Bronwyn Fox writes with authority, having suffered from panic disorder/agoraphobia herself for four years. She continues to run panic anxiety management workshops throughout Australia and works with anxiety disorder sufferers throughout the world via her online services. The major focus of her work is now via her internationally successful website www.panicattacks.com.au. Bronwyn is also the author of Working through Panic: Your Step-by-Step Guide to Overcoming Panic/Anxiety Related Disorders.

Introduction. I. ANXIETY DISORDERS AND THEIR EFFECTS. 1. Early Intervention/Prevention. Understanding. Initial fears. Medication. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). Stress. Self-esteem. 2. Anxiety Disorders. Causes. Panic attacks. Panic disorder. Social phobia. Post-traumatic stress disorder. Obsessive compulsive disorder. Generalized anxiety disorder. Combinations. Symptoms. Dissociation. Nocturnal panic attacks. Inducing dissociative states. Fight-and-flight response. 3. Secondary Conditions. Anxiety. The attacks. The primary fears. Lack of understanding. Depression. Suicide. Agoraphobia: avoidance behaviour. Alcohol. Medication. Self-absorption. The need to be in control. 4. Therapies. The need to be perfect. Treatment. Medication. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). Graded exposure. Psychotherapy. Hypnotherapy. Other therapies. An overview. 5. Prelude of Recovery. Self-esteem. What will other people think? Emotions. Emotional development. II. FIVE STEPS TO FREEDOM AND POWER. 6. Understanding and Acceptance. Kindness and compassion. Stress. The fight-and-flight response. Fear of death. Fear of insanity. Fear of losing control. Feeling faint. Acceptance. 7. Step 3 Meditation: Why? Background to meditation. Misconceptions. The relaxation response. Learning to let go. Learning about ourselves. The release of stress. Guide to successful meditation. 8. Step 3 Meditation: How? The word technique. Breathing techniques. The practice of meditation. Stages of meditation. 9. Step 4 Developing Mindfulness. Thinking about it. Changing our perception. Learning to change our perception. Taking back the power: mindfulness. Taking back the power: letting go. Taking back the power: What if? So what! Anger: the rocket ship to recovery. What will people think? 10. Step 5 Working Through to Recovery. The working-through process. Patience. Our stress threshold. Understanding setbacks. Acceptance. Taking care of ourselves. Relearning. CBT revisited. Psychotherapy revisited. Motivation. 11. The Path to Freedom. Responsibility. Anxiety drivers. A time of learning. The path to freedom. Bibliography.