A #GuestPost – Article – 7 Books to Help You Manage or Conquer Your Anxiety By Dr. Harshi Dhingra #DrHarshiDhingra #Books #ConquerAnxiety #ManagingAnxiety #NonFiction #MentalHealth #SelfHelp

7 Books to Help You Manage or Conquer Your Anxiety

Today I am delighted to host a guest post. I introduce you to Dr. Harshi Dhingra who is an Associate Professor in Pathology at Adesha Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Bathinda. Dr. Harshi Dhingra has written a fabulously informative article that includes 7 practical and informative books to help you manage or conquer your anxiety, including blurbs, of what are considered the 7 best books. They are all are non-fiction and are by authors who are experts in their field. There are also various highly useful links that will also support you and enhance your knowledge throughout the article. The article then concludes with the sources used.
I will now hand you over to Dr. Harshi Dhingra, who I also thank for getting in touch via my Contact page and for working on this.

We’ve all been there – racing thoughts, quickening breath, difficulty focusing, and feelings of dread or fear. Too often, though, these anxiety symptoms can control your quality of life. It can also go beyond just feeling anxious and into a full-blown anxiety disorder and addiction.

In the U.S. alone, approximately 18% of all adults suffer from some form of anxiety. Worldwide, over 200 million people grapple with anxiety disorders on a daily basis.

All too often, anxiety and substance abuse or addiction can go hand in hand, one leading to the other in many cases. So, getting a handle on your anxiety improves your chance of a successful recovery or from traveling down that road of substance abuse and addiction altogether.

It only makes sense then that the more tools you have to counteract the anxiety, the better. Today there are books out there that can help you manage your anxiety or conquer it all together, and here are seven of the best to get you started.

1. Hope and Help for Your Nerves: End Anxiety Now by Dr. Claire Weekes

To guide you on your anxiety journey, Dr. Claire Weeks has created a step-by-step tool for helping you understand where your anxiety is coming from and how to conquer it for good. One of the keys is getting a handle on those overwhelming intrusive thoughts that are often at the core of your fears and doubts. A pioneer in the treatment of anxiety, Dr. Weekes presents successful results from her years of experience, adding to her credibility and this book’s valuable messages.

2. I Want to Change My Life: How to Overcome Anxiety, Depression and Addiction by Steven M. Melemis, MD, Ph.D.

If you’re looking for ways to overcome not just anxiety but also depression or addiction, the five-point plan in this book is a valuable tool. Combining information on symptoms, treatments, and prevention strategies, this book goes one step further and provides ways to learn new coping skills. The included one-month program that helps you get started, focusing on a timeline and exercises.

3. Dare: The New Way to End Anxiety and Stop Panic Attacks by Barry McDonagh

If you prefer learning from someone who has been where you are, Barry McDonagh’s unique book Dare: The New Way to End Anxiety and Stop Panic Attacks is for you. After suffering with anxiety and panic attacks himself, McDonagh found a way to overcome them and, as a result, devised the DARE technique. His approach is one of challenging your fears instead of dealing with them or managing them. The book is written in straightforward, relatable language and provides step-by-step methods to get you started. In addition, along with the book, you receive access to a free app, a kind of on-the-go anxiety relief tool.

4. Don’t Feed the Monkey Mind: How to Stop the Cycle of Anxiety, Fear & Worry by Jennifer Shannon, LMFT

Overthinking and constant worry can get you in trouble. They can overtake your life to the point you’re unable to make decisions or enjoy life at all. The aim of this particular book is to teach you how to deescalate anxious thoughts and stop feeding the monkey mind with negativity. The author is a psychotherapist with 30-plus years of experience in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and the treatment of anxiety. Her writing is as entertaining as it is helpful, and she includes illustrations and mindfulness techniques as additional aids.

5. Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal the Mind by Judson Brewer, MD, Ph.D.

Don’t let the word “science” in the title of this book or the fact that it’s written by a neuroscientist intimidate you. With 20 years of research under his belt, the author easily breaks down all he has learned into a practical format to help you understand your brain. Where this book excels is in its step-by-step plan to help you break bad habits and escape the cycle of fear and worry that is leading to your anxiety and addictive behavior.

