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A review by nashwa017
Untangle Your Anxiety: A Guide To Overcoming An Anxiety Disorder By Two People Who Have Been Through It by Dean Stott, Joshua Fletcher
5.0
I had the pleasure of buddy-reading this book with my husband and it was a wonderful book that turned out to be a great reading experience as well. If I can’t explain what goes on in my head, maybe the two writers of this book can. I first came across this book on Instagram since I've been following Anxiety Josh for quite some time now. His was the only page on Instagram which wasn't wishy-washy at all, and it actually explained concepts like overthinking without useless advice like - "well, don't think too much."
I fully understand that anxiety is different for everyone and we all experience it in different ways, so my experience and what I got from this book is extremely personal to me.
The book explains the medical reasons behind anxiety - what exactly happens in your body when you're going through an anxiety attack. I found that really helpful because it explains that anxiety is basically a threat response, to maybe a real or a non-existent threat. In this day and age, we are constantly bombarded with information, and that can all be very overwhelming which triggers a threat response.
It explains concepts like derealisation and other things that happen when we're going through an anxious period. The physical and mental symptoms are both explained with a clear way out defined so you can come out on the other-side, alive and well. I'm pretty sure I highlighted every page and made notes thinking, "well, if this isn't me."
One of the most useful things that I picked up from this book was the fact that anxiety is uncomfortable, and sometimes you just have to sit with the uncomfortable feelings and symptoms. If your heart is beating out of your chest and you feel like you can't breathe, you have to eventually realise that you will not die and this is the brain's response to dealing with (real or imminent) danger.
It's not easy but facing the discomfort and sitting with your feelings is the way forward.
While the book has a lot of information in it, it does not feel like an information overload at any point, because the writing is easily understood by someone who does not have a background in science. The conversations between the authors at the end of each chapter were quite uplifting, and made me feel less alone in my anxiety. It’s comforting to know that a lot more people go through this, every day.
I fully understand that anxiety is different for everyone and we all experience it in different ways, so my experience and what I got from this book is extremely personal to me.
The book explains the medical reasons behind anxiety - what exactly happens in your body when you're going through an anxiety attack. I found that really helpful because it explains that anxiety is basically a threat response, to maybe a real or a non-existent threat. In this day and age, we are constantly bombarded with information, and that can all be very overwhelming which triggers a threat response.
It explains concepts like derealisation and other things that happen when we're going through an anxious period. The physical and mental symptoms are both explained with a clear way out defined so you can come out on the other-side, alive and well. I'm pretty sure I highlighted every page and made notes thinking, "well, if this isn't me."
One of the most useful things that I picked up from this book was the fact that anxiety is uncomfortable, and sometimes you just have to sit with the uncomfortable feelings and symptoms. If your heart is beating out of your chest and you feel like you can't breathe, you have to eventually realise that you will not die and this is the brain's response to dealing with (real or imminent) danger.
It's not easy but facing the discomfort and sitting with your feelings is the way forward.
While the book has a lot of information in it, it does not feel like an information overload at any point, because the writing is easily understood by someone who does not have a background in science. The conversations between the authors at the end of each chapter were quite uplifting, and made me feel less alone in my anxiety. It’s comforting to know that a lot more people go through this, every day.