Anxiety: Practical About Panic: A Practical Guide to Understanding and Overcoming Anxiety Disorder

by Joshua Fletcher

Do you suffer from anxiety and panic? So did Joshua Fletcher, the author of the self-published bestseller PANICKING ABOUT PANIC - but he treated his own condition successfully, went back to school, became a counsellor and emerged as one of the country's leading experts.

PRACTICAL ABOUT PANIC is a complete, easy to read and hugely practical book about anxiety from someone who knows how to recover and live your life to the full - and will show you how.

Genres: Nonfiction, Mental Health, Self Help

160 pages, Paperback

Published September 7, 2021

Reviews

[Una Bērziņa - Pudule · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly useful.
My most common beef with self-help books is that they're either too academic, which confuses the reader, makes them feel intellectually inferior, and just pushes them away. Or, these books tend to stray too far away from facts and dive into this weird spiritual wishy-washy advice that is neither practical nor accurate.
Luckily this book found the middle ground—it educates the reader about the science of anxiety, while still remaining easy to understand for the general public.
Good work!

[Brynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy and Impactful Read

As someone who suffers over thinking and constant "I shoulds" pushing for never-ending productivity, this book was both comforting and impactful. Easy to read and straightforward, this book addresses anxiety in an easy to digest fashion, with real ideas and practices for changing your mindset for the better.

[Ben Appleby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually read his newest book "Untangle Your Anxiety: A Guide to Overcoming Your Anxiety Disorder", but it's not on Goodreads yet but I wanted to include it on my reading challenge...so here is my review for the wrong book :):

Lots of great perspective and practical tips that I've started using in daily life that have yielded great results already. This book has opened my mind to a new way of viewing my anxiety as a part of me and growing to live with it rather than treating it as something I need to battle away. This alone has been powerful in changing my approach to anxiety and also coming to terms with who I am and how my brain thinks. Highly recommend for sufferers of anxiety. The writing is not great though and the parts I found useful didn't start until chapter 6, but I have already seen a change within a few days so the ideas and content have been on the mark, at least for me.

[Gerry Grenfell-Walford · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book pretty much in one go (sadly I had to go to work in the middle, but still...) and finished with a feeling of 'well that's it. The last word on the subject. I don't need to read any more books. It's all here!'
On reflection, of course this is a simplification, and can't possibly really, really, REALLY be true. But it's as near as dammit!
This is a tiny book, and thus necessarily light on detail. Heavy on the immediate and essential. It is indeed a 'practical' approach, and that's exactly what you need when anxiety kicks in.
Of course you can't turn a cargo-ship on a dime, and so turning fight-or-flight around works best as part of a long term strategy that can take a (very, in my case) long time. And this book references such practices: meditation, excercise, putting yourself outside of your comfort zone in little steps. There are other books for these subjects, many of them outstanding and complimentary to this one and among themselves.
But for an immediate handle on the situation, or as a quick refresher on what you may have read elsewhere, this is the book!

[Haziqah Hanoom · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came across this book on instagram - recommended by a mental health 'advocate' account. I was looking for books on self-help, particularly psychotherapy, and this book helps me a lot. It assists you in understanding what is going on (i.e. what anxiety actually is and how it tricks your brain), and guide you with practical steps on how to deal with it. Wish I read this book earlier. 10/10 would recommend, especially if you are a fellow friend struggling with anxiety, like me.

[Gemma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely helpful wish I read it sooner would definitely recommend

Great book for anyone with anxiety loves the first book and o definitely but buy both books for full understanding.

[Pammy-sue Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was really useful and well written. It concisely explained what anxiety is, why it happens and ways to think differently to control your anxiety. I would certainly recommend to anyone who experience anxiety, it made me feel less alone and 'mad'.

[Linda Kalniņa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good, but it lacked something for me, maybe some deeper vision and insight. There was the same practical and good advice though.

