About

Hi, I’m Paul Dooley. Let me tell you a little about this site.

AnxietyGuru.Net is a blog and podcast born out of my desire to help those that struggle with anxiety, panic, and depression.  It’s my sincere attempt to reach people that feel lost in their anxiety, hopeless about recovery, and are simply confused about what’s happening to them.

For over 10 years I lived with general anxiety disorder.  Which essentially means that during the past 10 years I had occasionally been panicked, depressed, and had suffered on and off through countless bouts with anxiety symptoms of all kind.

I literally know what you are going through.  I didn’t learn about this from someone else or do some kind of really interesting doctoral dissertation.  This is my life.  Who I am.  What I know.  Being the over analytical person that I am led me to study my condition.

I’ve tried to not only understand anxiety disorders from an empirical perspective but I have also contemplated all possible modes of coping with them and I want to share what I know with you.  This site is part self help guide, part information source, and a look into how someone with anxiety can have a normal, happy life.

In this blog you will find:

– Articles and blog entries about everything and anything related to anxiety disorder and closely related conditions.

– You will obtain valuable information about how to cope with anxiety.

– Detailed explanations about the symptoms and sensations that anxiety disorder can produce.

– Information about diet and exercise programs that can help you feel better now.

– Podcast about how to deal with anxiety disorder that you can download and take with you wherever you go.

My Story

I had my first panic attack in 1999. After a night of drinking with friends my life changed forever. I remember reading a magazine and having nothing really on my mind, when I suddenly became overwhelmed with feelings of fear and confusion. After that night I stayed anxious for nearly 6 months straight.

At the time I was a university student, so after more than a year of panic and confusion, I gave in and took advantage of the mental health services on campus. I met a great psychologist who eventually diagnosed me with General Anxiety Disorder. I spent almost a year in therapy and was helped by it immensely. But eventually my anxiety got worse, and I guess I just learned to put up with it.

And after years of putting up with it, I later learned how to ease my anxiety and manage it effectively. As a result, I realized one night that I had acquired a lot of information that could be helpful to others. So, in May of 2008, I created this website. At first, I mainly wrote about my own struggles as examples of what anxiety could do and what I did to counter it.

But after awhile people started reading my articles and contacting me. So I decided to change the focus and help other people more directly by providing “how to” articles to help them learn what took me almost ten years to find out.

And what I had found out is that anxiety disorder is controllable, it isn’t deadly, and it doesn’t cause insanity. I learned that there are many ways to manage anxiety, and that every person will find their own solution.

I also found that to ease anxiety it takes a lot of work. And that anxiety doesn’t fade on it’s own.

Ultimately, I continue to work on this site because I know what it’s like to be anxious, depressed, confused, and hopeless. I want to help you avoid that way of life. To show you that you don’t have to just put up with anxiety.

I am living proof that you can recover from an anxiety disorder. I no longer suffer from anxiety problems, but I am still dedicated to helping others achieve the same goal. No one deserves to live with anxiety and I hope that my site helps you to find recovery and peace of mind.

What’s new?

Right now I’m in a full-time counseling psychology masters program and working toward becoming a clinical therapist.

That’s right, I’ve completely changed my career path because I am that dedicated to helping others achieve freedom from anxiety and I feel excited about the opportunity.

I’m also working on creating a members only area for the AG site.  This is only in the planning stages at the moment, but I’d like to create high quality, very specific articles, podcasts, screen-casts, and videos only for a select few.  I think this next project will be the jewel of this site.

That’s all for now.  I’ll keep you posted.