20% of Australians will suffer a mental health problem at some stage in their life.  Source:  ABC News February 10, 2006. 

12% experience an anxiety disorder (some think this could be understated).   Source:  The 9am Show, May 16, 2006.


To be kept up to date on Anxiety, Phobias and Irrational Fears, please Contact Us, mentioning your specific area of interest.


IN A NUTSHELL                                                                                                                    

This is a large topic.. there are numerous anxieties, phobias, fears, panics etc.  The first thing we recommend is to establish the extent and nature of your problem from an expert, before you can proceed to fixing it.


CRACK IT NOW!                                                                                                                   

We recommend you buy The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook.  After receiving the book, you can assess your situation from the very expert advice of Edmund J. Bourne
PH. D.  This self-help workbook contains self-diagnosis questionnaires, numerous strategies, definitions, life-events surveys, anxiety symptoms and much more.  Enough for you to get a very good start on where to proceed to from here.  The book is extensive, informative, but simply written and powerfully useful.  Good luck.

For those of you that know exactly what the problem is, and are dealing with it, we can also recommend the other products listed below including the book The Power of Tapping (which uses Emotional Freedom Techniques), and the Anxiety-Free Paraliminal CD. 

                                                                                                                                                                         
ANXIETY

General (or generalised) anxiety disorder (GAD) is an anxiety disorder that is characterized by excessive and uncontrollable worry about everyday things.  The frequency, intensity, and duration of the worry are disproportionate to the actual source of worry, and such worry often interferes with daily functioning.
 
Generalised anxiety disorder is characterized by chronic anxiety that persists for at least six months but is unaccompanied by panic attacks, phobias, or obsessions.  In additional to frequent worry, generalized anxiety disorder involves having at least three of the following six symptoms:  restlessness (feeling keyed up), being easily fatigued, difficulty concentrating, irritability, muscle tension, difficulties with sleep.  Source The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook

Includes:
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder,
Anxiety Disorders,
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,
Generalised Anxiety Disorder,
Acute Stress Disorder,
Substance-Induced Anxiety Disorder,
Anxiety Disorder due to a General Medical Condition,
Agorophobia without a history of Panic Disorder.

PHOBIAS and IRRATIONAL FEARS

A phobia is a persistent and unreasonable fear of a specific object, activity, or situation that results in a compelling desire to avoid that dreaded object, activity, or situation.  They are different to everyday fears in that they are:

• .  persistent (over a long period of time),
• .  you know they are unreasonable (and that doesn't help), and
• .  you avoid the feared situation.

Includes:
Simple Phobia
Agoraphobia
Social Phobia - (apparently about 13-14% of the population suffer from this)
Claustrophobia (dread of confined spaces)
Acrophobia (fear of heights)
Elevator phobia (fear of cables breaking, getting stuck, etc.)
Phobias of Thunder and/or Lightening
Fear of the dark
Fear of animals and insects (including spiders)
Fear of certain weather conditions (such as wind)... and many, many more.

Some of the more obscure phobias include fear of feathers, fear of balloons, fear of music, fear of bridges, fear of restaurants....  

The reasons why people have certain phobias cannot be clearly stated, they often know they are irrational, but that doesn't help with the fear, or dread, of a particular situation.  People with a particular phobia avoid those situations, and are aware of avoiding them all the time (24/7!).  Phobias can be VERY debilitating.

Phobias are a mental disability, and they can be treated - by graded desensitisation.  The brains of people with phobias have been studied and they do indicate specific activity around the phobia - their brains work differently.

Phobias can be genetic, they can also originate from a past trauma (whether remembered or not), they can be learned (e.g. from parents phobias), and they generally get progressively worse over time.  They do persist without treatment.

Ignoring a phobia won't make it go away or improve.  Some phobias can lead to others if left untreated.  e.g.  A phobia about the wind might develop into a phobia about going outside, and perhaps social phobia (because of the avoidance of going out at all).

Deal with your children's phobias early.  Do not let them develop.  There is some evidence, for example, that fear of the dark in children might be a forerunner to depression as they get older.  If phobias are treated early it will reduce the impact on their lives.

The topic of Anxiety and Phobias is broad and detailed.  We can do no better than to refer you to the excellent book The Anxiety & Phobia Workbook.
 
This book is one of the very best products we have in our catalogue.  It is detailed, simply written and direct.  It has many practical sections such as self-diagnosis questionnaires, numerous strategies, information, predisposing causes, a family background questionnaire, life events survey, anxiety symptoms, references to other expert reading, other surveys, explanations, affirmations, guidelines, plans of action, tips on how to be assertive, dealing with anger, self esteem, information on food allergies, how to optimise the anxiety-reducing effects of exercise, appropriate supplementation, and many, many other practical and helpful ideas. 

We think it's a must read for anyone, anxiety and phobias or not!  Pages 350 - 358 are specifically dedicated to sleeplessness (insomnia).  432 pages of fantastic information.   A contribution to society.
                                                                                                                                                                             
The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook includes chapters on the following topics (and more):
Anxiety Disorders;  Major Causes of Anxiety Disorders;  Recovery:  A Comprehensive Approach; Relaxation;  Coping with Panic Attacks; Help for Phobias;  Self-Talk;  Mistaken Beliefs;  Personality Styles that Perpetuate Anxiety;  Expressing Your Feelings;  Asserting Yourself;  Nutrition;  Medication;  Health Conditions that may Contribute to Anxiety.  Buy Now?

 
                                                                                       Bookmark as a favourite?

TOP PRODUCTS FOR THIS PROBLEM:

The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook  *** A fantastic product ***
Don't Panic - Anxiety, Phobias and Tension (book)
The Power of Tapping (book)
Anxiety-Free Paraliminal CD
Stress:  How to Cope with Pressure (book)
Letting Go of Anxiety audio CD
Relaxation Cream
Sleep & Insomnia Relief Homoeopathic Remedy
Nervatona Homoeopathic Remedy
Restful Sleep Remedy Herbal Remedy
Clear Stress Chinese Herbal Medicine
Rescue Remedy Bach Flower

PRODUCT CATEGORIES:

Anxiety, Phobias, Irrational Fears
Learning to Relax
Depression

USEFUL CONTACTS:

Anxiety Disorders Alliance www.ada.mentalhealth.asn.au Phone (02) 9879 5351
Anxiety Disorders Association of America www.adaa.org
Anxiety Network International www.anxietynetwork.com  This site covers panic disorder, social anxiety, disorder, generalised
        anxiety disorder, etc.
Obsessive Compulsive Foundation www.ocfoundation.org
Sane Mental Illness Helpline www.sane.org  Freecall 1800 688 382
Triumph over OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) and Phobias (TOP) www.ada.mentalhealth.asn.au 
                Phone (02) 9879 5351
Mental Health Information Service www.mentalhealth.asn.au Phone (02) 9816 5688
Eating Disorders Foundation www.edf.org.au  Phone (02) 9412 4499
The Anxiety Panic Internet Resource (TAPIR) www.algy.com/anxiety  Search engine for anxiety, panic, trauma, stress,
                                                                                                                           obsessive compulsive disorder, and so on.