At Last A Life

I was expecting more. I had to wait 3 weeks for this book. It was recommended by an author written on a book about severe tinnitus. That book was well written and a reasonable price. I bought this book even tho it was expensive hoping it would be worth it. Well no--it defiantly was not worth the 24.95 price! Basicly just says relax and let yourself be anxious Yes you do have to try and relax but you also need some easy simple ways to do this. No real help at all to me. I feel frustrated that I waisted almost 25$ on this book.

This book has helped me immensely with my symptoms of a mental breakdown and DP. If you are struggling, just know that you aren’t alone. Give this book a shot.

Great I usually don’t write reviews but it put me on the right track to free myself from anxiety disorder

I was struggling with severe anxiety and depersonalization a few years ago and didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to take meds for fear of the side effects. I found this book through some searching and it changed my life. I was able to not only accept my situation but get completely better without meds. A year later, my husband started struggling with debilitating panic attacks and anxiety and I used this book to help him. He was also able to get better without meds. I am not advocating to not take any meds. Go with your gut and doctors advice but always be your own advocate. I wanted to know when I got better I did it on my own and wasn’t reliant on anything else but each person has their own path. I highly recommend this book. Paul David had truly walked the path and so I trusted him versus listening to doctors who speak from theory but haven’t actually been through anxiety and panic.

I've got a few points to make about this book so please bear with me as I get my thoughts in order.Firstly, all these ideas are in Claire Weekes' "Hope and Help For Your Nerves" and in more detail. However, still props to Paul David for trying to give people some common sense, which is so lacking these days, about mental health.Secondly, as others have pointed out there are a lot of grammar and editing issues in this book. This may or may not annoy you.Disclaimer before I go on: the method Paul David presents is a good one and will help you feel better. I have no qualms about his method and would recommend it myself.Right, so thirdly. My only sort of criticism is that he too easily dismisses the need to look in your past for causes of anxiety or factors that may be preventing you from doing what he says and accepting it. While I don't suggest you trawl through your childhood finding every negative memory and doing a Freudian analysis on it, I think it is important to look at patterns from your past.If you were a happy, satisfied, productive person before you got anxious, then that's great. Paul's method will work wonders for you. If you were unhappy before you became anxious or were already dealing with issues, then stopping panic attacks and feelings of anxiety may not give you the joy and zest for life you were looking for. Of course you will be happy that you no longer suffer and your life will be incredibly better and easier.But if you know that there's something more to your feelings OR you find it very hard to just accept anxiety then I strongly suggest you read "Trauma Release Exercises" by David Berceli and do the exercises. Even if you've recovered I still highly recommend this book as a regular stress relief exercise.The other book that will help you accept yourself and anxiety is "Self-Compassion" by Kristin Neff.

This book has been my savior. I have always had anxiety but until the past year, due to chronic stress and worry I have been experiencing regular panic attacks for the first time in my life. In the past couple of months I found myself in the anxiety cycle and became completely sensitized and could hardly function. I have been doing everything I can to “cure myself” from reading other self-help books, yoga, meditation, medication, exercise, listening to podcasts, speaking to a therapist but I just couldn’t snap out of it and desensitize myself until I found this book. The exact day I started to read it I instantly started to feel better. Throughout the book there had been countless times I said to myself “OMG YES!” Revelation after revelation as if he could read my mind. I believe this is truly what I was looking for, all of it makes so much sense and now I’m finally calm again. He states multiple times in this book to not focus all your time trying to find that magic cure that happens overnight because it simply doesn’t exist, recovery from anxiety just takes time and to not worry yourself to death about finding answers. Even if you feel horrible just keep on doing what you were doing before your anxiety got the best of you and then recovery will come to you. I have to warn you though, there are some spelling and grammar errors and the book gets pretty repetitive but the author is really just trying to get his point across. Overall, such a helpful book and I will probably continue to re-read certain chapters just to keep my head above water until I reach full recovery. I am now going to buy the sequel of this book! Definitely recommend!

This book gave me the guidance and motivation to move through anxiety. I am still in the process of recovery, but just being able to say that I am in that process is enough for me!

