Welcome to "Self Therapy for Anxiety"

Before discovering the knowledge I'm about to share with you, I personally lived with anxiety for years, feeling its effects ranging from mild nervousness and malaise, to severe panic, depression and near hopelessness at times. I developed the Self Therapy method for my own use, and have personally applied it to my life with amazing effectiveness. I've long considered this knowledge to be my most valuable asset, and know that with it I never have to worry about debilitating anxiety ever again.

I created this audio program because I remember how painful the experience can be, and know that others will also benefit from this immensely powerful technique.

Self Therapy is simple, and can be implemented immediately. You'll soon master the concept and have a powerful tool for overcoming anxiety, panic, and other inner adversity. It may be hard to believe now, but you may eventually be grateful for your current emotional state having guided you toward this new experience. If you're like me, you'll likely continue using the method long after you're "feeling better", finding that life becomes more deeply satisfying as you attain new levels of harmony and strength within.

I sincerely hope that you find this approach as valuable to your life as it has been to mine.

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DISCLAIMER:

In my years of sharing this method, I've received hundreds of positive testimonials from people around the world, and have never once heard of it doing harm. However, what works for some won't necessarily work for all, and I can't guarantee that it will work for you.

By continuing, you understand/agree that:

• This method's effectiveness and results will vary across users.
• This method is a general self-development technique only, NOT a tailored therapy or treatment. If this approach doesn't resolve your issue, please explore other options with a medical or mental health professional. There are many approaches to dealing with anxiety, so don't give up!
• You agree to not rely on any information on this website as a substitute for professional medical diagnosis or advice. I am NOT a doctor. You understand that you should consult with a doctor 1) to confirm that your symptoms are purely a result of anxiety, 2) before discontinuing any medication to confirm that such change is appropriate for you.
• You agree that your use of any information on this website is solely at your own discretion and risk.
• You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless the owner/operator of this website from and against any and all claims, liability, loss, damage or expense, including attorney's fees, arising from, or in any way related to, your use of this website and/or information on it.
• Please also read the website terms and privacy policy.

If you don't agree, simply browse away from this site.

Thank you for reading!

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IMPORTANT:

If you just watched a "Quickstart" video and tried the method, congratulations — you've just taken an important step in a new direction in your life. By embracing your internal sensations even a little, rather than continuing to avoid them, you've taken the most important step toward breaking the anxiety and panic attack spiral forever.

However, don't worry if you don't immediately feel "great". Initially, you might actually feel the opposite. After all, what you've just done is fully feel an unwanted feeling that you've spent weeks, months, or even years trying to avoid. So don't be surprised if you don't immediately feel wonderful. But please also don't dismiss the method before giving the internal changes some time to process. It's very important to practice the method at least a few times over the next couple days before making a decision about whether it benefits you.

Each time you practice, you'll increase your capacity to handle your internal sensations a little more, you'll further re-wire your brain to prevent anxiety and panic from escalating, and your anxiety resistance will grow. That growth might seem small at first, but should be apparent after just a couple days. Right now your conscious mind may be telling you "this won't work" or "this makes no sense, there's no way it can work" — and that's why it's so important to practice the method. Practicing (doing) the method may be the only way to convince your mind that it actually does work.

If you have limited time and/or want to keep things simple, just stick with the "Quick Start" video. Repeat it a few times over the next couple days, especially at times when you feel anxiety/panic increasing within you. That may be when you have the greatest aversion to practicing the method, but that's precisely the best time to practice. With time your mind will understand this, and the aversion will diminish.

If you're able, I highly recommend listening to the "Full Method" (also FREE). While that audio presents essentially the same method, it provides more explanation, which in turn will provide your conscious mind with more motivation for choosing to do what previously seemed like the last thing it would ever want to do. That additional motivation can be very helpful for strengthening your "stick-with-it-ness" and ability to embrace what previously seemed unbearable.

In either case, whether using the "Full Audio" or "Quickstart Video" only, what's most important is that you simply practice (do) the method at least a few times over the next couple days. Please give the method at least that amount of time before deciding whether it's right for you.

Despite it's initial undesirable appearance, if you're currently suffering from panic attacks or other severe anxiety, this may be one of the most important things you ever choose to do. THANK YOU for giving it a try.

CONGRATULATIONS on taking this gigantic step in a new direction in your life! By learning how to embrace your inner body energies rather than reacting to them with avoidance, you've learned the key to breaking the anxiety and panic attack spiral forever.

But don't worry if you don't immediately feel wonderful. At first, you might actually feel the opposite. Remember that what you've just done is fully feel an unwanted feeling that you've probably spent weeks, months, or even years trying to avoid. So don't be surprised if that doesn't immediately feel like you're "anxiety free". But please also don't dismiss this new method of interacting with your inner energies before giving the internal changes some time to process.

It's very important to practice the method at least a few times over the next couple days, AND PREFERABLY FOR AT LEAST 7 DAYS, before making a decision about whether it's right for you.

Each time you practice, you'll increase your capacity to handle your internal sensations a little more, you'll further re-wire your brain to prevent anxiety and panic from escalating, and your anxiety resistance will grow. That growth might seem small at first, but should be obvious after just a couple days. At first, your conscious mind may be telling you "this won't work" or "this isn't logical, there's no way it can work" — and that's why it's so important to just practice. Practicing (doing) the method is probably the only way to completely convince your mind that it actually does work.

Despite it's initial undesirable appearance, if you're currently suffering from panic attacks, this may be one of the most important things you ever choose to do. THANK YOU for giving it a try.

The last audio mentions "upcoming lessons". That's because the original program included two parts, "Self Therapy Listening" (which you just listened to) and "Self Therapy Speaking". The second part combined suggestions for confidence, self-esteem, and lifestyle changes (e.g. exercise, avoiding caffeine, etc) with positive self-talk practices. The self-talk aspect is why it was called "Self Therapy Speaking".

However, Part 1 (which you just listened to) was always the most important component of the program by far, and it was my observation that Part 2 became a distraction away from that. People would often be extremely pleased with their Part 1 results, and then have an assumption that Part 2 was going to build upon that, and so they'd quickly move on to Part 2 before giving Part 1 enough time. But Part 1 is really what Self Therapy is all about. Part 1 is the key to reversing severe anxiety and breaking the panic attack spiral.

Furthermore, the way you've just learned to interact with inner body energies in Part 1 is probably the most powerful positive self-talk you could practice right now!

It's for these reasons that Part 2 was removed from the program. Less is more. So please disregard those mentions of "upcoming lessons". The audio you just listened to is all you need to stop anxiety from escalating into panic attacks, as well as to manage speaking fears, social anxiety, etc. If you want to listen to Part 2 at some point, there is an option to get it as a "bonus" for supporting this website, but know that it's 100% not necessary. And even if you get it, please don't let it distract you from practicing what you just learned. What you just learned is the key to freedom from panic attacks and debilitating anxiety.

Please don't rely on this list as a means of diagnosis, since many of these symptoms could also be indicative of other conditions. However, do know that everything listed below could be entirely due to anxiety.

Do any sound familiar? The list goes on But just try this

IMPORTANT: While all the symptoms listed on this website could be entirely due to anxiety, many could also be indicative of other health conditions. Therefore, it's a good idea to get an exam from a doctor to confirm that that's not the case.

I understand that this isn't what most anxiety sufferers want to hear (especially those of us with hypochondriacal tendencies). But actually, there can be great relief in getting medical confirmation that what you're experiencing is purely a result of anxiety.

And of course, there will then be even greater relief in watching such issues dissolve as you take steps toward resolving your anxiety.

HOWEVER: You can get started with the Self Therapy method (and/or other anxiety reduction efforts) immediately. In fact, I can think of no greater mental preparation for whatever health challenges life may bring. And speaking from personal experience, my greatest assurance that a symptom was purely anxiety-related came from watching it disappear soon after taking steps to manage my anxiety.

Panic Attacks

Panic Attacks, also called anxiety attacks, are typically experienced as a feeling of dread — an intense fear that something terrible is about to happen, like you might die or lose your sanity. These experiences can be extremely frightening, especially since they can occur anytime and anywhere — maybe while driving in your car, standing in line, lying in bed, or just watching TV. Panic/anxiety attacks may seem unusual when encountered, but they're a very common result of 'anxiety overload'.

Understand how panic starts

What about medication?

Panic attacks while in bed?

Once you understand the logic of what causes panic attacks, it's pretty easy to understand why they might occur even when you're lying in bed trying to fall asleep, or even sleeping. And I know what you might be thinking: "Lying in bed? That's when I should be the most relaxed." But remember, a big part of what contributes to a panic attack is what's lingering in your subconscious mind, which are the thought remnants of your entire day, or week, or life. And another thing about lying in bed is that even though you're not physically doing anything, you might be doing a bit of mental worrying (or a lot of it). More significantly, while lying in bed in your own little world, it's also a time that you're very aware of your internal sensations — the feelings inside your body — because you're inwardly focused. And if you remember from my explanation of how a panic attack takes root, you'll understand how lying in bed with that inward focus is the perfect time to start noticing unusual or scary sensations in your body. And that's what starts the process.

