Coping with Fears and Phobias: A CBT Guide to Understanding and Facing Your Anxieties

201 Pages·2007·1.35 MB·English

by  Warren Mansell

Advance Praise for Coping with Fears and Phobias
‘An excellent book, which should be interesting and beneficial to readers of a
wide range of backgrounds.’
—Anxious Times
‘Impressively clear, comprehensive, and practical – a treasure for those who
wish to understand and treat their anxiety.’
—Daniel Freeman, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London
‘A very valuable addition to the self-help literature. It is clear and concise, and
gives plentiful, useful advice on how to use strategies derived from a cognitive
behavioural framework to overcome anxiety.’
—Ann Hackmann, Consultant Clinical Psychologist,
Oxford University Department of Psychiatry
‘Warren Mansell draws on a wealth of clinical experience to present an
admirable combination of well-validated scientific strategies and a common-
sense approach in his 10-step plan to coping with fears and phobias. Highly
recommended.’
—James Bennett-Levy,
Oxford Cognitive Therapy Centre, University of Oxford
‘Dr Mansell, who is internationally recognized for his research on fear and
anxiety, provides a lucid, practical and realistic guide for those wishing to better
understand and cope with their fears. It is the most helpful book on this topic I
have read.’
—Allison G. Harvey, Director, Sleep and Psychological
Disorders Laboratory, University of California at Berkeley
‘I highly recommend this valuable, thoughtful and exceptionally helpful book.’
—Robert L. Leahy,
Director, American Institute for Cognitive Therapy
‘An excellent book which is easy to read and describes clearly the latest
approaches in cognitive behaviour therapy.’
—David Veale,
Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London
ALSO AVAILABLE IN THE COPING WITH SERIES
Series Editor: Steven Jones, University of Manchester
Coping with Bipolar Disorder:
A CBT guide to living with manic depression
Steven Jones, Peter Hayward and Dominic Lam ISBN 978 1–85168–299–7

Coping with Schizophrenia:
A CBT guide for patients, families and caregivers
Steven Jones and Peter Hayward
ISBN 978–1–85168–344–4

Coping with an Anxious or Depressed Child:
A CBT guide for parents
Sam Cartwright-Hatton
ISBN 978 1–85168–482–3

FORTHCOMING
Coping with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder:
A CBT guide for patients and their families
Jan van Niekerk
ISBN 978–1–85168–515–8

TO ORDER TITLES
All the titles in this series are available direct from the publisher.
Please visit www.oneworld-publications.com to order books online.

COPING WITH FEARS AND PHOBIAS
Published by Oneworld Publications 2007
This ebook edition published in 2012
Copyright © Warren Mansell 2007
All rights reserved
Copyright under Berne Convention
A CIP record for this title is available
from the British Library
ISBN-13: 978–1–85168–514–1
ebook ISBN-13: 978–1–78074–088–1
Typeset by Jayvee, Trivandrum, India
Cover design by Mungo Designs
Oneworld Publications
10 Bloomsbury Street
London WC1B 3SR
England
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This book is dedicated to my mum and my dad, who have helped me to question
and not to judge; my late grandma and my grandad (heading for his tenth
decade!); and to Louise, who I love dearly.
Contents
Acknowledgements
Series Foreword

1 Is this book for you?
What are fears and phobias?
Experiences you may have had
Who could benefit from this book?
‘Coping with anxiety’ versus ‘overcoming anxiety’ – are they the same or
different?
A note on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
Key points
2 Who gets phobias and how do they learn to cope?
What does it mean to be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder?
Fears and phobias associated with other mental health problems
Recovery from phobias
What does learning to cope involve?
Seven helpful beliefs
Key points
3 Some key coping strategies to begin with
Slow, shallow breathing
Brief mindfulness relaxation
Stretching and relaxing muscles
Taking a step back
Helpful things to remember
Drawing on strengths, qualities and resources
Self-soothing
Diet
Key points
4 Understanding fear
Fear can be helpful!
Three stages to fear
What does this mean about feelings of fear?
The close relationship between mind and body
What kinds of things do people fear?
How do fears begin?
Memories and pictures in the mind
When is avoiding danger a good way of coping?
Key points
5 Understanding vicious cycles and how to step outside
them
Vicious cycles
Vicious cycles are easy to fall into
Some examples of vicious cycles
Stepping outside the cycle
A ‘virtuous’ cycle?
Key points
6 Preparing for change
Fear of change
Each small step is progress
Key points
7 Developing your own programme for coping
The ten-step plan
Returning to step 1
Using the ten-step plan for other goals
Ten-step plan record sheet
Ten-step plan progress sheet
Key points
8 Dealing with worry and self-blame
What are worry and self-blame?
Are worry and blaming yourself useful?
Are worrying, self-criticism and rumination dangerous?
Understanding worry, self-criticism and rumination
Key points
9 Dealing with the consequences of the phobia
Knowledge is power
Dealing with people who don’t understand
Dealing with people who are overtly critical
Dealing with people who are abusive
Work colleagues and employers
Key points