Reddit mentions of Change Your Thinking: Overcome Stress, Anxiety, and Depression, and Improve Your Life with CBT

Hi there, sorry to hear you've been struggling with this. I too wrestled with panic & anxiety for many many years. In addition to the specifically Buddhist answers in this thread, I strongly recommend you look into cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) - very similar. This can be done with a therapist or own your own. Even just doing a little bit and getting down the basics will provide a ton of relief. There's plenty of books out there but here's one I used with great results called The Worry Trap

Change Your Thinking is another very helpful book/workbook.

Also, if you haven't already, you should do the following:

• eliminate weed, alcohol and caffeine completely
  
• limit sugar intake (esp candy, soda, etc)
  
• start an exercise plan at least 4 days a week. (running, walking, lifting, swimming, playing ball, etc. It's all good.)
  
• meditate daily for a minimum of 30 minutes (concentration, Vipassana or Metta meditation)
  
• Greatly reduce over-stimulation (gaming, porn, browsing reddit, etc
  
  Finally, there is strong research that mindfulness meditation shrinks the amygdala (fear center in your brain) . Do two 30 minute sessions a day and in 6 months see how you’re doing. Since you mentioned you didn't want to do breath meditation, look into body scanning. You can also look up Jon Kabat-Zinn and MBSR (mindfulness-based stress reduction) for more - he’s been leading the meditation charge from the scientific community for 30 years.
  
  *formatting/fixed a sentence

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Feeling Good: A New Mood Therapy

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Here's a few I found handy.

Good Gut Healing by Kathryn Marsden.

Listen to your gut by Jini Patel Thompson (can also be found at her site as a downloadable pdf, well that's how I bought it.)

And for general anxiety : Change your thinking by Sarah Edelman

And Wheat Belly by William Davis (maybe not as relevant but examines the effect of the genetic changes to wheat, which can be a common trigger for some gastrointestinal issue sufferers.)

Hope any of these may be of help.

I have been doing/reading about CBT therapy. It has helped more than any meds I have tried. I have been reading (and re-reading) : https://www.amazon.com/dp/1600940528/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_A59VCbMQ2Q7CC

Hmmm. That's an avoidance strategy. You could try looking into Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for your anxiety. There are some fairly approachable books out there if you don't want the expense of a therapist. Being aware of the common cognitive distortions might be helpful, because then you can dispute those by thoughts or actions in contradiction to them.

EDIT: recommended.

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy has some good advice for those with General Social Anxiety Disorder. For that, and many other problematic thoughts, I recommend the book Change Your Thinking.

Hi,

How are you? How is your job hunt going? Are you enjoying the gym? For books I would recommend:

http://www.amazon.ca/Change-Your-Thinking-Overcome-Depression/dp/1600940528

The book covers a wide range of patterns of thinking, explains them really well and how to manage them. It does talk about them in psychological terms but in a way anyone could understand it.

Would you consider introducing any new hobbies into your routine such as walking, yoga or meditation?

https://www.amazon.com/Change-Your-Thinking-Overcome-Depression/dp/1600940528

You sound like CBT would help you. It is focussed on changing harmful cognitions. This book will be a great start and really open your eyes into the shit you put yourself through but also look into seeing a psychologist who has CBT training. You language about manning up etc. is classic beating yourself up behaviour and a key driver to anxiety. PM me if you want more advice.

Just bought this one, haven't started it yet but it looks promising. It's a workbook for CBT. To me, reading about someone else's experience with mental disorders isn't very helpful, although it is interesting. http://www.amazon.com/Change-Your-Thinking-Overcome-Depression/dp/1600940528

Yep. I'd really recommend a book called Change Your Thinking by Sarah Eldermann.- http://www.amazon.com/Change-Your-Thinking-Overcome-Depression/dp/1600940528 It really helped me, but you do have to do the exercises, rather than just read it. Also, mindfluness meditation, which helps you 'observe' your thoughts without immediately reacting to them, is great. Give Jon Kabat Zimm a try, he has quite a few CDs and could really help you xx