Panic attacks while driving?

The same thing goes for driving. When we're in our cars we're kind of in our own little world. And many of us do a lot of thinking in our cars. Combine that with a lot of internal body awareness, and again, we've got the perfect conditions for a panic attack spiral to start.

Panic attacks while pregnant?

Pregnancy is a period of months where there are a lot of potentially stressful lifestyle changes, and a lot of things to potentially contribute to mental stress — changes to reflect on, things to think about in your future... Life changes, concerns about the baby and the pregnancy, etc. Not only that, but it's also quite likely a period when you're staying home by yourself a lot more than usual, and many people may not be doing as many outwardly-focused activities. You may not be going to work for quite a while (whereas you're usually around co-workers and occupying your mind with people/interactions and projects outside of yourself).

And on top of all this, there are a lot of hormonal changes going on during pregnancy (it's really beyond the discussion here, but suffice it to say that panic attacks are very hormone related).

So are panic attacks common during pregnancy? YES, absolutely. Whether it's something that's potentially harmful to your baby, I'm not qualified to say. I'm not a doctor. I simply have no idea. But as a former panic attack sufferer, my personal and non-professional opinion is that if I were pregnant and experiencing panic attacks, while I don't think that I would want to be taking anxiety medication while pregnant unless absolutely necessary, I would want to get the situation resolved. So it would be important to talk to the right person. And at the very least get a second opinion if you're not satisfied with what your primary doctor advises.

Panic attacks can happen anytime, anywhere...

Especially at times when we least expect them, and in places where we least expect them. Because those are the times and places where we're quite likely to misinterpret the "fight or flight" hormones, which is how the panic attack spiral begins:

Anxiety Attacks vs Panic Attacks

I'm often asked what the difference is between an anxiety attack and a panic attack. The practical answer is: Nothing. They're the same thing.

"Anxiety" can encompass a lot of issues, including general anxiety disorder (GAD), social anxiety (SA), post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), agoraphobia, panic disorder (PD), and so on. So from a medical standpoint, panic disorder is just one type of anxiety disorder.

A person who has panic "disorder" suffers from what are known as panic attacks, which are periodic, intense onsets of severe anxiety — so severe that many people having a panic attack think that they're losing their sanity, having a heart attack, or even about to die. It's literally an episode of PANIC. So by saying "panic attack" you're being more specific about the category of anxiety. But as for the actual experience, the term "panic attack" is synonymous with the term "anxiety attack". There's no difference.

But "panic disorder" is just one type of "anxiety disorder".

MISUSE OF THE TERM: Some people experiencing high stress may casually say that they're having an anxiety attack. But unless it's accompanied by the escalating fear/adrenaline spiral that you see in the diagram below, it's probably not that. It's just that they've never experienced a true anxiety/panic attack, and so have a misconception about what they are. As a result, they're misusing the term.

If you are suffering from true anxiety/panic attacks, I hope you'll try to my free self therapy audio program! It's back on the homepage.
 

How panic attacks happen

While not required, understanding what causes a panic attack can help with understanding how the Self Therapy method stops them. So if you have time:

As a panic attack sufferer, I think I can safely speculate that you (like I do) have a tendency to worry more than the average person. You're often fearing that the worst might happen, or at least considering all the less than optimal possibilities that might happen. Kind of like negative thinking is your default manner of thinking. At the very least, you tend to worry more about bad things happening than to expect good things.

Now, to a certain degree, that's completely normal — it's really our survival instinct to worry and keep aware of potential danger and problems. This mental quality has helped our ancestors survive for thousands of years. But this survival tool is being "subconsciously misused" if we're experiencing anxiety/panic attacks in modern times.

Your negative expectations could be revolving around anything/everything — perhaps social situations, financial issues, health issues, future events. Really anything — I shouldn't even mention examples because every person is unique and modern life is just full of things that have the potential of being endlessly worried about. So for a person that has a tendency toward that manner of thinking, it's really not hard to fill a good part of your day, or even your entire day, with worries and fears.

So what happens during a panic attack is that all those remnant worries and fears lingering in your mind get misinterpreted as real-life danger by your subconscious mind. Even if you're not consciously/directly thinking about them at that moment, your body reacts by releasing adrenaline (the fight-or-flight hormone) to help you deal with the invisible "threat". But since that adrenaline burst comes to the surface without any visual danger present (nothing to fight or flee from), you probably don't consciously recognize that out-of-context adrenaline burst for what it is.

I mean, if you could see that a bear was attacking you, or that you were about to get hit by a car, the adrenaline feeling would be totally normal, and you wouldn't be interpreting the feeling as strange at all. But without the associated visuals, you don't consciously understand what that feeling is. So what happens? You get fearful of that sensation itself! Then that additional fear of the adrenaline sensation just creates more adrenaline... Which then just adds to the sensation... Which adds to your fear... Which adds to the adrenaline... And as these two forces feed each other, you spiral into a full blown panic attack (or your social anxiety overwhelms you, or public speaking fear paralyzes you, etc).

So that, in simple terms, is what causes a panic attack. And yes, it is terrifying. Moreover, once you've experienced the terror of one of these episodes, it's likely that you'll become more sensitive to the symptoms/sensations that preceded it. And unfortunately, that sensitivity then makes it more likely to recur. For example, a slight malaise or stress might get you feeling fearful of recurrence. And it can be that spark of fear that gets the adrenaline flowing, which starts the cycle all over again.

THE GOOD NEWS: The cause of panic attacks reveals the cure

The good news is that reversing the condition is not a very complicated process. The method presented on this site reverses anxiety and panic attacks by reversing that spiral. It's a simple approach that can be applied to just about any severe anxiety symptoms you're experiencing.

And the best part is: Learning how to do this is probably going to do a lot more good in your life than to just stop panic attacks.

Is the solution just about positive thinking?

From what I've described, you might assume that the method presented on this website is just going to be about positive thinking. But as a panic attack sufferer myself, I know from experience that you can't just start thinking positive thoughts and hope that panic attacks will stop. In fact, that kind of approach often makes things worse — because when coming from a place of fear, "positive thinking" is really just a fear-based attempt at suppression that adds to the panic attack spiral — which you may have already discovered.

Put another way, using "positive thinking" in an attempt to avoid something you fear (e.g. a feeling you don't want to feel) is not really positive thinking. That's why severe anxiety often seems impossible to "relax", "meditate", or "positive think" away, and it's the reason why those efforts may even increase anxiety sensations.

But if what I've described so far rings a bell for you, I hope you'll try to my free self therapy instructions (back on the homepage). It's not about relaxation or positive thinking, and it's not traditional meditation. It's simply a mental method to manage and move beyond panics attacks, and it's the best way I know of to get back to a place where you can truly think positively again.

What about medication?

Is this "self therapy" a form of meditation?

The Self Therapy method could be thought of as a form of meditation. However, if I had only ever looked to meditation for a solution to my severe anxiety problems, I never would have found the solution that I really needed.

If you're familiar with meditation, you know that most styles have what's called an "anchor" — an object that you mentally focus on. The most common anchor is the breath, but other anchors are mantras (repeated words), environmental sounds, visual/physical objects, and others. The idea is that as we practice bringing our mental focus back to our chosen anchor over and over, our thoughts will soon slow, and our body will relax. And for most people, this simple approach works great. It has very well established benefits.

However, my experience with severe anxiety was just the opposite. The more I tried to focus on my breath or any other anchor, the more my anxiety grew. At the time I had no idea why that was, but over time that traditional meditation style actually became a trigger for increased anxiety and panic attacks. In other words, standard meditation often cultivated more of a problem than solution.

Of course, I can now look back and understand why that was: It's because meditation is typically being taught as a relaxation and stress-reduction technique. So it's natural to expect that it will reduce our anxiety. And as a result, it's also natural that we anxiety sufferers will then try to use meditation as a means to stop our anxiety. But as we learn with Self Therapy, that often just causes our anxiety to grow.

And of course, it's unlikely that the average meditation instructor will be aware of this conundrum. If they ever had severe anxiety themselves, they probably wouldn't have become meditation instructors (unless they had also somehow stumbled on the solution I share on this site).

There's another form of meditation known as "body scan" that instructs students to use their body sensations as an anchor. And that's more in the direction of what we do in Self Therapy. But again, unless that technique is presented in a way that the student properly interacts with their body sensations, and doesn't expect/want/use the meditation to remove those sensations, then body scan is also unlikely to work the way we anxiety/panic sufferers need it to. And FYI, I've never encountered anyone teaching "body scan" meditation in the way we need it — the way Self Therapy does. That's probably because what we do with the Self Therapy method sounds very illogical and unappealing on the surface. And unless a student has a very powerful body sensation like anxiety, they probably won't understand the power of the method, and will quickly dismiss it.

So is Self Therapy a form of meditation? Yes and no. If you try to find a meditation that does for anxiety/panic what Self Therapy does, I don't think you'll find it. But after you learn Self Therapy, you can then certainly think of it as a form of meditation.

