy-to-understand terms and applying them to daily life. He holds a Masters in Counseling and attended Fuller Theological Seminary. Peurifoy is the author of several books including "Anger: Taming the Beast", "Anxiety, Phobias and Panic: Taking Charge and Conquering Fear", and "Overcoming Anxiety: From Short-Term Fixes to Long-Term Recovery". He has also created several CD series including "The Relaxation Response Series", "The Changing Attitudes Series" and others designed for childbirth or surgery preparation.

Peurifoy's work is embraced by the many self-help groups and clinics addressing anxiety-related problems who have selected his books from among a host of others on the market as the basis for their programs. The Anxiety Disorders Association of America (ADAA), the nation's primary organization for anxiety-related problems, has invited Peurifoy to speak at eleven national conferences. Peurifoy also has a wide range of experience in front of groups, addressing a wide array of topics ranging from stress management to improving self-image to sitting limits as a parent. He has appeared on dozens of television and radio outlets.

Peurifoy's warmth and comfortable manner generate a strong rapport with audiences. Because he believes so strongly in the material he has developed over his years as a therapist, his excitement over sharing it is genuinely contagious. Peurifoy was in private practice for twenty years as a marriage and family therapist specializing in anxiety disorders. He retired from private practice in 2000 and is currently teaching at Heald College in Sacramento, California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars copies to family and friends, February 23, 2006

By 

Ernest Bylander "jerry by" (Sherman, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Anxiety, Phobias, and Panic (Paperback)

I have had a copy for many years and have given copies to a grandchild and one child, since anxiety can be inherited (my father had it, and we also have hypoglycemia). I have also given the order forms in the back to friends. I first became aware of panic attacks as an eight year old, but I wasn't diagnosed until I was in my forties, and only after many counseling sessions for panic which didn't help. I found this book and it meant the end of Xanax for me. One doesn't have to read it all at once. The first things to learn are distraction and breathing exercises. Then move on to magnification and other thought control processes.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a great step-by-step practical solution, February 27, 2005

By 

vcrs (Madison, WI, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Anxiety, Phobias, and Panic (Paperback)

I have just started using this book and it is such a relief. It is immensely practical and effective.

This is a newer edition; for more rave reviews from people who have been through the whole program, check out the older edition:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/0446670537/

(The link will be slow because it has to rebuild "your" view, but just give it time).

If you really want to get better, if you're ready to do whatever it takes (because it does take hard work!), then this book can really help you take those steps. It's one of the few that are genuinely about "self-help" - how to gain internal strength and heal yourself. Good luck!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For the anxious and frustrated.. a book that understands, August 28, 2007

By 

Joy Farrelly "Bookworm" (Ireland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Anxiety, Phobias, and Panic (Paperback)

I first read this book in New Zealand.. and soon became hooked. Mainly as I suffer from anxiety and depression. I found it insiteful and cathartic. It helped me to understand more fully my idiosyncracies and attitudes, and gave me more peace of mind. It offers good advice on how to help combat these debilitating conditions and gain your life back. I would highly recommend it to anyone who suffers from these conditions, or lives with anyone who has them, to better understand what feelings are involved, and that no one ever chooses to suffer; for many reasons, it is simply how our brain reacts to difficult situations, and no one is to blame. An empathetic, yet highly practical book.