6. The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook by Edmund J. Bourne, Ph.D.

For those who learn better with a textbook or workbook type-format, this classic has been around for over 30 years with continual updating. The author discusses anxiety disorder origins and points to holistic approaches to help you recover and better care for yourself. Included inside are sections on relaxation, breathing strategies, mindfulness, nutrition, and exercise tips. This workbook also includes guidelines for treating additional mental health issues like post-traumatic stress disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

7. Be Calm: Proven Techniques to Stop Anxiety Now by Jill Weber, Ph.D.

This handy book is a great resource to use as a quick reference guide. Its easy-to-use layout offers varying practical techniques for identifying and managing anxiety whenever it hits. You most likely won’t want to read this book all the way through in one sitting. Instead, become familiar with its contents, so you know where to go when panic attacks or anxiety are getting the better of you. One unique feature, however, is the “Go Deeper” prompts for therapeutic journaling.

Anxiety is no laughing matter, and the more you can do to help yourself, the better. Begin by looking for a book with actual effective techniques and relatable language and layout like those on this list.

Sources

health.harvard.edu – Managing intrusive thoughts

drugabuse.gov – Drug misuse and addiction

health.harvard.edu – Panic Disorders

ncbi.nih.gov – Cognitive behavioral therapy

newsinhealth.nih.gov – Breaking Bad Habits: Why It’s So Hard to Change

nimh.gov – Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

urmc.rochester.edu – Journaling for Mental Health

sunshinebehavioralhealth.com – Mental Health Resources for Anxiety Disorder and Addiction

#Reviews etc By Lou – Happy 1st Anniversary to Hobeck Books @HobeckBooks #CrimeFiction #Thrillers #PsychologicalThriller #ScottishNoir and more @HobeckBooks @RobertDaws @mark_wightman @istheauthor @KerenaSwan @AliMorgan2304 @antony_dunford @MHollingdrake

Hobeck Books is a publishing company run by husband and wife team – Adrian Hobart and Rebecca Collins. Today is the first anniversary of this team who are passionate about super crime fiction in all its forms and cats. I am also proud to be on their Advanced Readers Team and read through as many books as I can, to submit feedback, before I write a blog review.
Please note that I have not been asked to write a blog post or anything about it being their first anniversary, so, what I am writing is completely unbiased. I’ve felt I’ve wanted to put something together for awhile and now seems an appropriate time to do so to celebrate such an achievement from afar.
I have included some links to Hobeck Books and some of my reviews and you should check out the eye-catching covers too. There have so many books and authors that I just want to give you a taste of some here and bundle up a small selection of my reviews and also find out a bit more about this Indy publisher.

Hobeck Books have published police procedurals, thrillers, psychological thrillers, political thillers, quirky crime, Scottish Noir and more…There really is something for everyone who likes crime within fiction that also has a wider scope into people’s lives and so much more. Their authors are writing more than one book with them and they are often signing up authors from all over the UK.
They publish Paperbacks, Audiobooks and E-books, sometimes free E-books too. They also have their own Podcast (Hobcast), details can be found on their website. It has been quite a year from them.

Hobeck: Website www.hobeck.net Twitter: @HobeckBooks Instagram: @hobeckbooks
Facebook: www.facebook.com/hobeckbooks10

Hobeck Books is doing tremendously well for year 1. Not only have they learned about publishing (before Hobeck was official of course, as there’s always a lot going on in the background to businesses etc) and made connections with various people from authors to bloggers to other readers, but they have a book in the Shortlist for Crime Book Festival – Bloody Scotland – Waking The Tiger by Mark Wightman. It’s no mean feat as there are hugely popular authors on that list and yet, they’ve found and published a great debut that’s reached (so far), these heady heights. Luckily they all leave the killing to just being on the page. They’re all nicer than their culprits.

Their Flagship Author is the ever popular and hugely successful actor, podcaster and author – Robert Daws, who transferred all his books in his excellent Broderick and Sullivan Murder Mystery series to them and has another being released soon.
All are set in Gibraltar, may well make you want to go there and are twisty and compelling to read. They are also 99p over on Amazon to celebrate this magnificent achievement is such climes.

Links to Reviews
The Rock and Poisoned Rock Reviews
Killing Rock Review

Waking The Tiger by Mark Wightman has made it to Shortlist at Bloody Scotland, a prestigious and ever growing festival in Stirling, Scotland.

Waking The Tiger Review

Lewis Hastings has a trilogy of books – the increasingly popular Se7en series.
Here is a book with Jack Cade returning, but more standalone and works well with its twists and big plotlines to be gripped by.

The Angel of Whitehall Review

Blood Loss is the first in the DI Paton Investigates series. It’s twisty and hard to put down.

Blood Loss Review

Throttled is humourous, with some big themes and is part of The Quirk Files. This is book two. Book one is Over Her Dead Body.