One gift of anxiety is deep insight into how powerful this form of meditation is. And if you thought meditation never worked for your anxiety, that's probably about to change.

If you're going to try breath meditation, you might try this:

Studies show that simply lengthening our exhale (making our exhale longer than our inhale) helps to calm our nervous system. Based on my experience with it, my guess is that this is mostly because of the mental focus required — the mental focus needed to slow just part of our breath cycle likely helps slow our thoughts, which in turn helps relax our body.

Whatever the reason for the benefits, you might want to experiment with this simple meditation technique yourself. Just put your mental focus on your breath, and do your best to make sure that every exhale is at least a little longer than the preceding inhale. You don't have to make them deep breaths, but you can if you like, whatever feels right for you. What's important is to keep each exhale longer than the inhale, as best you can. When you lose focus (ie. notice you've spaced out), just start again. Over and over.

*This is just something you "might" experiment with if you're interested in traditional meditation. If you're dealing with severe anxiety, such as panic attacks, you'll probably want to proceed to the Self Therapy method. Save this and other meditation techniques for when you've got your anxiety under control.

I AM NOT A DOCTOR, and am not qualified to provide advice regarding medication. The decision to use anti-anxiety medication is yours alone, and can only be discussed with a licensed medical or mental health professional. Nothing I say here is intended to replace professional medical advice.

However, as a former anxiety and panic sufferer, I do have some personal, nonprofessional opinions on the matter. And that's all I'm sharing with you on this page — personal, nonprofessional opinions about the use of medication for anxiety and panic issues only. I have no experience with other mental health issues.

First, a fact about anxiety medication:

Medication is NOT a cure for anxiety or panic attacks, and no doctor will tell you that it is. Remember that the symptoms mentioned on this site are just that — SYMPTOMS. While doctors might prescribe medication to anxiety sufferers to temporarily suppress those uncomfortable symptoms for temporary "relief", medication is not going to remove the underlying cause of anxiety. So if you ever discontinue the medication, and the cause is still there, the anxiety will likely return.

Of course, the ideal (again, in my opinion) would be to find a way to permanently eliminate our symptoms by removing their underlying CAUSE. That's what I personally chose to do. I was very concerned that using medication would numb my drive to find a better way. And given my encounters with other anxiety sufferers, my guess is that's often what happens.

Why is anxiety medication so popular?

While prescription drugs may be a viable option for some, my personal, nonprofessional OPINION (as a former anxiety sufferer) is that medication is prescribed for anxiety/panic far more often than it should be. This may be because:

• Physicians, often burdened by heavy workloads, may not have enough time to fully educate their patients about other anxiety therapies. Writing a prescription is quick and easy.
• Medical doctors may not be very familiar with non-drug treatments. Going to medical school is not about becoming a psychologist — there's an emphasis on physical issues, which often involve pharmaceuticals. As a result, you may have to do some self-educating about alternatives.
• Many people might initially be attracted to the quick fix appeal of taking a pill, without fully understanding the physical, mental, and emotional side-effects that those quick fixes may involve.
• There's a lot of marketing for anxiety medications, which instills in us the idea that pharmaceuticals are "the" solution. Anti-anxiety meds are now an over ten billion dollar per year business! They get a lot of marketing. But are they the best solution for you? Only you can decide.

Again, you should discuss the possibility of anxiety/panic medication with a trusted, licensed professional who is aware of all options. This page is simply presenting some of my personal/nonprofessional concerns that you may want to discuss with your doctor.

Be aware of side effects

Legal drugs are not always 100% safe drugs, and so-called "side" effects should really just be called effects — and they should not be ignored. You can usually get a pretty good overview of a medication's "side effects" from the literature provided by the manufacturer, or by reading through actual user forums online. Some potential side effects of anxiety and panic attack medication can be quite undesirable. For instance:

• Some people taking anxiety medications experience increased depression, hostility/aggression, hallucinations, and even suicidal thoughts (immediately notify your doctor if you experience such side effects). Sleep disturbance, nausea, and sexual dysfunction are also sometimes mentioned.
• Due to the sedating effect of some medications, as well as their impact on physical coordination, they have been associated with a higher frequency of personal, work-related, and traffic-related accidents.
• Prescription medication is sometimes toxic, and therefore subject to overdose or hangover effects. Organ damage is also possible with long term use. And I'm speaking from experience here — a family friend (and wonderful person, and just 34 years old) committed suicide after learning that her depression medication had caused permanent liver damage.

These are just some of the "biggies". Be sure to ask your doctor about ALL the side effects associated with the particular medication that you're considering. Also ask your doctor "is medication really necessary for my condition?" And get a second opinion if necessary, because some doctors are simply not as familiar with psychological issues and non-drug alternatives as you might hope. They're busy people, and sometimes you may have to educate yourself. So talk to multiple people, read about the benefits/warnings, and ask actual users online. Then you can weigh the options, and make a truly informed decision.

Other things I personally considered:

While there's a nonstop procession of pharmaceutical inventions being created to manage specific problems, not all will enhance overall quality of life. In addition to the side-effects mentioned above, your doctor will hopefully also make you aware of the following considerations:

• Again, medication is NOT a cure for anxiety or panic attacks. Anxiety and panic attack medication is simply a "band-aid" that temporarily covers up symptoms by numbing them. And while medication may numb anxiety and other negative emotions, it won't remove their underlying cause. Eventually that submerged iceberg of an issue may crash through to the surface again, unless you take steps to resolve those issues while you're medicated. Unfortunately, medication may dull your desire to take such steps.
  → Ask yourself: Is something about your life or lifestyle not right at the moment? In many cases, anxiety and panic "disorders" are not due to a chemical imbalance, but rather much more tangible and resolvable issues. And if you're having trouble with that underlying cause now, are a medication's mental effects going to help your resolve it?
• Ask yourself: Are the emotions that you're feeling normal human emotions? Or are they normal for the situation? Consider a good friend of mine whose husband was diagnosed with terminal illness. This, of course, caused her significant distress, so her physician prescribed [trademark name drug] to help her cope with the feelings. She later revealed to me that as she sat alone in her room that night, thinking about losing her companion of 30 years, she could not cry a single tear. She knew she should, and she tried, but she couldn't.
  → Do you want to numb yourself to the feelings that make you human? Question whether what you're feeling is normal for the situation, and whether there might be a better way of managing this emotional overwhelm. It's hard, and I'm not going to pretend that I understand the severity of what you're going through. And yes, quick fixes do look appealing. But for your own long term well-being, discuss this factor with your doctor. Perhaps there's a better way for you to manage these difficult human emotions.
• The human brain can build up tolerance to prescription drugs. This means that eventually you may have to increase your medication to higher dosages, or change medications, to maintain the same effect. More problematic is the fact that if you choose to discontinue your medication at some point in the future, you may find yourself facing the same amount of anxiety, or even more, than what you were experiencing before. I believe most anxiety medications are advertised as being non addictive, but this could potentially make it challenging to discontinue use. Ask your doctor.

Again, always discuss your options with a medical professional (which I'm NOT) who is aware of all possible treatment options. And never make changes to your prescription regimen before doing the same. But at the same time, given the complexity of issues associated with anxiety medication, it's wise to do some of your own research as well. Resolving an 'invisible' problem like anxiety may require that you take responsibility for educating yourself, and seek input from more than one professional.

Be aware of a big pharma dilemma

If there were a pill that we could take just once to fix all our anxiety issues, would any company be interested in marketing it? I don't know. And I definitely don't know of any such pill. But I am aware that the pills that get the most marketing budget are going to be the ones that make the most money. And the pills that make the most money are likely going to be those take the longest. So other things being equal, the most profitable pill would be one we need to take our entire lives (i.e. one that we, or our insurance company, needs to keep buying for our entire life).

This is a potential dilemma and one that I never wanted to get involved in. I experienced more than enough of a similar dilemma with over a year of costly counseling. By that I mean: If my psychologist knew of a free fix for my anxiety, would he have told me about that rather than charging over $100 every week for a year? I don't know. But I do know that if that was his business, he wouldn't have been in business. And the same dilemma may exist for the pharmaceutical industry.

Self-medicating?

While I've heard of people using alcohol as a way to relieve "stress", long term benefits have not been part of my experience with severe anxiety. Rather, drinking always seemed to leave me lower than before, and its brief "escapes" only delayed real solutions. Moreover, I believe drinking actually became a trigger for panic attacks in my younger days. Since I would often drink in an attempt to reduce social anxiety, my mind started associating that sensation with the increased stress of group interactions — a mental association which eventually increased the likelihood of attacks.

As for other drugs: Given the distorted cliché images we still hold from the "peace & love" 60's, it's not surprising that people would expect some of these substances to relieve anxiety/panic issues. However, the profound effects that such substances can have on one's mind may include SIGNIFICANTLY amplified perceptions of worry, fear, "what if" thinking, perceptions of danger, paranoia, and feelings of helplessness. If you've read my description of what causes panic attacks, you'll know why that's not a good thing — NOT the type of mental environment you want to be cultivating if you're an anxiety-prone person.

