Anyone who’s been through the nightmare of a panic attack will understand that it affects you completely. It’s not just feelings of fear. It’s also thoughts of catastrophes and physical symptoms that take you to a new level of terror. You think you’re dying, that you’re having a heart attack, or that you’re crazy. It’s unlike any other sensation of fear, and it can take over your life as you start to avoid everything that could possibly lead to another panic attack.

But there is help. Elena Welsh, Ph.D. has written a book filled with options. The Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Workbook for Panic Attacks is a well thought out, compassionate look at what happens during and after a panic attack as well as ideas on how to minimize their negative consequences in your life.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy can sound daunting, but really all it is it taking action first and letting your feelings follow instead of trying to change your feelings so that your actions will change. And Dr. Welsh walks you through the process with assessments and exercises to help you gain confidence while building a better understanding of what causes your panic attacks and how to rethink your attitude towards them.

She blends in some mindfulness and acceptance exercises, to help you develop even more tools to deal with those moments when the panic start to set in. As someone who both has suffered from panic attacks and who has studied psychology, I can say that these therapies are ideal for dealing with panic attacks with kindness, self-care, intelligence, and grace.

By taking a look specifically at how we react physically to panic, how our thoughts take us deeper into panic, and how we then avoid the things we think may cause more attacks, Dr. Welsh offers us alternatives to getting caught up in what we’re feeling. By learning breathing exercises, practicing body scan meditations, slowly exposing ourselves to the things that scare us, and learning to feel safe in uncomfortable situations, we can find ways to get past the overwhelming anxiety and rejoin our friends and family again, discover our joy again, live our lives again.

It’s not an easy journey, nor will it happen overnight. Dealing with panic takes months, years, sometimes a lifetime. But it can be done. And The Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Workbook for Panic Attacks can help. Although I started finding some relief for my panic attacks before this book came out, the ideas that it presents are the same ideas that helped me reduce my anxiety. That’s how I know they can help. I would definitely recommend this to anyone suffering from panic attacks. These exercises can make a big difference.

A copy of The Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Workbook for Panic Attacks was provided to me by Callisto Publishers, with many thanks.