[Rhonda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written by a psychotherapist who has suffered much himself from anxiety in the past. This shows both in his referencing back to his own experiences and to the tone he chooses to write in. His voice is calming and gentle to the point it almost irritates but it works. At one point he acknowledges that simply reading about anxiety and panic attacks can cause one and it was that which enabled me to keep reading simply because it was true of how I was feeling as I read. His recognition of this meant I suddenly trusted him. Great background medical speak re what the body is doing in a panic attack which I found useful. It also confirmed the value and validity of a number of self protective practices and decisions I had already reached re the sudden episodes of terror, despair and dread into which I would, without warning, sink. I found huge value in the sections on self affirmation and also particularly on the exhaustion that accompanies these feelings. I use exercise but had begun to wonder that it might be two sided - ie exercise as escape from facing bad feelings. My only problem was that I believe simply reducing all anxiety to an overflow of adrenaline without questioning why that adrenaline rush happened in the first place is shutting off an important avenue of understanding. The second is advice to consider counselling, despite anxiety about it, is assuming that effective counselling is available. Its isn't - for many reasons and some reflection on how best to deal with that - even a simple admission that having counselling qualifications does not mean the person we think might help is going to be a perceptive or effective listener to our problems, and how to deal with that would be very useful. I say this from experience. Too many sessions circle around questions and answers with predetermined conclusions and advice and fail to look too closely at individual root causes. However, that aside, I take away from this work the interesting and useful info re the role adrenaline plays and the permission to be tired and to build rest into my life.

[Andy Irwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some very useful insights, particularly around the limiting assumptions that characterise, and loop within, anxious thinking. The author encourages the reader to search for and acknowledge their “what if” and “I should” thoughts and the challenge them. Section 5 of the book provides helpful insights into the balanced approach that is required to successfully manage and reduce anxiety levels in sufferers. The idea that a healthy lifestyle alone will cure anxiety is unhelpful and too often trotted out. Whilst it certainly helps, there are plenty of anxious exercisers and healthy eaters out there. We also need to be self-reflective, be able to observe our thoughts, understand where they come from and practice self-compassion.

That said, one mild irritation with the book and where it doesn’t break with tradition is its call to always tell yourself “I’m ok” and establish that as a core belief. You’re not always ok, sometimes you are in danger, and sometimes your anxious thoughts are a way of telling you you’re doing something wrong or that there’s something you need to do to secure your safety. We also need to learn to understand ourselves, build resilience and learn to work past anxieties about legitimate problems and move into tackling them. There’s just a little too much “it’ll all be ok if you just tell yourself so” in here for me and less encouragement towards thinking “if I do a, b & c then I’ll be safe/fix that problem”.


A useful, accessible and surprisingly broad look at anxiety, how it manifests and how to challenge it nonetheless.

[Dianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t know why Joshua Fletcher’s books are so hard to find… I’ve read many books on this topic but I’ve heard that Fletcher is a must read on the subject, what drawed me in was that he was a sufferer as well. It’s good to have someone to relate to, to understand you mainly. But, that’s how I’ve went searching for his books. This as the title implies, is a super practical book about how to minimize the symptoms of panic and anxiety. I know how panic and anxiety happens but the way he explains them is so easy to grasp, a new approach to old facts.

It’s definitely calming, it brings you hope and peace because anxiety is completely curable. You know what I mean. The fact that our bad thoughts come from adrenaline was such a mind blowing fact to me. Made me feel better about it too, because I catch a negative thought and get so scared of it until I scare myself into a panic attack, this book shows how to not do what I do. I do recommend it for anyone who is CURRENTLY suffering.

[Sonja Jakovljev · Rating 5 out of 5]

"A lifeline, not just a book."

Panicking About Panic reached me at the perfect moment. Honestly, thinking back, I don’t even know what would’ve happened if I hadn’t come across this book exactly on that day. It felt like someone finally understood the chaos I was living with—without judgment, without noise, just calm clarity.

This book wasn’t just helpful—it was a turning point. It brought me back to myself in a way that felt possible, even on my worst days.