I understand why many people are attracted to mind altering drugs — it offers a temporary mental escape from the current hell of our sober reality. Seeing things from a different perspective for a short while may sometimes feel good by comparison, and may even have some benefits. Unfortunately, such benefits usually don't last long. There's probably going to come a time when you have to make a decision about how you want to live your life. Hopefully it will be to use your uniquely powerful mind to transform your sober reality into one that's more desirable to you than any "alternate" reality you can now imagine. Since you've found your way to this site, my guess is that you're nearing that point.

Again, don't rely on my OPINIONS

Once again: I am not a doctor. So please don't let my opinions here do anything more than raise your awareness of some issues to discuss with a qualified medical professional.

But at the same time, I am someone who made it through anxiety, wasted a lot of money on over a year of therapy, and then found my own non-med solution. So if there is one thing I'm qualified to say, it's this: Look for another option if you don't like the one you're handed. And get a second opinion if the first doesn't feel right for you.

Unfortunately, it's probably not possible to get much benefit from my audio program while under the influence of anxiety medication, because my approach involves working directly with your anxiety sensations — which medication will have numbed. But next time your head is clear, you might give the technique a try to see if it helps resolve the anxiety underlying your desire to "escape" the feelings of this life.

BENZODIAZEPINES:
These are tranquilizers that slow brain activity.

SIDE EFFECTS MAY INCLUDE:
Fatigue, impaired thinking/reflexes, confusion/forgetfulness, depression.

EXAMPLE BRAND NAMES:
Xanax, Klonopin, Valium, Ativan

ANTIDEPRESSANTS:
Intended for depression, but also used for anxiety.

SIDE EFFECTS MAY INCLUDE:
Nausea, headaches, stomach aches, weight gain, sexual dysfunction.

EXAMPLE BRAND NAMES:
Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, Lexapro, Celexa

BETA BLOCKERS:
These block stress hormones, and are often used for specific anxiety inducing situations.

SIDE EFFECTS MAY INCLUDE:
Fatigue, nausea, light-headedness.

EXAMPLE BRAND NAMES:
Propranolol (Inderal) and Atenolol (Tenormin)

Knowing that what you're feeling is a normal result of anxiety can be a huge relief. It's for this reason that many anxiety books and programs spend an enormous amount of time talking about symptoms. A lot of comfort can be gained from knowing that what you're experiencing is not unusual.

And if you think that you'd benefit from additional confirmation about your particular symptoms, by all means do additional research, or consult with a medical or mental health professional. You may have some of the symptoms listed here, many of them, or perhaps others that aren't listed — there are many more.

However, as for the symptoms that are anxiety-related, it's really not necessary to figure out all the mind-body connections before working on the underlying anxiety itself.

IMPORTANT: While all of the symptoms listed below can be fully or partially attributed to anxiety, the same symptoms could also be indicative of other health conditions. Therefore, it's a good idea to get a physical exam from a medical professional to confirm that your symptoms are not indicative of a more serious condition. However, if you're like me, your greatest comfort will come from watching these symptoms dissolve as you begin to resolve your anxiety.

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• Tension headaches, migraine headaches, nonstop stress sensations/tension.
• Disturbing thoughts, overwhelming worry, over thinking, overly analytical, paranoia, compulsions, obsessions, obsessive thoughts, frequent thoughts of danger.
• Avoid going outside, avoid interacting with people, introversion, isolation, shyness, emotional withdrawal, loneliness, low self-esteem, feelings of embarrassment.
• Butterflies in the stomach, general fearfulness, uneasiness, nervousness, malaise; Feeling insecure, self-conscious, apprehensive, on edge; Shakiness, trembling.
• Frequent worrying, thoughts of danger, feelings of panic, worries about death, worries about illness, worries about the future, various phobias, fear of public speaking, feeling out of control, feelings of unreality, fear that you're going crazy, easily startled, jumpiness, feelings of doom and dread, unexplained fear feelings.
• Increased awareness of the heart beat, heart palpitations, heart pounding, irregular heart beat, rapid heart beat, mitral valve prolapse, health fears.
• Heartburn, upset stomach, stomach cramps, acidic stomach, diarrhea, frequent indigestion, irritable bowel syndrome, nausea.
• Arm pain, leg pain, chest pain, chest tightness, neck pain, shoulder pain, jaw pain, back pain, muscle soreness, muscle tension.
• Difficulty relaxing, difficulty sleeping, trouble falling asleep, trouble staying asleep, insomnia, sleeping too much, restlessness, constant fatigue, quickly tired.
• Memory problems, dizziness, dreaminess, confusion, difficulty concentrating, trouble thinking clearly, lightheadedness.
• Dry mouth, feeling cold or clammy, grinding teeth, chills, cold hands, cold feet, excessive sweating, sweaty palms.
• Irritability, impatience, hostile feelings, overreactions, mood swings, moodiness, loss of sense of humor, argumentative thoughts.
• Tingling in fingers, tingling in hands, numbness in hands, tingling in toes, cold feet.
• Difficulty walking, rigid body movement, rubbery legs.
• Difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, wheezing.
• Acne, rashes, and skin problems.

While there are numerous ways in which inner anxiety manifests as outer symptoms, the truth is that it's not really necessary to figure out all the mind-body connections before working on anxiety.

So even if you choose to take additional steps to satisfy your concerns, also start moving forward with the Self Therapy method and/or other anxiety reduction efforts. The stress energy that you're adding to the symptoms you're worried about probably isn't doing anything to resolve them. And you might find that as you start managing anxiety, whatever symptoms you're concerned about might just disappear.

Also, while it's a good idea to get medical confirmation that your symptoms are being caused purely by anxiety, without managing the anxiety itself, you'll eventually probably just find other sensations to worry about.

Try the Self Therapy method

Chest tightness or pain

The ongoing stress sensations of anxiety can often manifest as chest pain. Many people experiencing such sensations may then misinterpret a panic attack as a heart attack, and visit their hospital's emergency room for something that turns out to not be a heart attack.

Of course, it's better to be safe than sorry (so if you really think you're having a heart attack, please seek medical attention). However, it would also be wise to take steps toward resolving your anxiety ASAP to avoid any confusion in the future.

Related testimonials

Unusual heartbeat

Anxiety can cause a rapid/racing/pounding heart, and can even cause your heart to flutter/skip beats. Such skipping is known as heart palpitations.

Noticing that your heart is skipping beats can of course be frightening, which makes heart palpitations a likely trigger for panic attacks.

*Note that other factors can also contribute to heart palpitations, such as caffeine, alcohol, and hormonal changes. I've personally noticed diet to have an impact as well. Take a look at what you're taking in.

The standard medical advice is that if heart palpitations do not subside, or if they're accompanied by chest pain, dizziness, or breathing difficulties, then you should seek medical attention ASAP (e.g. call 911). And that is good advice.

Unfortunately, a severe anxiety sufferer is likely to notice all those symptoms, and end up in the ER with a false alarm. Therefore, it would also be wise to take steps toward resolving your anxiety ASAP, to eliminate that as a contributing factor.

Social Anxiety

There are many reasons people become socially uneasy, but nearly all those reasons are reflections of the desire to avoid some sort of emotional sensation that arises in social situations. Apply the method presented on this site when you're in those situations, and your social anxiety will start to dissolve.

Social anxiety plus panic attacks

People suffering from severe social anxiety often also experience panic attacks, and vice versa. This is because social interactions provide an endless procession of situations that have negative emotional "potentials". And as a negative thinker, there's a good chance that you have a tendency to dwell on all those negative possibilities. This tendency over time can then transform into panic attacks. And then, future social situations can become a trigger for more panic — because once you experience one attack in a social situation, similar situations are more likely to trigger the panic attack spiral in the future.

Something to try:

Again, pretty much all the reasons that people feel socially averse start with an underlying desire to avoid some sort of body energy that arises in social situations — perhaps nervousness, awkwardness, insecurity, or other social anxiety symptoms.

If you're struggling with social anxiety, think about what the feeling is that triggers your social aversion. Is it fear of negative judgment? Rejection? That people won't like you? That you're not interesting enough?

Whatever that feeling is for you, ask yourself this question: Would you have a social anxiety problem if you knew you could handle that feeling? Do you think a socially anxious person would remain anxious for long if they learned to enjoy the feeling of approaching people — regardless of the outcome?

Just apply the method presented on this website to the inner sensations that you're now avoiding, and your social anxiety should soon start to dissolve. This is exactly the same approach that we teach for stopping panic attacks, and it works wonders for social anxiety too.

After using this method to manage your anxiety and panic, your mind will start re-associating social activities with feelings of calmness and confidence, rather than anxiety. And in the presence of this new mental association, sensations that were once debilitating will no longer stop you. And each social success will feed the next. And even seeming failures, once embraced properly, become beneficial.

