MSI Press Blog

  Excerpt from  Anxiety Anonymous  by Dr. Dennis Ortman --  Introduction   “Whoever can see through all fear will always be safe.” —Tao Te Ching  In our fast-paced society, living with stress seems normal. There is so much to do and so little time to do it. You may rationalize the stress as the inevitable price of ambition and success.  What you call stress is really anxiety. It is your fearful, nervous reaction to the many challenges of your life. That anxiety may escalate and persist to the point that you tell yourself: “I’m powerless over my anxiety, and my life has become unmanageable because of it.”   If your anxious reactions become harmfully excessive and beyond your control, you have crossed a line. You have become addicted to your anxiety. You experience it as powerful as any drug, taking over your life.  Nancy’s Story   Tonight was a special night for Nancy. She planned a surprise thirtieth birthday dinner for her husband Rick. It would be an intimate celebration for j

  Excerpt from  Think Yourself into Becoming a Language Learning Super Star Affective Dissonance: Anxiety   Everyone experiences anxiety, no matter how capable or how easy a life any person seems to have. [1] Everyone has problems; just scratch the surface. And problems create anxiety. Generally, the greatest source of anxiety comes from not having the means to resolve a problem even if you know how to resolve it. If you cannot pay rent because your income is too low, of course, you will feel some anxiety. Classroom anxiety comes from a similar source—except often the lack of means of resolving a problem is a perceived lack, not a real lack. You are nervous about a test because you don’t have enough time to study, but you have waited until the last minute so you need to cram. Of course, you feel anxiety. You probably also realize that you did not have to wait until the last minute, and next time you can rectify it. Some students experience severe test anxiety. That is covered

Insecure Attachment  A child is born completely helpless, dependent on his parents for survival. He cannot feed, clothe, or shelter himself. His parents care for his every need, not only his biological needs but especially his emotional ones. Without love and affection, a child cannot thrive and grow to emotional maturity. Because of his utter helplessness and dependence on his caregivers, a child is hard-wired, like other animals, to form an attachment bond with his parents. That bond keeps the child emotionally engaged with the parents and elicits their nurturing. Parenting is a fine art, more an art than a science, requiring maturity, wisdom, and generosity. It requires maintaining a fine balance between many opposing behaviors. It is like keeping a violin string at just the right tension to produce beautiful music, neither too loose nor too tight. In the midst of change, parents need to guide their children by being neither too strict nor too lax. Children require calm dire

  Most patients who end up at the end of life, from cancer or otherwise, experience anxiety and restlessness. Typically, medications are given to help with both of these conditions. Ironically, Carl's last days were very peaceful although he suffered from restless leg syndrome for many years (it disappeared as he entered his final month of life -- probably NOT common). To understand the differences, here are accepted definitions: Anxiety  An abnormal and overwhelming sense of apprehension and fear often marked by physical signs (such as tension, sweating, and increased pulse rate), by doubt concerning the reality and nature of the threat, and by self-doubt about one's capacity to cope with it.  Use words of encouragement and remind them that a panic attack can never harm them and that nothing is physically wrong with them. This is because many people will assume they're having a stroke, or even dying. Reminding them that they are physically okay can help. Typically when so

  Excerpt from Anxiety Anonymous -  Steps to Wholeness Appreciating the addictive quality of anxiety may open the door to a different way of finding relief and enable you to be more patient with yourself. Conventional therapy has been limited in helping because it does not reach to the deeper roots of anxiety in the human psyche. Therapy, including medication, addresses the symptoms and not the underlying cause in the human condition. In the 1930s, it became clear that psychology had failed in treating alcoholics. Carl Jung, the renowned Swiss psychologist, announced the failure and the need for a spiritual conversion. He called alcoholics “frustrated mystics” who looked for the Spirit in the spirits. Bill Wilson, a hopeless alcoholic, found recovery outside the walls of traditional psychological treatment. He and Dr. Bob Smith founded the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous and formulated the Twelve Steps as the guideposts of recovery. They realized from personal experience that only

  Just released - the audiobook edition of Anxiety Anonymous . Book description: When you are in the grip of anxiety, fear, or worry: - Do you feel powerless to stop your reacting? - Does your life feel unmanageable? - Does your craving for control interfere with your life? - Do you feel hopeless for a cure? If you answer "yes" to these questions, you anxiety has become an addiction. It acts like a drug that excites, numbs, and possesses you, causing you to avoid a full life. Viewing anxiety as an addiction, Dennis Ortman, Ph.D. guides you through the time-tested Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous to find relief from your anxiety. He shows how the Steps offer practical wisdom on how to transform your anxious habits of thinking into constructive action. The Steps invite you to stop, look, listen, and then consciously act to create a new life, awakening your true self. Award Finalist, American Book Fest Best Books Award For more posts about Dennis and his books, click  HERE .