Living With Anxiety

According to a 1999 Surgeon General’s report, “Anxiety disorders are the most common, or frequently occurring, mental disorders.” Too often overworked doctors prescribe drugs to manage the condition for a short-term cure and send the patient on his way quickly. Psychologists Bob Montgomery and Laurel Morris strongly disagree with treating anxiety disorders with drugs. Their timely book provides a step-by-step plan to help anxious people learn to cope without resorting to medication, even for severe manifestations of anxiety such as obsessive-compulsive disorders and panic attacks. In easy-to-understand terms, Montgomery and Morris define anxiety, describe the different forms it takes, and show how to manage anxiety in everyday life. They discuss general anxiety, agoraphobia, phobias in general, social phobias, and social anxiety, among other types. Living with Anxiety discusses how and why to stop taking anxiety drugs and when drugs can help; it also recommends when to seek out a psychologist. It offers readers practical exercises and specific strategies for dealing with feelings, thoughts, and physical symptoms associated with anxiety attacks, and methods for strengthening social, sexual, and interpersonal skills that can be the source of anxiety.