The fact that you have social anxiety is proof to me that you are a social person — it's just that you're currently frustrated by some internal obstacles. I sincerely hope that listening to my program will help you to find more fulfillment in this important area of your life.

Related testimonials

Some social anxiety symptoms:

Agoraphobia

Forget the dictionary definition of agoraphobia (fear of open spaces). Agoraphobia, in a more practical sense, is really a fear of your anxiety sensations themselves. As you start to associate more activities with anxiety/panic sensations, the number of places or people in your life that feel comfortable will logically become more limited. With time, some people become so overwhelmed that even leaving their homes can be difficult. That's agoraphobia. But don't worry, agoraphobia is one of the most common phobias there is.

Agoraphobia plus panic attacks

Many people suffering from panic attacks also suffer from agoraphobia. This isn't surprising, because the two are actually very closely related. Let me explain:

Panic "disorder" is characterized by onsets of intense levels of overwhelming anxiety. And the thing about panic attacks, and anxiety in general, is that your mind often associates those uncomfortable experiences with external stimuli or events — perhaps a particular place, situation, sight, sound, smell, person, etc (anything really). Unfortunately, these associations can form even when they don't logically make sense. For example, I once had a panic attack while I was watching an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie. And for years after that, I couldn't even hear the sound of Arnold Schwarzenegger's voice without feeling like I was going to have a mental breakdown. Maybe this particular example isn't all that unfortunate — but you get the idea.

So naturally, as you go through months or years suffering from anxiety/panic in more and more situations, the number of places/people/situations that feel comfortable and safe to you will logically become more limited. Again, some people get to the point where they're so overwhelmed by these negative associations that even leaving their homes can be difficult. That's agoraphobia.

Am I abnormal?

While the dictionary definition of agoraphobia (fear of open spaces) sounds kind of strange, using a little logic it's not hard to see how panic and other anxiety issues can quickly lead to such a condition. That's why this debilitating phobia is quite common.

Do you avoid interacting with people or attending events because of your nervousness? Do you dread work or school because of the symptoms you experience there? These are, in a broad sense, types of agoraphobia. But if you've sought out a program like this one, you've probably reached a point where your body sensations are so uncomfortable or frightening that your whole day is filled with activities that you either avoid, or would like to avoid and feel uneasy performing. And given that you're here, my guess is that you're ready for a change.

For now, if you've been diagnosed as agoraphobic, don't worry too much that you've been labeled with some strange condition — because it's really not strange at all. And it's definitely something that you can overcome. Moreover, if you're experiencing panic disorder, know that the two often go hand in hand. And when you start to make some progress on the panic, you'll probably notice the agoraphobia begin to be less of an issue as well.

Something to try:

If what you read above sounds familiar, realize that agoraphobia is simply a fear of the body sensations that you experience while away from your "safety zones" (safe places and safe people that don't trigger anxiety). Learning to manage and transform the body sensations you've been avoiding is the key to moving beyond agoraphobia. And that's exactly what the method presented on this website will help you do.

If you continue to be driven by anxiety, the natural tendency will be to try to avoid or eliminate as many of the situations that inspire anxiety for you as you can. But sooner or later, more will just come along to take their place, and you'll eventually find your life confined to a very limited number of safe places and safe people.

When you're ready, it's within your power to change your direction. And it's NEVER too late.

Related testimonials

Depersonalization | Derealization | Unreality

Do you sometimes feel like you or your environment are somehow unreal? Or that there's a disconnect between the two? This dreamlike sensation can be rather disturbing, especially if you interpret it to be the onset of serious mental illness. However, it's MUCH more likely that this sense of unreality is a simple result of the increasing inward awareness that all your inner turmoil is receiving.

How it happens:

In most cases, sensations of depersonalization result from the introversion that long term anxiety cultivates. Anxious people tend to become so preoccupied with worrisome thoughts, body sensations, and adverse emotions, that their awareness becomes increasingly directed within themselves — rather than on the outside world. And this inward focus increases as inner turmoil grows. With time, you may become so consumed by your inner mental/emotional world that the outer world begins to take on an air of unreality. This is especially true if you're experiencing something as severe and overwhelming as panic attacks.

When this sensation of unreality is encountered, a typical anxious response is to become fearful that you're going crazy or losing your mind. And unfortunately, that increased anxiety just fuels the sensation causing the introversion in the first place.

Something to try:

First, know that there's a vast difference between the simple sensation of unreality, and true insanity. People who are "going crazy" usually aren't consciously/continually aware that they're going crazy. So when you encounter this sensation of unreality, first remind yourself that it's a common anxiety symptom that will disappear once you resolve your anxiety issues.

If using the method taught on this site for panic attacks, simply apply the same method to these sensations of unreality, and they should soon dissolve.

Related testimonials

Hypochondria

Anxiety sufferers, with a tendency to imagine worst case scenarios, can easily become hypochondriacal with just about any unusual body sensations — even with anxiety sensations themselves. We often start believing that such feelings could be indicators of serious medical conditions. The rapid heartbeat may be interpreted as the onset of a heart attack; dizziness as a sign of stroke or brain tumor, and so on.

And such fear of seemingly catastrophic health issues often leads to an increased awareness of body sensations, or even self-generation of symptoms. So for anyone who has anxiety and a tendency to imagine the worst, it's usually no problem to find physical symptoms supporting their medical concerns.

Of course, if you really think that you're developing a health issue, by all means see a doctor and get a physical exam. But in the meantime, working with the technique taught on this website can help free up your body's own self-healing forces, and free you up to continue living in the present moment regardless.

Public speaking phobia/panic

There was a time when I was quite literally petrified of public speaking. By that I mean the nervousness would intensify to the point where I sometimes simply couldn't continue speaking — a lump in my throat would grow so tight that it would physically prevent me from talking clearly. At other times I would blush like a tomato and mentally freeze so that I couldn't even think of what I had to say.

It's said that for some people fear of public speaking is as strong as the fear of death. And at times like that, I would definitely agree.

However, you may recognize that the description of this experience is very similar to that of a panic attack. Of course, while speaking in front of a group you at least know the source of your anxiety (e.g. once the speech is over, your anxiety will decrease). But in addition to the overwhelming feelings of nervousness, there's another very important similarity between panic attacks and public speaking phobia: The more you try to stop the anxiety feelings from growing while public speaking, the more powerful they then grow. This is exactly the same way panic attacks spiral and escalate.

The good news is that for those who suffer from overwhelming public speaking fear, the solution presented on this site for panic attacks should help you as well.

Something to try:

Perhaps your fear of public speaking is not as severe as the description above, or perhaps it's even worse (like a panic attack). But the fact is, anything that distracts your attention so significantly is likely going to limit your personal potential (and your peace of mind in any situation where public speaking is even a remote possibility).

On the other hand, imagine that no matter how much fear or nervousness you experienced, you were still able to speak in front of people. Ironically, once you achieve that mindset, the fear of public speaking simply dissolves. And this is what happens when you use the technique taught on this site WHILE speaking.

Once you've learned the technique, simply apply it to any fear that you feel arising before or during your speech, or during any social situation for that matter. Soon, what would have become bottled up energy overload will be a completely manageable reaction. And with confidence in your ability to handle those reactions, your fear of speaking/interacting will soon dissolve.

With the simple method taught on this website, you'll always know that you can handle that upcoming presentation or speech. This is a technique that really works!

Related testimonials

Mild Depression

The blanket of fear created by anxiety can prevent enjoyment of the present moment, initiate a cycle of worry and inaction, and may eventually lead to a mild depression. This type of depression can make life seem empty and undesirable. But there's typically a big difference between the mild depression caused by anxiety, and the major depression that can lead to suicide. An anxious person might occasionally imagine suicide as being a relief/escape from their emotional state, but will probably be just as averse to dying as they are of that emotional state, and not have an immediate intention of really carrying it out.

However, if you're not feeling afraid of suicide, if you're experiencing complete hopelessness, if you're considering methods of suicide and/or feeling comforted by the thought, then you should seek help from a mental health professional. Check Google for "suicide helplines" in your area, or call 911 (or your country's equivalent) for a referral.

For the majority, you clearly know that you don't want to keep living with anxiety and depression. But if you've started looking for a solution (like you are here), then you most likely feel that there is at least some hope for the condition. Anxiety can be a very strong motivating force to start taking action to find a solution, and sometimes things can get very dark before we break out. But know that you are not alone in this experience. And when you begin taking steps toward overcoming your anxiety, the depression you're experiencing should also begin to dissolve as well.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

PTSD and panic attacks are related anxiety "disorders", and one can often feed the other. But whereas with panic attacks you have an out of control escalation of fear due to what might be imagined expectations, with PTSD the feelings are more closely related to events in the past that actually happened. This may involve an episode of pain, violence, victimization, guilt — some sort of outer experience that caused an inner trauma.

The range of things that can lead to PTSD is really as varied as the people who experience it. And what's traumatic for one person might not be for another, and vice versa. It's very individual. What matters is that there was some external event that made a mental impression that's still causing you a significant amount of internal turmoil — stress, anxiety, helplessness, fear, guilt — some sort of mental or emotional overwhelm.

