Mastering the art of anxiety reduction takes time.
You might be anxious and frustrated but the process of recovery doesn’t care how you feel.
It doesn’t care what you want. And it doesn’t care how long it takes you to get it right.
Recovery demands that you take certain steps first. Steps that you cannot skip.
And if you try to skip steps you will pay a price.
The price, of course, is eternal stagnation. A never-ending loop of short-term relief followed by more anxiety.
So what is the first step towards recovery? The answer is education. And not just any old type of education, either.
The kind that requires you to actually open a book and act like you care.
First, let me just say that internet research is not all bad. The internet is a useful means of looking up information quickly.
The problem is that if this is your only means of gathering information most things that you learn will become disorganized and unrelated in your head, which renders the information useless.
Books on the other hand, are well organized and hammer a single topic. This is what you want: Expertise, structure, accuracy and focus.
Over the years I’ve read a lot of books about anxiety but only a few stood out.
Here are my favorites:
1. Hope and Help for Your Nerves by Claire Weekes
This is a classic anti-anxiety book. It was written by an MD with bad nerves. What else could be better?
She provides an informative but easy to understand picture of anxiety. She defines it so well that you’ll be nodding your head at least half the time.
2. Pass Through Panic (Audio book) by Claire Weekes
I told you, this lady is awesome. I bought this CD about 8 years ago and it never let me down.
She has a no nonsense way about her that tends to bring you back to reality.
3. At Last a Life by Paul David
This guy has a huge following for a reason.
Paul David will school you on how to accept anxiety and move forward with your life. The book is not well polished but the message is.
4. The Science of Fear by Dan Gardiner
Anxious people develop fears about a lot of things, which of course only serves to worsen their anxiety.
Dan Gardiner dives into the human mind and explains how we develop irrational fears.
5. Misunderstandings of the Self by Victor Raimy
This book was written in 1975 but remains relevant.
It breaks down how misconceptions develop and provides critical insight into the therapeutic process.
6. Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy by David D. Burns
Do you want to change your negative thinking? Then read this book.
7. The Anxiety and Worry Workbook by David A. Clark
Cognitive behavioral therapy is effective only when you work at it.
This book will help keep you organized as you work towards strengthening your CBT skills.
Obviously there are many other books that you could read to educate yourself about anxiety. However, these are a good start for anyone that feels stuck.
I read some of these books when I was really anxious and others I used as research material. But they all provide something of value.
As you embark on your journey toward recovery don’t forget that the first step is to understand what you’re up against.
Blind hope is not a solution to your problems. You have to arm yourself with the right knowledge because it will light the path towards ultimate freedom.
What are your favorite anti-anxiety books? Comment below!
Thanks for the recommendations. Claire Weekes and Paul David are top of my list also.
“Freedom from Fear” by Dr Howard Leibgold, “Fearbusting” by Pete Cohen, “Relieve Anxiety with Medical Hypnosis” by Dr steven Gurgevich
There are lots more but I will have to remember them.
Thanks for sharing these titles Allan.
No worries Paul. Another good title is ” The Panic Switch ” by Jeffrey Hammes ( I hope I wrote his name correctly ) and if you google Marius Smook you will find his free ebook on how he overcome his agoraphobia using the Claire Weekes teachings.
From Panic To Power by Lucinda Bassett was the first book I read that described so many of my anxiety symptoms. After reading the book I finally realized I wasn’t crazy. However, I never took the steps to get better for good, I walked away with the relief that held me over for a bit, but anxiety came roaring back. I’d still recommend the book to others though, it’s just important to follow through with the steps to get better (Paul, this is something I feel you continuously hitting us upside the head with!). I can’t attest that Bassett’s book takes you through these steps with success. I’m definitely going to try some of your recommendations. Thanks!
“The 10 Best Ever Anxiety Management Techniques: Understanding How Your Brain Makes You Anxious and What You Can Do to Change it” by Margaret Wehrenberg.
