The Monster in the Cave How to Face Your Fear and Anxiety and Live Your Life

by Mellinger, David; Lynn, Steven Jay

• ISBN13: 9780425191699
• ISBN10: 0425191699
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-09-02
• Publisher: Berkley Hardcover

Summary

A new approach to conquering fear. Nearly 20 million Americans suffer from anxiety disorders--ranging from fears of specific objects like elevators to complex conditions that make it difficult to function in daily life. Sometimes their fears are like mythical monsters in caves--growing more scary in the imagination as they hide in the shadows, haunting the minds of the sufferers. In this book, David Mellinger and Steven Jay Lynn, respected scholars and clinicians with over fifty years' experience between them, cast a bright light on "the monster in the cave, " offering a menu of techniques to help confront and calm the fears, panic attacks and phobias that so many people endure--often hiding them from friends and loved ones for fear of seeming weak. In this accessible guide, Mellinger and Lynn review effective treatments including cognitive-behavioral therapy and SSRI antidepressants. They also offer a new approach that applies the time-tested principles of reverse engineering to these disorders--to help sufferers understand the inner workings of anxiety and re