“The Anxiety Cure” by Dr. Archibald Hart

The book titled “The Anxiety Cure” by Dr. Archibald Hart serves as a self-help book to help deal with stress, anxiety, and panic in adults, adolescents, and children. Hart seeks to inform reader about causes, prevention, and ways to cope with anxiety. Hart offers techniques to help reshape behavior that is caused by stress by introducing methods of meditation and tranquility to help people live a healthy life. Hart uses God and His word as the ultimate authority when it comes to finding the anxiety cure, and makes sure to incorporate the spiritual aspect into his teaching. Hart uses a multitasking technique when it comes to the anxiety cure because he offers the spiritual, psychological, and theological perspective when it comes to the healing process.

Hart refers to anxiety as being “a disease of stress” that in turn can lead to physical and emotional illness such as: panic attacks, posttraumatic stress disorder, and obsessive compulsive disorder among many other. So how does one become anxious or have anxiety? As Hart put it, “(people are) designed for life at camel speed, but we’re racing like cheetahs!” (Hart 1999), meaning that as people we are moving through life as such a fast-pace and because we take on so many responsibilities it has causes us to become anxious, which leads to stress. Hart goes on to explain about the brain’s inner workings, how one’s body responds to stress, and how the thought process can contribute to anxiety. Hart explains how anxiety can cause problems within the brain, due to the absence of neurotransmitters, which he refers to as the “happy messengers”. The balance between happy, which is due to the GABA and sad, Cortisol, is determined by the levels of stress which one is experiencing that causes a chemical imbalance that in turns allow anxiety to take over one’s mind, body, and spirit.

Hart offers concepts to help aid overstressed people, one being to create tranquility throughout life in the midst of an anxious world. Hart believes that our bodies have natural tranquilizers and through relaxation, rest, and mediation, people can use those tranquilizers to help calm and quiet oneself. According to Hart, in order to be free from stress and all the symptoms it can cause, the right medication must be used, there should be a decline in stress, and a change in one’s thinking and lifestyle, and most importantly relaxation should be learned. In the text Hart, teaches readers how to meditate to enhance natural tranquilizers and regain laughter, rest, and relaxation and find a positive outlook on life. He also teaches Sabbath rest and how life’s purpose can be found through meditation. Strengths and Weakness

I felt that Hart did a great job when it came to helping the readers to cope with anxiety and recognize the signs of anxiety. I like how Hart encourage readers to find self-motivation and self-control, and how he took the approach that the true cure comes from oneself and from the Lord. Also, I liked how Hart’s theory fit in with Hawkins circles, which were (in my opinion) the Temporal, Body, Soul and God. It fit with the temporal circle because he focused on how we need to protect and focus on oneself to find healing; body and soul when he talks about meditating to enhance the natural tranquilizers that will help avoid anxiety; God because he used God as the authority to really find true healing through Christ and the peace within our soul. I also, like the techniques and charts and examples he used throughout the book to really help readers gain knowledge on how to properly use these methods.

As far as, weakness go, I really didn’t see any because the book posed to be more of a self-help book so when it comes to self-help it is more of a give and take. So as a reader, I took what I thought applied more to what I believe and have witnessed. Application

I found this text to be very interesting, although, I must say it was not one of my favorites when it came to the texts read prior, but I found it to be a great guide to helping people deal with anxiety. Reading the text I found out some things about myself because I am often very stressed out, and at time I don’t know if I am going to make it, but reading the text showed me that I need to slow down and take it one day at a time. I also, like how the author said that panic attacks or anxiety attacks can be a “blessing in disguise” (Hart 1999) because it shows you that you are moving too fast and taking on too much and need to slow down. As a future counselor, although this may not be the first book I would go to, I am sure to have it in my archives because I too believe, as Hart, that sometimes medication is not always what is going to cure someone, it takes God and a self-control knowing that you are willing to do whatever it takes to get yourself back in order, and as a Christian counselor I will make it my mission to lead them closer to God so they can find healing through Him.

REFERENCES

Hart, A. D. The Anxiety Cure. (1999). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson. Hawkins, R. (2007). Hawkins’ pastoral assessment model. Accessed @ http://bb7.liberty.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&;url=%2Fwe bapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_159997 6_ on December 9, 2012.