The books sound good but no money nearly putting food on table now as it is have no job five years im on hardship also.
cheers cheryl
For all the mothers out there with anxiety… I really liked “dropping the baby, and other scary thoughts” by Karen Kleiman and Amy Wenzel. It’s a more specific book for new mothers who have post partum anxiety or depression. This book helps you understand anxiety and also explains what intrusive thoughts are and how normal they are, even though in the anxious mind we tend to panic more about them. Its a good read.
I found the Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle and a lot of the books by Robert A Johnson, the Jungian psychologist to be very useful.
Claire Weeks writings really helped. I had a few “ah-ha” moments after reading her book.
All too often I surrender living in the moment for the future, or live in past. But life is available only now– in the present. 🙂
My favorite is anything by Claire Weekes. There’s also one called “The Power of Acceptance” by Judith Bemis. It is pretty much Claire Weekes ideas, but written with a lot of comfort. I’ve found most of the books and sites these days are Claire Weekes ideas, so starting with her is best!
Hi Paul! Going to try Paul David’s book – on order right now. Just listened to the older podcast about getting the most from therapy – brilliant! I am having my initial assessment to start psychotherapy next Tuesday, so this podcast is an excellent help.
The best books I have come across, and by that I mean the ones that have had lasting effects and I keep going back to over an over are:
‘Get out of your mind and into your life’ –
Based on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) this is an interactive workbook, which is a mixture of linguistics, behavioral therapy and eastern philosophies. When I first read this it really opened my mind to a different ways of thinking about anxiety, not as an isolated thing but more as part of a collection or constellation of experiences that are not necessary to avoid : it is excellent and empowering. The theory behind it makes it very compelling to me as I am a scientist and like the evidence based approach.
‘Full catastrophe Living’ –
I have practiced mindfulness on and off for years but this book is a masterpiece on the subject of stress/illness/anxiety/depression and pretty much everything we can all be sure of encountering at some point in our lives – the full catastrophe! but you can skillfully get through it all. This book does need to be accompanied by a commitment to a meditation practice to reap the full benefits though. ‘The mindful way through depression’ is also a great starter/warm up for the above book and it has a CD with all the guided meditations and applies just as much to anxiety.
Hope these suggestions help some of you , good luck and keep up the great work everyone – you are on the right tracks by being here !
Lots of great stuff on your blog Paul, really appreciate the effort!
I started to recover quite quickly after 6 months of constant severe anxiety symptoms and after reading Claire Weekes, Hope & Help for your Nerves …had to re-read relevant parts on and off for a while but it was THE book that healed me over a year!
Then I read “The Happiness Trap” by Dr. Russ Harris which is based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. I think everyone should read this one even if not particularly anxious and basically it’s ideas stem from Claire Weekes, except she didn’t call it ACT!
Oops Sorry, meant to say “healed me over a year ago from now!!!”
If you have mixed anxiety and depression, I cannot recommend “anxious and depressed” by Thomas Marra enough. It’s based on dialectical behavioural therapy, a cousin of cbt that integrates mindfulness and distress tolerance right into the process.
But agreed, Claire Weekes is timeless. Her book is easy to find and very affordable.
Free from Fears: New Help for Anxiety, Panic, and Agoraphobia
by Ann Seagrave, Faison Covington
Faison is my therapist. Has helped me tremendously.
By the way, thaty is an older book, published in the mid 80’s, but still a good resource.
Hi Marie,
Congrats on seeking help. It can be hard to get started, but I think it’s well worth the effort. Let me know what you think of Paul David’s book.
Hey Cheryl, I’m sorry to hear about your financial hardship. But don’t forget that you can always go to a public library and check books out for free. 😉
Thanks so much to all that took the time to add to my list of anti-anxiety books. Your input is always valued here at AG.
The happiness trap by Russ Harris is quite interesting and also helpful to get you moving in a positive manner, with acceptance and tolerance of the unknown and the fear.
Face Your Fears by David Tolin PhD
Great list. I’m going to make it my goal to read these. I’ll have to print the list. I have a stack of anti-anxiety books beside my bed that I don’t read so it is nice to know some books that someone else has found useful! Thanks Paul.