3qtr2005 - Book Review - Hope and Help for Your Nerves

Title: Hope and Help for Your Nerves
Author: Claire Weekes
Link to Purchase: Buy the book

"They say it's 'just nerves' ... But it can stop you from working ... upset your personal relationships ... transform you from the busy and interesting person you used to be into someone else." So says panic disorder expert Dr. Claire Weekes about the tricks your nervous system can play on you. Whether this internal tension slows you down a little or a lot, the truth is that no one is completely immune from what fear, uncertainty, and doubt can do to you physically, mentally, or emotionally. And although this book was written for more severe sufferers of "nervous illness," it can help anyone suffering from anxiety learn its causes, better understand its symptoms, learn to relax, and finally break free.

At the risk of oversimplifying things, we have two main types of nerves: voluntary nerves, or ones that we use to consciously move our muscles, and involuntary nerves, ones that automatically control our internal organs, intestines and the like. The involuntary nervous system has two sub-systems: the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems. The sympathetic system is in charge of our adrenaline - it kicks in when we are in a 'fight or flight' situation (real or perceived), increasing our heart rate and blood flow, among other things.

The parasympathetic nervous system acts in the opposite manner by balancing the adrenaline rush and enabling us to relax. When we're over-stressed, over-tired, over-frazzled, etc. our adrenaline producing nerves tend to over-produce. Indicators include sweaty palms, that sense of nervousness, dry mouth, restlessness, dread, or a number of other not-too-pleasant side-effects.

Sometimes these side-effects can become quite unnerving - especially when combined with the shock and bewilderment of not knowing what the heck is happening to us. Fist we're frightened by something so our adrenaline naturally fires. But because our sympathetic system is so hyper-sensitized, it over-fires and our secondary fear kicks in. (We're now frightened by our reaction to being frightened.) This causes another, even bigger, shot of adrenaline to fire which causes the whole cycle to repeat itself with such increasing intensity and relentlessness that a full-fledged panic attack results.

It's really tough stuff.

What Dr. Weekes offers is a way to analyze and understand these symptoms so that there is no shock and bewilderment, so that our secondary fear cycle never gets started. To recover from (or avoid) panic, she instructs, we must realize and accept that our adrenaline-producing nerves are simply over-stimulated and not read anything more into it than that. The four-step process she recommends is this:

1. Face it - You are over-tired and quite possibly exhausted.


2. Accept it - The adrenaline in your system is a result of your exhaustion and nothing more. Do not be bluffed by a physical feeling.


3. Float past it - Knowing the root cause helps you prevent secondary fear from setting in. Recognize that what you are feeling is temporary and just a matter of having too much adrenaline in your system.


4. Let time pass - As you relax and learn to prevent that secondary fear, both the amount of adrenaline that gets fired into your system will naturally lessen, and your parasympathetic nerves will be better able to counter-balance the adrenaline that still does fire. You may still get an initial jolt, but knowing what it is - and knowing how to react to it - will greatly reduce it's negative impact on you.

For some, Hope and Help for Your Nerves may be too deep a look into panic disorders and nervous illness. But if you are at all curious about gaining more control over your counter-productive thinking - or learning more about how your mind and nervous system works - it is a very insightful and meaningful read.

And, in that there are more than 20 million Americans who suffer from some sort of anxiety disorder - approximately out of every nine, according to the American Psychiatric Institute - it may be particularly relevant and helpful for you or someone you know.

Thanks to LS for the recommendation.