The severity of PTSD can also have a wide range of depth, severity and complexity, and I'm definitely not going to say that I understand what you're going through. And I also won't say that my "Self Therapy" method will be right for everyone or every situation. I'm NOT a doctor, and there are certainly some issues that are best explored with a mental health professional. So please don't take anything I say here as medical advice, but rather as my personal story that you can do what you want with.

Something to try:

What I've discovered in my own experience in overcoming anxiety "disorder", and in helping many others in the years since, is that intellectually analyzing, trying to make sense of, or figuring out the source of emotional pain, as you might expect to do with a professional therapist, is often not actually what resolves the emotional issue that arose after a traumatic experience. It might seem that way, because naturally when you start sessions with a therapist he or she is going to explore the issues with you by using some sort of "talk therapy" — getting you to describe the event and situation, how you felt then, how you feel now, etc. So outwardly it might seem like they're interested in the event itself, but what's actually "therapeutic" about the process is that they're leading you into a mental reenactment of the event in a safe environment that brings the feelings to the surface — so that you can confront those feelings and work with them in a healing manner (instead of continuing to suppress them, which just perpetuates/intensifies the emotional pain).

What we learn how to do with Self Therapy is along those same lines, but we instead use our own ability of conscious visualization to bring forth the feelings we're struggling with — so we can then work with them in a similarly healing manner. You see, when we visualize a situation, or ourselves in a situation, our subconscious mind can't really distinguish between what's real and what's imagined. So visualization is a great way to bring forth any feeling we want to work with.

And actually, that's likely how the feeling is arising when we don't want it to (e.g. if you tell yourself not to think about a pink elephant, what do you think about?). However, the audio program explains how to work with those difficult energies that arise in a more healing way than we have been by default. We begin processing the sensations in a way that stops suppressing/intensifying/perpetuating them.

Eventually, once you've "desensitized" yourself to those inner emotional energies (meaning faced them over and over in a healing manner), they'll simply no longer overwhelm you. Of course, the event itself won't disappear (we can't rewrite the past), but the strong emotional memories tied to it just becomes part of our past — rather than something that's still coloring and impacting our every present moment.

Related testimonials

Mild PTSD, Part 2

*IMPORTANT: The instructions below are intended as a supplement to the free audio, not as a replacement. They're included here merely as a quick reference/overview of some relevant material.

STEP 1: Mental re-enactment with emotional acceptance

So in a nutshell here's what you'll do. And again, this may not be right for every person and situation — so you might want to start by experimenting with some less traumatic memories from your past. Perhaps start by choosing an event that makes you feel somewhat guilty, or upset, or hurt... Then after practicing with that for maybe a week or so, you'll probably have a better idea of whether the technique is right for you, and/or for more intense feelings.

Okay, here's what to do. First you should be comfortably seated in a chair (definitely not driving). Perhaps you'll sit in a room or somewhere where you won't be disturbed for maybe 15 minutes or so. Then close your eyes and imagine yourself in the situation or at the event that's still causing you emotional distress. Re-create whatever it was that happened. I mean really visualize yourself in that situation. Project yourself into it, as if its happening all around you right now in this moment — the sights, sounds, smells, people. It's all there happening around you, right now, like it's real.

Now, if you do this correctly, you'll quickly notice an emotional reaction arise somewhere in your body. And that's what you want. So I know your initial reaction will be to suppress or avoid that feeling, but this time that's NOT what you're going to do. Instead, stop visualizing and turn your full mental focus inwardly to that feeling and just observe it. LET IT BE THERE.

STEP 2: Welcome and embrace the sensations

Now this next step might sound odd, and it may be extremely difficult for some people. BUT IT'S A MEANS TO AN END, SO JUST DO YOUR BEST. In order to promote an attitude of accepting awareness, I want you to "greet" the sensation. Do this by keeping your concentration on it and then saying something like "hello energy" or "hello feeling, you are OK to be there". And then, after greeting it, just spend another minute or two purely listening to that energy. By "listening", I mean keeping your full mental awareness (pure thought-free awareness) on the feeling as best you can. Put the process of visualizing the event aside and just focus on observing and being with that feeling that has arisen. DON'T TRY TO ANALYZE IT, DON'T TRY TO UNDERSTAND IT, DON'T JUDGE IT, DON'T TRY TO STOP IT. JUST LISTEN TO IT FULLY. WITHOUT THINKING AS BEST YOU CAN. And do this for as long as you can (even if just for 30 seconds, that's a great start). With time, you'll hopefully be able to work up to 5 minutes or so - use your best judgment in increasing the time. It does get easier.

What you're doing here is most likely the exact opposite of what you've been doing up until today. Most people, when they encounter an uncomfortable feeling, will either try to push it back down inside themselves, or they'll try to avoid the situation that causes it. And that's usually a normal, natural survival tendency — people who have a healthy sense of fear and avoid situations that remind them in any way of previous trauma, will most likely survive longer. But at this point, given that you're here, you're most likely dealing with a feeling that's having more of a negative impact than a beneficial one on your well-being. And this process of becoming comfortable with the sensation is really the way to put that behind you. Because once you can handle it, you'll stop thinking about it. And then it will stop affecting your life so deeply. No matter what it is that you experienced in the past, it's now just going to be part of your past and humanness.

STEP 3: Listen, describe, WANT to know the sensations

So let's move to the next step. After you've greeted the energy or feeling (and when I say "energy", I'm referring to any body sensation, feeling or emotion), the next step is to spend maybe 3-5 minutes just describing that sensation in your body. By this I mean use some adjectives to physically describe the energy. Then verbally repeat your observations to the energy, almost like you're speaking to it. Again, I know this may sound odd, but IT'S A MEANS TO AN END. You can say things like "energy, you are intense and solid" or "feeling, you are heavy and round"; Or "you extend from my head down into my stomach".

And remember, you're no longer necessarily visualizing the event, but rather primarily working with the energy that has arisen from the visualization. You're listening to your internal sensations and describing them. In describing your internal sensations like this, you're also keeping your thought-free attention on them. This will ultimately help you get more comfortable/tolerant of their presence, which is actually what will dissolve their power over you. So WANT to get to know them fully.

If if you lose track of the feelings you're working with, you can re-visualize yourself in the original situation/event in order to get them back. Then just go through the process again: Re-greet the energies or feelings, then spend time listening to and observing them again. Try to practice this exercise at least once per day, or even more often if possible. Each time you do this, the ability of the uncomfortable feelings to emotionally/mentally overwhelm you will diminish. And you'll get your power back.

Will this work for me? How does it work?

When we visualize a situation, or ourselves in a situation, our subconscious mind can't really distinguish between what's real and what's imagined. So visualization is a great way to bring forth the feelings that you're struggling to cope with, so that you can be with those feelings in safe environment. Eventually, once you've desensitized yourself to those emotions (meaning faced them over and over in a controlled manner), they'll simply no longer overwhelm you. And thoughts of the past event will therefore no longer overwhelm you. Of course, the event itself won't disappear (we can't rewrite the past), but the strong emotional memories tied to it just becomes part of your past... rather than something that's still coloring and impacting your present moment.

I could spend another 10 pages or more trying to explain why this process works, but in the end what matters most is that you simply experience the process for yourself and see that IT DOES WORK. There's no reason to get bogged down in how it works, or why it works. The goal here is for you, to as quickly as possible, get back in control of your life and feeling better. The experience that affected you will always be there - you're not going to erase history. But it doesn't need to be affecting your present moment and coloring your perceptions every day. It will be part of you, but it won't be you. You won't be thinking about it all the time; It will be in your past.

You may never consciously make sense of what happened, but the main thing now is for your subconscious mind to sort it out so that you don't get stuck on it. I think you'll find this exercise to be a really great way to free up your mind's own healing capacity to do just that.

I hope this perspective has helped some of you out there. Like I said, I'm not a professional, so please take this only as a personal perspective/opinion. But I do have a lot of experience with anxiety "disorders", and this technique has helped a lot of people.

Also, although much of what I discuss in the free audio program is geared toward panic attacks and other anxiety disorders, I think that most PTSD sufferers will find listening very worthwhile.

Thank you for reading, and good luck with your efforts.

What is a setback?

As you continue taking steps toward resolving your anxiety, there will eventually come a time when it "seems" like the issue is resolved. And you'll naturally start to put less time and effort into your anxiety management efforts. And that's fine.

However, there will also likely, eventually, come a time when your anxiety symptoms re-arise. And when you notice this, it will probably feel sudden and shocking. It will feel shocking because you assumed your anxiety was all resolved, and you suddenly notice it's not. Ugh! Even worse, there may be an added perception that because your anxiety has returned, that must mean that "the steps I took didn't work, and will therefore never work" or that "all my efforts have failed". And that may make the situation appear hopeless. But really, that's a misperception.

