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Coping with Fears and Phobias
About the Author | Excerpts | Reviews and Endorsements | What readers found helpful
Does the book work? | Downloadable Forms | Online Self-Help ProgrammeFear is a normal emotion that all of us experience at times, but when it leads to phobias, anxiety, panic and worry, it can have a huge impact on people’s lives. Nevertheless, hundreds of people learn to cope better with their anxieties every day, and many overcome them completely.
Warren Mansell explains in a clear and compassionate way how anxiety develops and keeps going, and how to manage it differently to start to reclaim your life. By learning to accept the uncertainties of the present, you can start to create a positive future for yourself and those around you.
Based on the most contemporary work in cognitive behavioural therapies, the book provides a step-by-step way to prepare for change, face your fears, and build on your strengths and values. This easy plan is illustrated by the stories of five people suffering from very different fears who have learned to cope better and make their personal goals a reality. This book offers no quick cures; it helps you to develop your understanding, knowledge, and commitment so that you look at your problems differently and start to back control of your life.
Dr Warren Mansell is a Chartered Clinical Psychologist and a Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Manchester, UK. He has researched anxiety for over a decade, and authored two books: “Cognitive Behavioural Processes Across Psychological Disorders: A Transdiagnostic Approach to Research and Treatment” (co-authored with Allison Harvey, Edward Watkins and Roz Shafran) and, the rather lighter “Bluffer’s Guide to Psychology”. He is a member of the British Association of Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP) and the scientific committee of the BABCP national conference. He is committed to drawing out the most effective features of psychotherapies across a wide range of presenting problems and disseminating these methods and principles to a wider audience.
Details: Paperback | 192 pages | ISBN 1-85168-514-6 | July 2007
Click below to purchase a copy:
Impressively clear, comprehensive, and practical – a treasure for those who wish to understand and treat their anxiety.
Dr Daniel Freeman, Senior Lecturer in Clinical Psychology, 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 form 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.
Dr Alison G. Harvey - Associate Professor, Psychology Department, University of California and Director of Harvey Sleep and Psychological Disorders Lab
Coping with Fears and Phobias by leading psychologist Warren Mansell is an excellent guide to helping yourself deal with all of those anxieties that you have. Written in clear, concise language, Mansell helps you understand why you are so fearful and exactly what you can do about it. It's so helpful that this book is written by someone with such a strong scientific background--- but it's also useful that it is written with such care, compassion and practicality. I highly recommend this valuable, thoughtful and exceptionally helpful book .I highly recommend this valuable, thoughtful and exceptionally helpful book.
Dr 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 and President of the British Association of Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP) 2006-7
Dr Warren Mansell, a Chartered Clinical Psychologist and a Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Manchester, has researched anxiety for over a decade. I am fortunate to have met him at this year's No Panic Conference. His book, Coping with Fears and Phobias comes highly recommended by James Bennett-Levy from Oxford Cognitive Therapy Centre who describes Dr Mansell's ten step plan as a combination of well validated scientific strategies and a common sense approach.
What I particularly like about this well presented, easy to read book is the authors caring and thoughtful approach. Having met Dr Mansell, this does not surprise me. The reader is encouraged to work at a comfortable pace to work towards achieving a lasting change.
Is this book for you? Dr Mansell begins by assuring the reader that fear is a normal emotion. He explains what fears and phobias are, that they are very common and can affect anyone, giving personal examples of a wide range of phobias. Understanding fear is also covered with useful coping strategies to be used whilst working through the book and thereafter, practised regularly.
I found the chapter on understanding vicious cycles and how to step outside them particularly enlightening. Preparing for change and fear of change is also covered in some detail It is clear that Dr Mansell understands how hard this can be to achieve and is one of many examples of his gentle and empathetic approach to coping with fears and phobias. I found this both encouraging and empowering. No one can, or should, force you to change. If others try they get it wrong because they don't know you as well as you know yourself. Chapter 7 of the book helps you to develop your own programme for coping using a systematic ten step plan. A record sheet is set out to guide you through this process.
Worry and self blame, criticism and the consequences of phobias, such as the impact on work, education and relationships are all examined. A chapter then follows on common obstacles that arise for people putting their plans for coping into action, with ideas on how to deal with them. It takes time to learn to cope with anxiety.
Appendix 1 gives a graded introduction into the symptoms of phobias with possible explanations for the experiences many people have reported when feeling anxious and fearful.
Appendix 2 covers the names of the main anxiety disorders and their symptoms e.g. social phobia and agoraphobia.
I found Coping with Fears and Phobias to be logical, straightforward and accessible. It is a book that demonstrates insight and compassion on the part of Dr Mansell who clearly understands anxiety.Nancy’s Book Review
No Panic Newsletter, September 2007
Coping with Fears and Phobias by Warren Mansell is a step-by-step self-help book, aimed primarily at people experiencing anxiety-related difficulties. It can also be of use to carers and therapists. Mansell writes in a straightforward, concise and unpretentious style, and is extremely balanced when discussing a number of contentious issues. His ethos is that sufferers should make their own decisions, using the approach they find useful at a pace that is comfortable for them. He is positive about people’s ability to change but is realistic and specific as to how this can happen.
