An honest review of this health anxiety book by a fellow warrior who is on their way to inner freedom. You can pick up your copy here on Amazon today.
I won’t mince words; I have been suffering from health anxiety and have had the habit of overthinking things and events, leading to excess build-up of stress and a lack of zest to live to my full potential. Yes, I would talk it out with close friends and my partner; they would offer their perspective and pep me up, but the effect has always been transient, at best.
There seemed to be a conflict within myself, a self-inflicted wound that only I could heal; a mental block that only I could surpass. I looked inwards and took recourse to health anxiety books, but to be honest, most of them were half-baked, superficial, and didn’t offer much clarity; till I chanced upon Dennis Simsek’s ‘The Essential Guide to Health Anxiety.’
Even though my coterie of people would eulogize me with terms like ‘sincere’ and ‘prolific’, I knew they were plain kidding, and that whatever little I had achieved was much lesser than what I was capable of.
I was someone who could be easily disillusioned, demotivated, and often denigrated into a cocoon if things didn’t go my way.
If my partner reprimanded me for being forgetful or being too casual about things, I would either argue back, blame her or sulk, and then things would turn ugly. When one of my pals would pull my leg in my common WhatsApp group, I would take it personally. When someone said something against my favorite actor or political figure, I would feel offended. I would feel dejected when I would experience failure despite my best efforts. I have taken rejection personally and blamed it on my lack of good looks and inability to communicate well. I have been so down in the dumps, so to say, that I would suspect any compliment that came my way.
Couple this with an immense fear of anxiety symptoms turning into physical illness and I had a recipe for constant misery and suffering.
When a celebrity would pass away suddenly, I would crumble and feel that I was doing something wrong with my own health. A wake-up call is fine, but I reveled in exaggeration and unnecessary obsession. Since I am aging as well, I would often think about which part of my body would give way to illness first. Blurry vision meant there was something wrong with my kidneys. Inability to concentrate meant I had severe depression. Recurring headaches meant something really disturbing awaited me. And so many diseases and conditions were asymptomatic, meaning having no symptoms at all!
I would lose sleep over my mistakes, my wrong decisions, and the errant behavior that cost me a lot of time and opportunities, in my personal and professional life. And I would wake up late and sluggish, not in a mood to do anything productive, doubting myself and always hesitating to do anything beyond my comfort zone. Overthinking was my favorite pastime; I accuse myself of going someplace else in my mind even during pleasurable activities like watching a pacy-thriller or making love. Guess what, all that is in the near past.
The good news is that I am on the right track, proactive, have a much better presence of mind and am at peace with myself.
This is primarily thanks to Dennis Simsek’s ‘The Essential Guide to Health Anxiety’, a health anxiety book that goes for the jugular. It has been my guide in developing a progressive mindset and being a positive, empowering force to take responsibility for my actions and work on a prosperous and peaceful future.
The Essential Guide to Health Anxiety is divided into 20 chapters, each filled with a wealth of information on how you can get freedom from health anxiety, defined as a ‘chronic psychological and physiological state of fear. One of the key takeaways from this health anxiety book is the concept and application of reframing, the practice of creating and using different imagery and visuals to change associations made in our subconscious minds for past and future events.
‘The Essential Guide to Health Anxiety’ tells upfront that if you are confused, you must simply recognize what doesn’t work. It works on the basics of good health, like working on the correct breathing patterns, exhibiting the right posture (power poses), and slowing down on everything you do – be it talking, walking, driving, eating; etc. This is because when you slow down, you are in control, and you are less prone to panicking, messing up and feeling anxious.
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
Trust me, the same boring thing daily, leads to stagnancy and breeds disparaging thoughts. I decided to put in an ounce of courage to consciously plant new core beliefs and must say that the process has been quite transformative. I am not the same person anymore, I don’t hold grudges, I don’t sulk, I don’t blame anyone else or even myself. The energy is now directed towards small wins throughout the day. And yes, I don’t intend to be perfect or impress anyone. I just aim to have a good time, just going through the process of self-discovery and refinement as I learn new things.
The Essential Guide to Health Anxiety looks at empowering acts like courage and confidence as healthy replacements to negative limiting beliefs in your subconscious mind.
When you act in defiance of fear-driven beliefs embedded in your subconscious mind, you create new beliefs and a new direction for your life. Another underrated but equally important aspect in healing your health anxiety is implementing the 333 method, an effective method to recharge your emotional batteries.
Dennis Simsek’s (The Anxiety Guy) book offers plenty of self care ideas that couple beautifully with the main responding and reframing aspects of the book like massaging, dry skin brushing, magnesium baths, citrus baths, tea baths, foot reflexology, aromatherapy, laughing and hugging, and more. All of these supercharge your positive emotions and trigger a euphoric feeling that fosters productivity and happiness.
The Essential Guide to Health Anxiety is a counselor that you were secretly wishing for.
It has made me introspect into my personal perceptions, personal biases, negative environments, tiring people, self-limiting beliefs, food choices, entertainment choices, and career opportunities, to know where I am heading and the changes, I should make to create a new, empowering future for myself.
Less thought is often given to bodily symptoms that fuel anxiety. What I like most about the book is that it works on a body-mind-spirit approach to heal health anxiety and puts the mindset toward healing first. The book mentions how looking to heal health anxiety from the same identity that brought you in this state is a losing battle. Rather, a stepping out of pre-conditioned beliefs and into the unknown world of your higher self is key.
This health anxiety book teaches you the value of loving your body but not obsessing over it.
Once you realize the internal and external factors that affect your decision-making, you are on the way to creating a brighter future than expected. As someone who has benefited from the book ‘The Essential Guide to Health Anxiety’, I firmly believe that it could be a life-changing guide for many anxiety sufferers or even the ones who are confused and feeling bogged down by failures of any kind. So go give it a read today!