I'm 22 years old and have been suffering from a variety of problems, including anxiety and depression, for around seven years.I was always pretty shy and at 15 had developed bad acne.I ended up taking the controversial drug 'Roaccutane' and got a host of horrible side-effects.At that point, things hit a new low.Towards the end of last year I featured in a documentary called 'Dying for clear skin' which was shown on BBC3.I have moments where I wish I didn't, because with an already bad case of social anxiety, I became further paranoid that people looking at me now knew about my personal life. However, I don't regret it because people will hopefully think twice about that drug.Anyway, that was a bit off topic.My point being - I believe there have been some large contributing factors to creating my anxiety (and, naturally, my depression). For a long time, I did what anyone else would probably do - Booked various blood tests with the doctor, took a bunch of supplements that did nothing and spent hours on Google and Forums trying to figure out what the hell was wrong with me. I also spent money seeing nutritionists, herbalists and homeopaths, quickly becoming frustrated with the lack (or complete void) of improvement. And I would hide away in room a lot, waiting to get better and avoiding any uncomfortable feelings.Although I have some physical issues, alongside the mental, I believe the reasons for my lack of healing is explained well within this book.I've always thought I needed to figure everything out.There have been countless times where I've felt so helpless, all I can think about it how my life got destroyed and how I'd become a victim of the misleading pharmaceutical industry. I felt so angry and utterly at will to whatever life chose to do to me next.I'd read of people who'd suffered depression all their life - People, too, who'd taken the same drug I took over 20 years ago and still were in a World of hell. It's hard not to feel sorry for yourself when you feel there is no escape. When you know you have a lot of potential, but too much in your way to make any use of it. Of course, reading these things online made me feel terrible and I eventually figured out it wasn't healthy to stay up until the early hours of the morning trying every keyword to locate some hint at recovery, without finding a shred.I would go from self-help book to self-help book, as well.I read dozens (including 'The Secret' - trying to shift my mind to positivity) and can name only a couple that were remotely realistic and helpful (In case you're wondering, 'Feel the fear and do it anyway' and 'Effortless success', which is an audio-programme). It got to the point where I'd read a book that was basically an exact copy of one I'd read by another Author. I started to question 'How do I know the author's aren't just writing a book to get rich? Who are these people? Are they happy?' I also thought I was beyond help and that these books were for people who didn't have REAL depression and anxiety. Some of those books were too difficult and complex to read too. The books by Doctor's were technical, and one book would disagree with another until I was left confused."Was I depressed because of a chemical imbalance? That just sounded fancy. Or did it make sense?Did I have an intolerance to Gluten or Dairy?Had the drug I'd taken changed the way my body worked on a biological level?I knew I had adrenal fatigue, as well as hypothyroid... Did that mean I needed to fix those to rid myself of anxiety and depression, as well as the many symptoms those disorders include?Could I even get better? It's been 7 years. Why am I not better now? Why doesn't my stupid body repair itself? I just took a drug. If I was going to get better, surely it would've happened by now? What's the point in living? I'm miserable..."Jesus Blooming Christ.No wonder I felt like crashing my car into a building! (And almost did)Imagine all the worry going through my mind on a daily basis - The same thoughts, over and over.Feeling like a freak because I can't even look my family in the eye anymore.Having scary thoughts running through my mind.Wondering how this could happen?Thinking really deep thoughts - 'Why/How am I here?'Ahhhhhhhhh!!And then...I do another Google search:(Something like this) "How I recovered from social anxiety".I figured if I typed that, I might find someone who blogged, someone with some magical words to save me.A few things came up. I found a blog about someone who beat their Social Anxiety with CBT techniques and exposure therapy. It was quite inspiring.I clicked something that linked to Paul's site.It was a story of recovery.I realised it was also a testimonial for this book.I'd learned to become very dis-trustworthy of people, and the universe. I'd trained in skepticism.I lost my (part-time) job the other day - At a bar. I struggled to cope with the pressures and would feel exhausted, and I suppose it was picked up on - so I literally need to cut back on all unnecessary spending...But still, I have to do SOMETHING. What if the next 'thing' is what I need to get better?I VERY nearly never bought this book. If it wasn't for sale on Amazon Kindle, I probably wouldn't have got it.And what a shame that would have been.If you can empathise with what I've said - Maybe you didn't take a drug that messed you up, but something else - and you're reading this review trying to decide on whether you should buy this book. I'm telling you to GO FOR IT!Why? I'll give you three reasons:1) Paul David isn't some happy fella who studied anxiety and got a degree in it. He LIVED it. For 10 years. He knows what you're going through and he knows how you can get better.2) It will explain so much, that other books you've read probably haven't. You will understand why you feel so separated from the world and everyone else around you, why you've not got better and what you need to do about it (or rather, 'not' do).3) It will save you a lot of time looking for a quick fix. You can keep spending money and time online, hoping for the best, or you can read this book and understand the ROOT cause of all this. Once you remove that, you're healed.It made so much sense to me.I'll tell you this much though...I started the book a few days ago and finished reading all of it yesterday.I'm not cured and know I won't be for a while. But that's okay...The concept in this book is SO simple and yet I have to remind myself of it.It's so easy to fall prey to Anxiety. To listen to it, thinking it's part of you. It isn't.Part of you knows that stress is a big problem. But that's not enough. You make the same mistakes and stress seems unavoidable. There's no doubt we have a lot of reasons to get stressed, but in terms of your anxiety, you need to let go.. And this book will walk you through the process.The first two days of having understood the concept of this book, I felt amazing.Untouchable.Then, of course, I woke up feeling rubbish, tired and thinking 'How do I get out of this?'This a process. Reading this book is so comforting because I know there's a way out now.Even if I have to wait for it, it's so good to know other people have felt what I feel.I've been given two options:1) Continue to fight as I have before, or...2) Let go and trust that my body and mind will heal once I stop getting in their way.Paul is a fantastic man and I'm glad I stumbled across his blog.I will refer back to this book when I need to, and remind myself of the simple truth: The reason I'm not better yet is because I'm still (here's a metaphor for you) hitting my broken foot with a hammer instead of leaving it alone to do it's thing.I hope this helps you.I'm a real person and you can search FireYourDoctor on YouTube to watch me 'vlog' my progress.I wish I read this book a long time ago, but I'm not sure I would've been ready for it.Here's to getting our lives back,Stefan.

