Many people take anti depressants, and SSRI’s seem to be the favoured group of medicines over the older type tricyclics. I often read how people have resisted this type of medicine as if they’re going to be labelled as some kind of nut, be addicted to them, seen as being weak or some other strange notion they’ve conjured up.  Let me tell you … these medicines are there to help you and are designed to work on this type of ailment just the same as blood pressure meds help those with high blood pressure, a pain killer to help with pain, insulin for those with diabetes … so what’s wrong wit ..read more

I was sent a very inspirational song by Robert Oliver, who wrote about his own personal journey with anxiety through lyrics and music, and hopes it gives solace and inspiration for others.  This song is dedicated to anyone who has suffered from anxiety, and the message of this acknowledges their despair, provides hope and that recovery is an option. Thank you so very much Robert for sharing this song and also for sharing your journey too, and I'm sure many people will find this deeply moving and very inspirational as I did. Song - Hell and Back - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vy ..read more

Acceptance is something I read about 40 years ago in the Dr Claire Weekes books, but I could never really understand fully what it meant. Yes I accepted I had intrusive thoughts, I knew that, they were in my face 24/7, but how was that to help me? That’s not what acceptance is about and this was something I was to learn over the following years.  Acceptance doesn’t mean to know you have these thoughts, but acceptance means letting go of the fight with the thoughts, to allow them to be present and to not get into an argument with them, to not analyse them, not to get entangled with them ..read more

Check out the Resources Page as I’ve added a couple more links to books and Youtube videos.  Sally Winston’s book Overcoming Unwanted Intrusive Thoughts is a great read and the private Facebook group run by Shaan Kassam (his Youtube video’s too). All the self help books and youtube links all follow the same method first pioneered by Dr Claire Weekes.  This method is the true way to recovery and one that I followed ..read more

Worried is a word I hear all too often - worried I won’t get better, worried about the thoughts, worried about heart palpitations, worried worried worried. These are side effects that you’re worrying about.  It’s like worrying about the side effects of a cold - the sore throat, runny nose, aches etc.  Its pointless worrying about these because it won’t make the cold go away any quicker and you know once the cold goes then so too will the sore throat and runny nose. Same for anxiety.  Worrying about the side effects of anxiety is pointless as it’s not going to cure the anxiety ..read more

A thought came to me the other night about how to explain primary and secondary thoughts, and how to deal with them - something I talk of regularly. ​So ... here’s a test I’d like you to try: Pick up a pen.  Look at the pen for a little while. Put the pen down and walk away. Strange?  So the pen represents a daily thought you have, any thought, good or bad.  This is how everyone’s thoughts pops into our minds.  Looking at it means you’ve registered it in your mind for a while, and putting it down and walking away is you just leaving it and forgetting about it.  Thi ..read more

An over active mind is a very common side effect when you have anxiety, as your mind frantically tries to fathom out what's wrong with you, tries to fix the thoughts that come in thick and fast, tries to find an answer to these dreadful feelings you're experiencing ........ but sadly all you'll be doing is adding more thinking to the thinking. This head chatter will keep you ill, will keep the anxiety cycle rotating over and over, because the thoughts will cause anxiety and the anxiety will cause the thoughts.  It has to stop somewhere in the circle, and that falls first with the though ..read more

One of the things we all seem to do when we’re first ill with anxiety is go on the search for an explanation, a cure, a quick fix …… something that will help. I did exactly the same, but in my case mine was all through books because the internet hadn’t been invented when I was first ill. Because anxiety is something you’ve never experienced in your life, have never felt anything quite like it before, it confuses and frightens you, and even when you’re diagnosed with anxiety, it doesn’t give you the relief you so desperately want. So we all go on the internet prowl searching for that magic ..read more

I'm reading a new book called How the Mind Works and which is along the same lines as the Paul David book and Dr Weekes method.  The author Will, talks of primary and secondary thoughts, which is what I've talked about in other posts in a different way. As I've said, the anxiety condition starts from stress, and this stress produces adrenaline which makes the body become sensitised, so over time you'll respond more and more quickly to the stress, causing more adrenaline which will eventually build to such a point that it has nowhere to go, no outlet and the result will be anxiety ..read more

All posts from my other Blog have been transferred over to here (my original website).  The reason for the change is that the old blog site was independent from this website plus leaving comments was often temperamental. ​I hope this doesn't cause too much disruption if you've been following my posts. ... and ... test it out, leave a comment here, or chat to others who comment too.  Emails are required but are never published (though if you don't want to put your email for me to see then make one up - it still works ..read more