Since then, I’ve started looking back at the author's earlier work, and it’s clear—Joshua Fletcher gets better with every book. There’s real growth in his writing and understanding. Now I know I’m not alone, and that means everything.

[Gerard Mullan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A thought-provoking and short dive into the topic of Anxiety. The book has several ideas I found useful, such as delocalising anxiety from specific manifestations to see the 'umbrella' of anxiety as a meta-problem, and linking different forms of anxiety to a 'scanner sweep' performed by the mind to detect threats.

I would have liked the book to have gone into more detail, it felt quite rushed, as though it was perhaps filled with add-on material for Anxiety Panicking about Panic, which the author does not fail to mention throughout. This is a pity because there are so many good ideas here to explore with full time and attention.

[Abby Diamond · Rating 5 out of 5]

look i am NOT a nonfiction/self help girlie but there i was in pittsburgh and i saw that ryan recently purchased this book and as someone who is newly struggling with anxiety i took it as a sign that i should read it. its only 140 pages, how bad could it be? the answer was AMAZINGLY GOOD it was so validating to read my thoughts on a page and get some good skills that can help with my anxiety i feel so much better than i did last sunday i'll be so real i even ordered the other book that comes with this.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found some of the information helpful. However I sometimes felt like the author contradicted himself on certain aspects of dealing with anxiety. Though I suppose mental health is never clear cut and is obviously not a one size fits all kind of guide.

Overall I’m glad I read the book, though I must admit I hadn’t read the previous volume which I believe is more centred towards acceptance of anxiety. So I’m not sure if that negatively affected my experience with this book. Is that me posting contradictions in my review when that is something I criticised the author about, maybe.

[Cassandraann1 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very short book with not much content. On the positive side, it was a quick read and had some straightforward simple recommendations. On the negative side, it seemed like he was trying so hard to add content to make the book longer, and it was annoying how often he referenced his first book, which he said was not "mandatory" to read.

[Leila Chandler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anything by Joshua Fletcher is gold when it comes to anxiety and panic disorders. However, this book felt incomplete to me. If you are reading this book, you should also pair it with the Disodered podcast that he does. It is an excellent podcast. He also has an online course called Stop Fearing Fear, or something.

[Chann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read his first book too, and omg i learned so much thanks to Joshua! I’m amazed how much i had to learn about dealing with Anxiety. And i feel like i have more ways to overcome or deal with my Anxiety Disorder.

[les rees · Rating 5 out of 5]

best person to follow, always a good read

This guy is a legend, he’s been there, overcome it and teaches the world what to do, explains it exactly how it happens, and his practises actually work.

[Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

My anxiety has been pretty bad lately, which makes it difficult for me to focus on reading. I gave this one a try, and was surprised at how helpful it was. I would highly recommend to anyone struggling with any form of anxiety!

[maigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super straightforward and makes sense of anxiety in practical (obviously), scientific, and factual ways. Really loved the analogies and ways of understanding the mechanisms behind anxiety included in this book.
Would recommend for anyone looking to make sense of their anxiety and/or panic.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Took me a while to get into this. Was helpful in some ways but the constant reference to his other book made me think he'd wrote this as he'd forgotten things. But there was useful information in here

[Mireya Montaño · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a pretty good, it explains the generals of anxiety pretty good. It is divided in steps that are easy to follow and understand, and contains some pretty good advice

[Courtney MacKay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

[Adele Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5*

[Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I jumped into this book before the author's first book purely because I wanted the practical information. It's didn't disappoint.

[Audrius Linkus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Primitive enough, while not too primitive. It’s very relatable for someone that’s going through anxiety and has great practical advice. Overall it was an easy and useful read.

[Sinian J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entry level friendly practical guide for how to manage your anxious feeling. But quite basic.

[Erika Gatward · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was extremely useful given the difficult time I’m having regarding anxiety. It gave practical tips and wasn’t too heavy.

[Asmaa Elbaramawy · Rating 5 out of 5]

a good book for those who want to understand where anxiety comes from and how to deal with it with actual steps which may help, and it's also enjoyable.
I recommend it