New book offers healing tools for those suffering from fear, anxiety and depression

Few books have captured my attention from page one like Michael O’Brien’s Fearing Nothing. Michael begins this book by sharing his personal story of how he had won bodybuilding contests and was attending another when he had his first panic attack that sent him running out of the auditorium. Wow! I thought. Do you mean that even bodybuilders have anxiety attacks and suffer from fear and depression? And that was just the beginning for Michael. He found himself inexplicably having to get out of a car and run three miles in his dress shoes, having to rush out of a restaurant while having lunch with his brother, and then not being able to drive or even leave the house. Too often people with anxiety and fear issues remain silent, trying to hide their problems from others, so I want to say, “Michael, thank you for sharing your story because it makes the rest of us realize that we are not alone and it gives us the courage to share ours “.

We all have stress in our lives, but sometimes, stress becomes almost unmanageable. While I have never had a panic attack, sometimes I thought I was on the brink of one and I often have anxiety during the workday, so I was able to relate to much of what Michael said, and I found the tools that he offered to be more useful.

After sharing his story, Michael goes on to divide the book into three sections. The first deals with stressors that lead to anxiety, fear, depression, and other phobias. It uses the word STRESSORS as an acronym for each of the top nine stressors that cause anxiety and fear, including problems with self-esteem and sensitivity. Some of these stressors seem obvious, but others are surprising, including the first: smart. This first stressor surprised and pleased me at the same time; I happen to have anxiety because I’m smart. As Michael points out, smart people analyze and consequently think about what can go wrong, what causes them stress. So anxiety is a side effect of what would otherwise be an asset that I have. Who would have thought? Michael explains it this way:

“For every symptom you’ve had and experienced, you’ve been in a position to create your previous thoughts or create those ideas. Like it or not, you’re probably above average when it comes to IQ. You are probably smarter than You don’t have to be a doctor or a lawyer to be considered smart. There are many smart people in the world who work in businesses large and small; smart people work as gardeners, teachers, and mechanics; they work in salons, taverns, anywhere. place and everywhere “.

He goes on to explain that because people with anxiety are smart, they basically sabotage themselves: “Know that this is not happening to you. It is happening within you. No outside source is doing this to you. Nothing is attacking you. Everyone. this has been created by you, but it is also refreshing to know that it can be cured by you. ” Michael also describes how we can use our intelligence to tell ourselves new stories that don’t weaken us as much.

The second section of the book is REST, also an acronym that discusses the methods or activities that people should use to overcome their anxiety and fear. The R stands for Relaxation. Michael offers many helpful techniques on how to relax your body, and recommends that you do these short, simple activities several times a day to teach your body how to relax and get used to being relaxed. The T stands for Tools. This is the longest chapter in the book because Michael has ten wonderful tools that you can use. Again, some may be obvious like breathing, but there are others very surprising like “The Hoax”. You’ll have to read about it yourself because it’s hard to explain, but Michael shares his personal story of how he discovered this amazing tool, and it reminds me of other things I know, like the importance of letting go or giving up to solve. A situation.

The final section is YOU, an acronym for how you are the solution to the problem. This section also included practical tips on ways you can improve your situation. The book concludes with a final note and then appendices that include lists of Bible verses on fear and anxiety that provide comfort and also a series of affirmations you can use to help yourself feel better.

One last thing I really appreciated was Michael’s point of view on the futility of trying to determine the causes of anxiety and all the other related fears and symptoms. This book is not about psychoanalysis. Michael, in fact, focuses solely on overcoming the problem rather than trying to dig into the past. He claims that he tried for years to find out the causes of his problems and eventually came to the conclusion that:

“There is nothing to discover. A solution cannot be found for two reasons: 1) You have a wonderful and creative mind where millions of thoughts are created, and 2) Everyone in the world has these same crazy and crazy thoughts too. Yes, that’s true; they just react differently than you do; therefore, they never pay much attention to those thoughts. They release the thoughts in an instant and move on. As you will eventually. “

Perhaps most importantly, Michael advocates that the reader do what he has done: stop hiding his situation from the world. Michael says:

“You are hiding. It is time to stop hiding. When an alcoholic realizes the fact that he is an alcoholic, one of the first steps to improve is to admit that he is, in fact, an alcoholic.”

“Well, you may not be an alcoholic, but you are someone who hides from society. So much so that by not admitting what you are dealing with, you bring additional suffering. You are contributing to the fear. The fear of someone The fear of Someone thinking you are strange The fear of being fired if your boss finds out The fear of not being accepted The fear of what people will think the day you are done with it Let the world know.

“I promise you that you will find comfort in knowing that people will still love you. You will find comfort in knowing that people will care for you in a loving way. You will find that more people are experiencing this same situation than you ever thought possible.”

I’ve taken a lot of the advice in this book seriously, and while I haven’t tried all of the tools yet, I think people will find a lot in this book to help them: they can take what works for them and leave the rest. because there is no one-size-fits-all solution. That being said, luckily, there are plenty of pieces to the solution on these pages, and I’m sure you’ll find something useful here that will make your life less fearful, more normal, and hopefully even happier and more joyful.