Mental health is a big thing in my life – my day job involves supporting those with mental health issues to access employment, my partner has several diagnosed conditions, and I myself suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder. Mental health issues are much more on the radar now, which is great, but sometimes it can be hard to find advice that is practical and will actually help. Brenda Cox, a therapist and author local to me, has recently released this book to help those with anxiety, which provides simple, proven strategies to help sufferers gain control back in their lives.
Genre: Self-help
Published: December 2019
Synopsis
“Anxiety and panic attacks are like being trapped in a black hole. You can’t see a way out – you can’t believe that a way out exists.Your body and mind react to normal everyday situations as if you are surrounded by dangerous beasts – tigers and lions. When, in fact, you are completely safe.This book gives you practical tools and techniques that you can use to navigate your way out of the black hole. To take back control and master your anxiety. Brenda Cox is a Cognitive Hypnotherapist who specialises in helping people to do this at her private therapy practice. In this book she also shares her own past battles with anxiety, panic and agoraphobia and how powerful and effective these techniques have been in her own life.You can use this book as a standalone programme – or you can dip into the techniques to support your work with a therapist or other anxiety professional.”
(Taken from Goodreads)
My Review
I want to start out by saying how useful I really found No Tigers, No Lions – when I met with Brenda in January she told me that initially she’d written the book to supplement the work she was doing with her clients, however I feel that this could be useful for anyone out there who suffers with anxiety (diagnosed or not). My anxiety is nowhere near what it used to be (I was never diagnosed as a teenager due to a doctor who couldn’t recognise it) but, looking back, I was definitely suffering with it for quite a few years. Had I owned a book like this then I really think I could have cut down the amount of negative effects I received from it.
Brenda’s book is written in a simple and easy to read way, which is perfect for those suffering from mental health issues. Chapters are relatively short and designed so that, once you’ve read the introduction, you can pretty much read them in any order you like. I chose to read it as it has been written, however I can see how easy it would be to dip in and out as you see fit.
Throughout the course of the book Brenda explains a variety of different techniques proven to help with anxiety when practised and used. She explains to us early on that she suffered from anxiety herself, and uses both anecdotes from her personal life and hypothetical characters to help convey how they work. There’s a lot of scientific reasoning for each technique, too – something that I occasionally find lacking from self-help books. This was especially useful in the chapter covering gratitude and journaling as, despite seeing so much literature suggesting these techniques for anxiety, they rarely explain properly why these work with our brains.
Alongside these two techniques Brenda also explores options such as visualisation of safe spaces, self-care, breathing, and meditation and self-hypnosis. You don’t need to use all of the techniques at once, but rather choose the ones which work for you. I’ve always found breathing a simple yet really effective technique but decided to test some of the other options as well – I had positive success with creating a safe space, a self-hypnosis video, and journaling. I also tested out a truly interesting technique towards the end of the book called meeting with your protector (explained more in the book) and I’m looking forward to developing this over time as even the initial exploration was fascinating and optimistic.
The book really contained the right amount of information, and Brenda’s chatty style of writing makes it really accessible and such an easy read. She is also very good at making the reader aware of when might be a good time to see a GP of counsellor, ensuring that their best interests are at heart throughout.
Final Thoughts
I really feel that No Tigers, No Lions is an excellent book for those suffering with anxiety, and its empowering style will help you to take control back over your life in a way that suits you. Excellent for both adults and teenagers, this is well worth a purchase if you’re ready to take the next step in calming your fight or flight response and dealing with those situations you currently feel you have no choice but to avoid.
Purchase Links
If you’d like to purchase a copy of No Tigers, No Lions by Brenda Cox then you can do so using the following links:
No Tigers, No Lions by Brenda Cox – Amazon UK
No Tigers, No Lions by Brenda Cox – Amazon US
Author Bio
I am a Cognitive Hypnotherapist based in the UK. I have suffered from anxiety, over-thinking and panic attacks in some form throughout my life, and after a career in IT I retrained as a hypnotherapist in order to help other people who were suffering themselves.
After over 10 years working full-time as a therapist and coach I wanted to write a book that I could offer to my clients as part of our work together. I also wanted to make it available to those people who, for whatever reason, weren’t ready or able to commit to therapy at this time.
So I set out to write a self-help guide and ended up including bits of my own experience and story as part of the explanations. It felt right to share how these techniques have helped me in the ‘real world’ – as well as how they can help you to master your anxiety today.”
(Taken from Amazon)
Have you tried hypnotherapy before? Let me know in the comments, and don’t forget to like and pin! You can read some of my other non-fiction reviews here:
Food Waste Philosophy – Shane Jordan
Your Ultimate Guide To A Powerful Book Launch – Ray
Salvador Dalí At Home – Jackie de Burca