It's not a failure, it's just a setback

Overcoming anxiety and panic attacks is typically a process of "two steps forward, one step back" over and over. The only mistake you can make in that process is expecting that you can just take a bunch of steps forward, and then assume you'll never fall back. But making that mistake is okay too. Because setbacks are not a bad thing. You just need to change your perception of what setbacks actually are. Often, setbacks are a valuable reminder of the need to change something and/or not revert to our old ways. And always, setbacks are practice opportunities.

It's not a setback, it's a practice opportunity

As stated elsewhere on this site, every time you practice the Self Therapy method, you'll increase your capacity to handle your internal sensations a little more, you'll further re-wire your brain to prevent anxiety and panic from escalating, and your anxiety resistance will grow. So whenever you notice anxiety/panic sensations re-arising, embrace that as an opportunity to grow by revisiting the method and embracing those sensations.

At this point, you know how powerful your anxiety can feel. If you knew a way to transmute that seemingly negative power into your own positive personal power, would you keep running from it? Setbacks will eventually remind you that you do in fact know a way to do that. Escaping anxiety may have been your initial motivation to try Self Therapy, but escaping your own inner power was never the point of Self Therapy. Just the opposite.

My experience

My most severe feelings of anxiety, panic, depression, and seemingly-suicidal hopelessness were during my teenage years, from about age 13 on. After discovering this "Self Therapy" technique around age 17 or 18 (and practicing it regularly), those nearly nonstop severe feelings began to settle. And whenever something intense re-arose, which was perhaps weekly, I'd simply re-intensify my Self Therapy practice.

Eventually the intense feelings became more like a monthly occurrence. And that was clearly another improvement. However, those monthly occurrences were a bit more "shocking" because I often made the above "mistake" of assuming the issue was gone. I didn't call those experiences setbacks or think of them as practice opportunities back them, but I did soon learn that the key was simply to always return to the mental method that freed me in the first place.

I eventually went for a period of about 10 years (I can't remember exactly) with no serious anxiety problems, until my late 20's. And I can't remember what triggered that setback, but it was intense. And by that time, I had kind of forgotten about my Self Therapy approach, so for a while things were very dark... the "I can't live like this" kind of dark.

Fortunately, I eventually recalled what helped me the first time, and returned to practicing the Self Therapy method again. And this time, I put the effort into making some nice audio instructions so that I'd never again forget what set me free, and so that others could also hopefully benefit.

In other words, I hope that you've benefited, or soon will, from my setback. No joke, I sincerely hope you do.

I'm now in my 50's, and can honestly say that I've gone for a couple decades at this point without any overwhelming anxiety issues. There have certainly been ups and downs in life, some bigger than I would have liked, but overall I can look back and say I've enjoyed the entire roller coaster "adventure". And I'm so grateful that I found a way to do so. For me, the Self Therapy method has been so much more than just a way to overcome anxiety. It's been an approach to living fully.

On a "less positive" note, I currently sense what will likely be the greatest loss of my life approaching, and decided to take this opportunity to re-visit the audio instructions and re-design the website. I'm not a phone person, so I'm about 20 years late in making this website fully mobile compatible. But I hope those changes will be helpful.

Everyone's experience will be different, but I also hope that sharing my experience with you here has helped you see that setbacks are completely normal, and certainly not a "bad" thing.

They're likely just reminding you to remember something.

The problem with testimonials:

With time, anyone can accumulate positive testimonials for just about anything. And although testimonials can provide some assurance that at least some people found something useful, they can also be misleading since they're pretty much always skewed to the positive.

Accordingly, testimonials on this website should NOT be considered typical results. The method presented on this site will NOT be appropriate for everyone. Effectiveness and results will vary among users.

A survey of "helpfulness"

In an effort to provide a more accurate view of the usefulness of the method presented on this website, a survey was maintained on the site that asked: "If you've been practicing the Self Therapy technique for at least 3 days, have you found it helpful?" There were three possible answers: 1) It hasn't been three days, 2) Yes, I've found it helpful, 3) No, I haven't found it helpful.

Here's a screenshot of how the survey looked:

If someone clicked the first option, then nothing was recorded. If someone clicked the second or third option, then their answer was recorded. Only one response was allowed per IP address, and if more than one response was submitted by the same IP address, then only the most recent response was counted.

During the period of time that the survey was on the website, 461 responses were recorded. Of those, 429 people responded "Yes, I've found it helpful", and 32 responded "No, I haven't found it helpful". In other words, 93% reported that the method was helpful, and 7% said it was not helpful.

The problem with that survey:

While the above result appears phenomenal, it's important to recognize that there were probably many people who only tried the method once, didn't sense any benefit, and never returned to the site. So the above survey result is probably misleading.

On the other hand, nobody should expect an immediate positive result from this method. In fact, the first time you try it, it's likely you'll have a strong aversion to it — because it's literally teaching you to do the exact opposite of what we all actually want to do (not feel anxiety). So while the above survey was certainly not perfect, hopefully it at least provides some incentive to practice the method for at least 3 days before deciding whether it's beneficial for you.

Please don't bother reading all these comments now! It's over 20,000 words, much of it won't be relevant to you, and trying to read everything would just be a distraction from trying the method for yourself.

However, I'm sharing these comments because I think browsing them can help some of us to not feel so alone. For example, consider our friend who was worried about a piece of carrot getting stuck in his throat and choking to death. I never had that particular experience, so it won't be in my audios. But maybe somebody else has had chocking fears, and hearing that story will help them realize that they're not crazy, just anxious. That's helpful.

(I can certainly recall many similar episodes, such as the time I panicked because I thought I contracted botulism from eating a can of soup... all the symptoms were there!)

Another reason I've include so many comments is because I hope there's value in hearing from others who've made progress in managing their anxiety levels — even debilitating levels. There is definitely hope.

But again, it's not necessary to read all these comments. And if you do want to read them, there's no rush. But I would first recommend trying the "Quick Start" video, and then browsing them at your leisure.

This comment was from a Youtube user regarding a short video similar to the "Quick Start" video on this website. I no longer suggest those short videos, as many people fail to grasp the logic of this "counterintuitive" method from the limited explanation possible in a 10 minute video. The full audio found on this website is much more likely to provide sufficient mental motivation for people to give the method enough time to be effective. The "Quick Start" video found on this website is now provided along with the "Important" note to emphasize the need for some time.

Over the years I've made some short videos summarizing the Self Therapy method. While none are a replacement for the full (and also free) audio, they do provide a quick overview if you have limited time. All the links below teach the same technique, just with slightly different wording. If this is your first visit, watch the first. If you come back, maybe try another. And if the method seems of value to you, be sure to listen to the full audio. The videos below are dated and don't teach the Self Therapy method (see videos above for that), but they do provide quick explanations of how the method can be of benefit for some other anxiety challenges. Listen to the full audio for free

There was a time when getting found online was mostly a matter of creating useful content that got ranked highly by search engines. And for a long time, this site was easy to find that way. But much has changed, and there's a good chance that you found this site through paid advertising thanks to someone else's donation. If you're able to pay it forward with a donation, your support would be greatly appreciated:

• $3 DONATION:  While this is our smallest donation amount (due to transaction fees), it means a lot. It's likely that a few anxiety sufferers will find this resource thanks to your support 🙏
• $10 DONATION:  As a bonus, you'll get access to an additional 12 audio tracks of anxiety-reduction tips. However, these tips are about things like confidence, self-esteem, diet, exercise — i.e. stuff you can find elsewhere. In other words, no big secrets (everything you need to know about applying the Self Therapy technique to anxiety is already free on this website). So please only donate $10 because you want to donate $10 😊
• $15 DONATION:  In addition to the bonus above, you'll also get access to another 2 hour audio that expands upon the Self Therapy technique by teaching you how to improve other areas of your life with the same powerful approach. However, if you're still working on anxiety, the free audio is anxiety-specific, and is what you should stay focused on for now. In other words, the additional audio isn't necessary, and you should only donate $15 because you want to donate $15 💙

Your donation of any amount supports the free Self Therapy audio program, helping us to share it with anyone who needs it, regardless of their financial situation. Thank you!

Reminder: If you're still dealing with significant anxiety, it's really best to continue focusing on part 1 of the Self Therapy method. There's no harm in listening to the additional audios below, but none are as important as continuing to practice what you learned in part 1.

Since putting the MC²/Energy audio program together, I've realized some corrections (or at least clarifications) are needed:

For example, in the section about losing weight, I say that managing weight is primarly a matter of cutting/burning calories. And the method taught in this program is certainly a great tool for helping us to reduce calorie intake. However, the type of calories we take in (e.g. nutrient dense or not) is also an important factor. But the program does NOT go into that. And of course, there are medical issues that can impact weight loss efforts, which the program also doesn't go into.

Also, in the section about addiction, the focus is on feelings of withdrawal only. And again, the program provides a very powerful tool for helping us quit addictions by getting us through those withdrawal feelings. However, for some people/addictions, getting passed withdrawal is just one aspect of completely quitting an addiction — there's also the aspect of staying quit. And while Part 2 can be a useful component in that effort, please consider this program just one tool in your full recovery effort.

