Escape Anxiety: 8 Steps to Freedom Through Meditative Therapies

It's estimated that forty million Americans suffer from anxiety disorders—but that's just the tip of the iceberg. Millions more suffer in silence. Suzanne Jessee was one of them. Hospitalized at age thirty with severe depression, anxiety, and panic disorder, she was determined to overcome the mental paralysis and addictive behaviors that ruled her life. Not only did she personally triumph over these debilitating disorders, but she set out to study, train, and work in the world's leading treatment centers and has helped thousands of others to recover from severe anxiety.   

Through her research and stories of her experience, Escape Anxiety: 8 Steps to Freedom through Meditative Therapies Jessee gives the causes and patterns of these complicated and often misunderstood mental health problems and offers a program of natural treatments to regain health and happiness.      

Accompanied by a PBS special, Escape Anxiety is an exclusive look at the revolutionary treatment program Jessee successfully pioneered at the Betty Ford Center and other top addiction treatment centers. Her 8-Step Escape Anxiety program is designed to provide holistic, natural techniques to manage extreme stress and depression in order to escape their destructive consequences.      

At the heart of her program is Jessee's innovative method of Neurogenesis Meditative Therapy™ (NMT). Combining proven therapeutic techniques such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with ancient mindfulness practices, her methods empower anxiety sufferers by liberating them from unhealthy "thought myths" and helping them create sustainable, life-changing habits. Backed by recent scientific proof that meditation has a transformative effect on the physical brain, Suzanne demystifies the practice of meditation and demonstrates its power as a viable alternative to synthetic medications for treating anxiety. Each of the following steps of Jessee's program to break the patterns of anxiety is accompanied by exercises the reader can do at home, including a specially designed script for meditation:  

Step 1: Conquering Codependent Control Issues
Step 2: Dismantling Perfectionism
Step 3: Releasing Resentment and Forgiving Others
Step 4: Surrendering Shame and Resentment: Forgiving Yourself
Step 5: Defusing Catastrophic Thinking
Step 6: Mastering Self-Regulation
Step 7: Making Conscious Choices About Your Emotions
Step 8: Rewriting Your Internal Dialogue  

After years of personal experience helping patients at the Betty Ford Center and other clinical settings, and recognition for her success from the top experts in the field, Suzanne Jessee now offers an affordable and accessible in-home treatment program to heal those who suffer from the devastating effects of anxiety disorders.

“In this book and related PBS television special, Jessee, creator of antianxiety programs at the Betty Ford Center in California and Michigan's Brighton Hospital, draws on her experience as a clinical therapist and her earlier struggles with alcoholism, depression, and anxiety. Her book will be useful to anxiety sufferers, as its numerous checklists and narrative will first allow them to recognize that their symptoms are not simply what everyone goes through, and the tips and especially guided meditations--self-led sessions that increase in length as the book goes on--will allow them to begin recovery. Jessee includes numerous warnings to also seek a physician's advice. She makes it clear that she believes in God and advocates spirituality as one way to heal, but overall the book is suitable for those of varying faiths or no faith. Refreshing is the author's recognition that the need to get better is one more source of stress, and she takes it easy on readers, reminding them that they're often their own worst enemy and recovery isn't a race. VERDICT Within the first few pages of this book, readers will learn ways to combat lifelong problems. Pair with Jacqueline Hornor Plumez's forthcoming The Bitch in Your Head for an anti-anxiety course.”

In this book and related PBS television special, Jessee, creator of antianxiety programs at the Betty Ford Center in California and Michigan's Brighton Hospital, draws on her experience as a clinical therapist and her earlier struggles with alcoholism, depression, and anxiety. Her book will be useful to anxiety sufferers, as its numerous checklists and narrative will first allow them to recognize that their symptoms are not simply what everyone goes through, and the tips and especially guided meditations - self-led sessions that increase in length as the book goes on - will allow them to begin recovery. Jessee includes numerous warnings to also seek a physician's advice. She makes it clear that she believes in God and advocates spirituality as one way to heal, but overall the book is suitable for those of varying faiths or no faith. Refreshing is the author's recognition that the need to get better is one more source of stress, and she takes it easy on readers, reminding them that they're often their own worst enemy and recovery isn't a race. VERDICT Within the first few pages of this book, readers will learn ways to combat lifelong problems. Pair with Jacqueline Hornor Plumez's forthcoming The Bitch in Your Head for an anti-anxiety course. -- Henrietta Verma -- Library Journal

Suzanne Jessee, M.A., C.Ht., is the creator of Escape Anxiety, a multi-disciplinary therapeutic program for the prevention, management, and treatment of anxiety and panic disorders. She designed the anxiety specialty programs at the Betty Ford Center and Brighton Hospital. Suzanne earned her M.A. in Addiction Studies at the world-renowned Hazelden chemical-dependency treatment center in Center City, Minnesota, and her B.S. in psychology at Eastern Michigan University. Her unique contribution to anxiety treatment has been recognized by leaders in the field, including best-selling author Dr. Bernie Siegel. After hospitalization in 1991 with severe depression, panic disorder, and early stages of agoraphobia, Suzanne made it her life’s mission to get well, and then to study the psychology and physiology of anxiety and panic disorders. Suzanne lives in Palm Desert, CA, with her miniature Chihuahua, and enjoys nature hikes in the Coachella Valley Mountains with her daughter and Gran

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