Phobias And How To Overcome Them: Understanding And Beating Your Fears [Paperback]

Art Bell Ph.D (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 27, 2008

More than half of all Americans suffer from one or more phobias at some time during their lives. This book draws upon the extraordinary wealth of current scientific and clinical research on phobias, including Dr. Gardner's own experiences with patients, to answer six pressing questions for anyone who suffers from phobias and for the friends and relatives of such sufferers: * What is a phobia? What are its typical symptoms? How do I know if I have a phobia? * What causes phobias? Are they inherited or learned? * Who is vulnerable to phobias? Do phobias indicate mental illness? * How can phobias be diagnosed, managed, and overcome? What therapies have proven most successful in treating phobias? * What can I learn about my specific phobia? Does it have a name? Do others suffer from it? * What resources are available to help me overcome my phobias or help a friend with phobias? This book is a hands-on guide to recovery from the bondage of phobias. Although the authors certainly do not claim that this material will cure all phobias, they are confident that the inquiries, guidelines, and checklists contained here will guide readers toward the help they need in understanding and overcoming phobias.

Editorial Reviews

From AudioFile

Success stories of real people are part of the reason this mental health audio sounds so helpful and familiar. It shows how patterns of fear and avoidance become mental habits and explains the neurochemical processes that are involved in phobias and anxiety disorders--all without sounding pedantic or overly prescriptive. But the main reason the audio sounds so much like a fascinating documentary is the professional smoothness of narrator Ron Hippe. With his natural enunciation and vocal cadence he adds a relaxing element to the complex and often-intense material. For an audience with a lot of mental noise going on to begin with, his steadiness and command of the concepts will calm everybody down and allow more openness to what these authors have to offer. T.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Career Press (August 27, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1564147665
• ISBN-13: 978-1564147660
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,427,231 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars this book is broader than just phobias, August 19, 2007

By 

Anthony Gunn (Australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Phobias And How To Overcome Them: Understanding And Beating Your Fears (Paperback)

As a psychologist specializing in fear and phobias, I found this book very helpful. It gives a lot of great advice about phobias. It is written in everyday language and is very easy to understand i.e. avoids academic jargon. My only complaint, and some may not see this as a negative, is the title is mis-leading as it doesn't just concentrate on phobias. I'd estimate that about half is on phobias and the other half covers more general anxiety. Now it could be argued, which the authors do, that general anxiety fuels phobias. I'd say they are probably right. However, if you are after a book to quickly treat your phobia then this might not be the best choice. If on the other hand you are after a book that offers a lot of life skills for managing phobias and long term stress and anxiety, then this book is gold. It has some great advice such as the list of 40 simple things to reduce anxiety (all covered on 1 page), tips on different forms of therapies e.g massage, acupuncture, exercise, diet and medication etc.
I believe that the more information you can find out about anxiety and phobias, the better a position you'll be in to manage it. This book is well worth a read.
Anthony Gunn, psychologist and author of Fear Is Power: Turn Your Fears Into Success
Walking Tall: Overcoming Life's Little Challenges
Fix Your Phobia in 90 Minutes
Raising Confident, Happy Children: 40 Ways to Help Your Child Succeed