In general, keep in mind that the MC²/Energy audio touches on several big issues in a very small amount of time. Its purpose is to to familiarize you with one very powerful mental tool for overcoming such issues. But please don't let it replace your entire toolkit! And please don't consider the brief example issues that I use here to be full discussions of those issues.

If you have an idea for improving this website or the Self Therapy method, or if you have an idea for how to better share the method with anxiety sufferers, you may be able to use certain components of my work in your own projects:

1. SITE DESIGN:  This website's design (including HTML code, JavaScript, CSS) is based on another website's design that was licensed under Creative Commons. You can use those (web design) components under the same terms as specified by that original source site. The original source for SelfTherapy.org's design is credited on our homepage and here.

2. SITE TEXT:  All original, owner-created text (i.e. all typed text EXCEPT for 3rd party testimonials) on this website is licensed under Creative Commons BY 4.0, which means you can copy that material in whole or in part, as long as you reasonably (i.e. prominently) credit the original source. The original source for the site text is: SelfTherapy.org*

3. FREE AUDIOS:  The free audio tracks explaining the Self Therapy method are licensed under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0, which means you can copy that material in whole or in part, as long as 1) you reasonably (prominently) credit the original source, 2) your use is noncommercial, and 3) any adaptation you create is shared under these same terms. In other words, this means you may copy, redistribute, re-write in your own words, translate into another language, or summarize in videos/articles/podcasts the audios and/or method, BUT that in every case you must provide reasonable (prominent) credit to the original source (SelfTherapy.org*), AND your use must be noncommercial, AND you must apply these same terms (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) to anything you create based on the audios. Noncommercial means, among other things, that you cannot charge for access to the audios or your adaptations. It's okay if you monetize the material with advertising, but putting the material behind any sort of paywall is prohibited.

4. FREE VIDEOS:  The free "quickstart" videos on this website can be used under the same terms as described for "FREE AUDIOS" (#3) above.

5. MEMBER AUDIOS:  The audio tracks that are provided as bonuses on this website are traditionally copyrighted, and may not be shared, redistributed, or adapted in any way. But this policy may change in the future, so please check back for updates.

The audio program on this website is original work. However, this website's design is based on another website's design that is licensed under Creative Commons and credited here: • *SelfTherapy.org's design is offered under same terms as above site.

All background images used here are public domain from: All editing was done using FOSS software.

When viewing this website on an archiving service, some images and videos will not display correctly. You can instead download a fully functional version of this site from:

[LINK NOT YET SET]

TERMS OF USE

By using this website, you agree to the following terms:

Age Requirement:

The minimum age to use this website is 13.

Medical Disclaimer:

You should not rely on any information on this website as a substitute for professional medical diagnosis, treatment, or advice. This website was created to raise awareness of a self help method of resolving panic attacks and various other anxiety issues. However, this method's effectiveness and results will vary across users, and there's no guarantee that it will be right for you. Your use of any information on this website is solely at your own discretion and risk, and by using the website or information on it you agree to the full medical disclaimer.

Content Re-Use and Responsibility:

Content on this website is copyrighted under a mix of traditional copyright and Creative Commons (CC) copyrights. If you're interested in sharing or using any material from this website, click here for details about what's allowed. If you republish/redistribute any material from this website, you assume full publisher responsibility for the material you choose to republish/redistribute.

Feedback and Correspondence:

All feedback and correspondence submitted to this website via email or contact form become the property of website owner, to be used or not for any reason listed in our privacy policy (e.g. as a testimonial, or to make a website/audio improvement), without cost or liability. If your feedback or correspondence is shared, your contact information will be removed, and only your first name and last initial (or first initial and last name) and general geographic location (e.g. country or state) will be displayed. If you would like your name/location or entire correspondence to not be shared, please note that in your correspondence. Alternatively, you may request removal of any shared feedback or correspondence at any time via email.

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Jurisdiction and Venue:

This agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of California, as such laws apply to agreements between California residents, regardless of your location.

Any dispute related to this agreement shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state or federal courts in San Francisco, California, and you agree to submit to the personal jurisdiction of those courts.

Your Privacy:

By using this website, you also agree to our Privacy Policy.

Updates:

If you continue using this website, you agree to be bound by and subject to any updates to these Terms of Use. Accordingly, you should check these Terms of Use for updates periodically.

PRIVACY POLICY

We consider your personal data a liability, and strive to collect the bare minimum necessary to operate this website safely and efficiently. This page describes what information we collect, and how that information might be used.

*We no NOT sell your data to anyone, ever.

Cookie information:

This website does not use cookies, and doesn't collect any information using cookies. However, this site does contain 3rd party code from services such as Google and Facebook that do use cookies. Links to their privacy policies can be found below. And if you wish to set your web browser to block 3rd party cookies, this website will still work.

Email information we collect:

If you send an email to us, any personal information you choose to include in your message is up to you. Please include as little as possible.

Sending an email to us, or submitting the contact form on this website, does NOT subscribe you to any email distribution list.

*All feedback and correspondence submitted to this website via email or contact form may be used for any of the reasons below (e.g. to make website/program improvements, or for the testimonials page). If your feedback or correspondence is shared as a testimonial, your contact information will be removed, and only your first name and last initial (or first initial and last name) and possibly your general geographic location (e.g. country or state) will be displayed. If you would like for your name/location or entire correspondence to not be shared, please note that in your correspondence. Or you may request removal of any shared feedback or correspondence at any time via email.

System information we collect:

Your IP address, website access time, referrer (URL of link you clicked to reach any page on website), useragent (web browser identifier), device type (e.g. Desktop), operating system, and ISP (company that assigned your IP address to you) may be logged at any point while visiting this website.

What we might use the above information for:

• To communicate with you.
• To share feedback for the benefit of other users.
• To improve this website or the information it provides.
• To analyze general web traffic patterns.
• To prevent fraud/abuse/crime.
• To assist law enforcement in the event of a crime/threat.
• To determine your general geographic location and ISP.
• To comply with the law.

*Note that as of 2025, after over 20 years online, we've never had a single legal issue or needed to interact with law enforcement for any reason.

3rd party disclosures and tracking:

Aside from the exceptions below, we will only share your personal information with 3rd parties when necessary to comply with the law, assist law enforcement, enforce our Terms of Use, or protect our or others rights, property, or safety.

Embedded video exceptions:

This website embeds content from Youtube.com, Vimeo.com, and Instagram. Such content is governed by the privacy policies of those sites, which can be found on the preceding links.

Hosting and email exceptions:

We host this website, its log files, and emails on third-party providers (e.g. Gmail). You can find their privacy policies at: Bunny.net, DigitalOcean.com, Cloudflare.com, Fastmail.com, and Gmail.com.

Web analytics exception:

We sometimes use Plausible.io for web analytics. Plausible.io is a privacy-focused web analytics service that is fully compliant with GDPR, CCPA and PECR. You can view their data policy here.

Paid advertising exceptions:

We may run paid advertising on Google, Facebook, and/or Reddit, and may include tracking code from those companies on this website. Their privacy policies and data options can be found at the preceding links.

Unintentional disclosure exception:

While we strive to store data securely, we cannot be responsible for unintentional disclosure, theft, or hacking of your email or other personal information.

COPPA compliance:

We do not knowingly collect any information from any person under 13 years of age. The minimum allowable age to use this website is 13.

CCPA compliance:

We are not a for-profit business, nor do we sell your personal information, so there is no need to opt out of the sale of your personal information. To review or request correction or deletion of your personal information, see "Data requests" section below.

DNT policy:

We do not respond to Do Not Track (DNT) signals because the limited tracking that we perform is necessary for safety/operating/monitoring purposes.

Data retention policy:

We generally retain email correspondence and web traffic data for a period of one year. The exception would be any email that contains a message (e.g. testimonial) that we share on the website. Unless you request otherwise, we store those emails indefinitely in case legal confirmation is ever required.

Data requests:

If you'd like to know what personal information about you is in our system, the sources of that information or to whom it has been disclosed, or if you'd like to request correction or deletion of your personal information or correspondence, please use the "contact" link at the bottom of this website's homepage.

Your consent:

By using this website, you consent to the above Privacy Policy.

Updates:

If you continue using this website, you agree to be bound by and subject to any updates to this Privacy Policy. Accordingly, you should check this Privacy Policy for updates periodically.

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If you have a minute, please email us with details of what you clicked on before this error appeared. You'd really be helping me out :)

Thank you!

This site was built using Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). You should be able to make site changes without purchasing any software.

• Audacity - Audio recorder and editor.
• Geany - Text editor we used for HTML and JavaScript.
• GIMP - Image/photo editor, an alternative to Photoshop.
• Inkscape - Vector graphics editor, alternative to Illustrator.
• Kdenlive - Video editor. Also Shotcut and Olive.
• LibreOffice - Alternative to Microsoft Office.
• Mozilla Firefox - Most popular FOSS browser.
• VLC - Media player.

More about FOSS at:

• Wikipedia.org
• Debian.org

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