Received very fast and book is like new.

So I decided to wait a few months until I wrote my review. When I first read this book, I remember feeling quite taken back by his words. It made complete sense. Even to this day it is the only book that has struck me. Believe me when I say that this is not an overnight cure. You need to train your mind that you are safe and this takes time. The famous saying- ‘you will not get better until you stop trying to get better’ this has lots of meaning and it is so true. Give up the fight. Surrender. Let all them nasty thoughts/feelings take over and do NOTHING. Anxiety wants you to fight back! That’s what keeps it alive. Stare right back and see it for what it is. It is just anxiety. Yes I know it’s awful. I completely get that. I was crippled... sick every day didn’t eat. Heart palpitations, couldn’t talk to my kids. Couldn’t work. Health worries. Future worries. I had a lot. I know what it’s like. It FEELS awful. But remember they are just feelings and thoughts that are not real. So to be told by Paul to do nothing, what a relief. Remember don’t just tell yourself I allow this anxious feeling and think it will all go away. This is a process. When your mind is left alone it will settle. When you get bad thoughts - Try to see them for what they are. Just thoughts. Not real. Tell yourself ah I’m having a thought and this is because i am in an anxious state. Try to separate them from you. Your inner normal self is still there, Them thoughts only keep happening because you are answering them! Don’t answer them. Don’t fight them. Don’t engage with them. See them for what they are just crap thoughts! Remember you are in an anxious state so that is why them thoughts seem so real!! But there just heightened. You would probably think them thoughts anyway but your reacting to them thoughts so badly because your in heightened mode. Remember this is what anxiety wants!!!! The less you do anything about them - they will fade away. I know it’s hard. It takes time to implement this because you are so used to fighting or answering them. I know they seem so real. Just allow them to roam and crack on with life! The physical feelings will also linger but remember the same principle, just observe them. See them as nothing more then a feeling that you can handle! This will sound daft but act confident! Put them shoulders up stand up straight and be you!! Act it at first if you have to. Just act yourself. Do the things you used to do. I know it’s really hard but the more you do this - It becomes easier. I didn’t get it straight away, it took me a fair few reads to get that ‘aha’ moment. I have gone from waking up every 2 hours to now sleeping through every night. I now interact with people again. I am eating fine. I can work again. I am laughing more. I am feeling more connected with the outside world and it’s coming off in layers. Yes it’s still there and I still get bad days but I apply the same principle. I don’t question anything. Trust me this is a process. You can do this!! Paul had it for 10 years and this is the way!!! Don’t keep looking for that magic pill. You can do this. Paul is living proof that this is the way.

Absolutely brilliant i have suffered with anxiety (caused by myself) now i ask still anxious but i a.c.not making it a thing. I am following Paul's advice and living with it, I have made notes that of ever i find myself in this situation ever again that i read the book again. Hopefully what I have learnt will help that not to happen. I have spent so long looking for the cure, spent lots of money on various things over the years (22 years). I have been lucky that i haven't suffered continuously i have had about 8 episodes of it over those 22 years. What Paul says just makes so much sense read it and pass it on. Thank you Paul

This book made me feel so much better and gave me a lot of hope for recovery. I haven’t completely learned how to live alongside my anxiety, but I know I will get there.