The book is divided into twelve short chapters, each being summarised by a self-check allowing the reader to see if they have taken on board the information that has been presented. The text is interspersed with personal testimonies from people whose experience is relevant to what is being discussed. A CBT approach is used throughout; the author is careful to stress that CBT is not perfect, and that his approach will vary from that of other practitioners. There is a companion website to the guide, in addition to a number of worksheets which the reader can photocopy for their own use.
The first two chapters introduce the concepts of fear and phobias. The definition of a phobia as an ‘irrational fear’ is deemed unhelpful, the focus of the book being to reclaim ‘your life from the phobia, regardless of whether people believe that the phobia is irrational or not.’ It is emphasised that whilst everyone is unique, there are experiences that we all have in common. Fear is viewed as a natural emotion, we may not be able to eliminate it but we can learn to cope with it. A large amount of text is devoted to the concept of coping.
The third chapter introduces some key coping strategies, including slow shallow breathing, and the stretching and relaxing of muscles. Brief mindfulness mediation and positive self-talk are also introduced. Chapters 4 and 5 go into a bit more detail into understanding fear and the vicious cycles, which are often associated with anxiety disorders. A large section is devoted to an examination of safety-seeking behaviour, and the negative effects that it can cause. Chapter 6 focuses on ‘change’ and how one can prepare for it.
Possibly the most important part of this guide is contained in Chapter 7, where a ten-step plan for coping with a phobia is outlined, each step being described in detail. The idea of ‘facing your fears’ is important but this should be done gradually. The author stresses that his approach need only be used as a guide, and sufferers are encouraged to develop their own plan.
Chapters 8 – 10 deal with topics associated with phobias, such as worry and self blame, the consequences of phobias, how to deal with friends, family and work colleagues, and what to do when setbacks are encountered. Chapter 11 invites the reader to take a step back and reflect on how to lead a valued life.
In the final chapter, Mansell discusses the various treatments that are available for anxiety disorders. He focuses particular attention on cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and how it can be accessed. There is a small section on medication; the author clearly has some reservations about the use of drugs to treat anxiety disorders, since the taking of medication, in particular tranquillisers, can be in itself a safety-seeking behaviour. Nevertheless, he gives some sound advice to those who are thinking about taking medication. Complementary therapies, such as clinical hypnotherapy are not covered.
To summarise, this is an excellent book, which should be interesting and beneficial to readers of a wide range of backgrounds.
National Phobics Society
What did Readers of a pre-published edition of the book find helpful?
“I really enjoyed the introduction. It was perceived very personal as though the author really cared and good use of language.”
“The case examples, diagrams, tables are very comprehensive and easy to read”
“It shows that anxiety is normal”
“It introduces helpful relaxation and breathing techniques”
“The 10-step plan for facing you fears was well set out and comprehensive”
“The exercises were well thought out and practical”
“It helped me to understand that I’m not alone”
“The diagrams were useful, making me think about the situation”
“The Appendices were useful, particularly the ones that showed alternative ways of thinking”
“It helped me to understand the physiological causes of anxiety and to manage it better.”
“The analogies for coping with anxiety were helpful”
“The case examples help in understanding the treatments that are mentioned”
“The examples of other people gave a realistic approach on what to achieve.”
“What we can do to cope with fears and anxiety, like trying to stay calm with certain feelings longer.”
“I liked the examples of how people overcame their phobias.”
“The ‘breakdown’ of everything made it very clear what terms are etc, supported by empirical evidence and personal examples.”
“The author uses very encouraging language”
“The book let me stay in control, i.e at my own pace”
Does the book work? Evidence from a study of 50 students reporting problems with anxiety
The effects of the book on anxiety are currently being evaluated in a controlled study. Highlights of the results of this study will be online soon! At present, the initial findings are very promising:
o 100% of readers said they learned at least ‘a moderate amount’ about fear, phobias and anxiety from the book
o 90% of readers said they would recommend the book to a friend
o 100% of the readers said the book helped them cope better with fear, anxiety and phobias
o Over a third of these said they had coped better by ‘a large amount’ after reading the book
Click here to download the following forms from the book for you to print out and fill in when you go through the programme in the book:
Table of Strengths, Qualities and Resources
An Online Self-Help Programme and Community – Watch This Space!
The book is currently being adapted so that people can access the programme online, free of charge. This website will take you through the 10-step plan in a straightforward way, help you monitor your progress and troubleshoot any obstacles. You can also choose to have your experiences and accomplishments available online so that you can share them with other people learning to cope better with anxiety. This facility will be completely anonymous, yet give you the opportunity to learn from others and build on each other’s strengths and resources. Available end of September 2007.