Throttled Review

Hunted takes readers to the heart of nature and the dark world of wildlife crime. It’s books like these that also bring something different to crime fiction.

Hunted Review

Catch As Catch Can by Malcolm Hollingdrake is in the dark and brooding underworld and has quite a hook to it, that then makes you want to read the next book -Syn.
Catch As Catch Can Review

That was just a few, keep a look out for more and also keep an eye out on the Hobeck Books media and bloggers posts for more… Check out their website for what’s coming and for free books too and more info.
Hobeck: Website www.hobeck.net Twitter: @HobeckBooks Instagram: @hobeckbooks
Facebook: www.facebook.com/hobeckbooks10

Write-up of #Ruth Jones In Coversation with @hannahbeckerman #PenguinUKBooks @TransworldBooks @hannahbeckerman #UsThree

Write-up of Ruth Jones In Conversation
With Hannah Beckerman

Organised By Penguin

Ruth Jones was in conversation with journalist and author – Hannah Beckerman on Publication Day (3rd September 2020) of her new book Us Three. The talk was sparkling with enthusiasm and fun, covering her new book, writing and TV.

Lockdown

Ruth, during lockdown, was with her husband in Cardiff, Wales, unsuccessfully growing plants and reassessing her life with plans that never happened, like learning the piano or guitar. It was a great opener to the conversation and was witty, with an air of down-to-earthness. This down-to-earthness came across again, later in the talk, when she spoke of being so happy about Never Greener doing so well in the charts, which she had not expected, like she hadn’t expected to be on TV either. Now, having a bit more understanding of publishing, seems even happier about Us Three. She sounds like she is enjoying it.

Us Three

The book – Us Three is about 3 friends – Laura, Judith and Catrin and there are talks of them making a pact together on a curly-wurly wrapper. There are three because she decided it would create more interest than just two.
The book spans over 4 decades of this friendship and she chose this as her focus, to move away from the toxic relationship within Never Greener, which soared through the charts for over 10 weeks.

It was so lovely to hear that Ruth herself has been blessed with such good friendships that have spanned over so many years and seen so many milestones of life together, since primary school and says there’s a bit of each of them and herself within the book as they inspired her characters journey, but essentially it’s all made-up. It was however more interesting when she expanded in talking about how there’s a certain dynamic between friends who have been together through life for such a long time and a certain part that can feel child-like in a sense and also sibling-like in another sense. The thing with Ruth Jones, is, what she was sharing was pretty relatable to. She was pretty honest as well, about having to delve into her own friend’s and sister’s memories and for inner detailing of the likes of Cyprus and talked of her own holidays abroad and the very south of England.

The parenting in the book takes on a different dynamic with Catrin and her over-protective dad and Judith and her step-dad, who has a gentler relationship with his step-daughter. She divulged how she, herself is a step-mum. I must say, I loved her attitude, that she didn’t set-out to be celebratory of blended-families and that, instead, she is more of a fan of just getting on with life together. From what she talked about, she does come across as being a great step-mum and sounds like a great family.

Upon being asked about ensemble writing, by Hannah, from her writing great main and secondary characters, she says with both prose fiction and screen-writing, she starts with characters and then works ut the chemical reaction of them coming together and loves the chaos that brings. She tries to write realistically, which I must say, comes across in her books. She balances good stuff with the bad stuff and under-pins it with humour as that’s what can happen in real-life.

TV Talk

Ruth Jones talked of TV as well. In terms of script-writing, she had wondered if she could write a book, although the approach is different. She discovered she loved going into the psychology a bit more than in a script. She isn’t a planner, she said, as she intimated she works at all sorts of hours. This is interestingly, in complete contrast to Hannah, who is a plotter and a planner. It just shows that people work so differently and yet still do so well.

Of course Hannah asked the question on everyone’s lips – “Will there be more Gavin and Stacey”. It was entertaining hearing her almost skirt around this as she talked about the Christmas special that drew in a huge audience, which neither her nor James Corden predicted and had instead been preparing for the worst. They also kept it so quiet. It was nice she credited the BBC for also doing so. They had a master-plan, which worked, for how people would find out and not through leaks in the press. She talked about how hard it is for her and James Corden to be together and they prefer to write in each other’s physical company due to Covid and also being busy, rather than via Zoom. It does sound a spectacular working relationship. She mentioned there may or may not be a story-line. There were lots of teasers. So, in other words, only her and James Corden will know the answer.

She came across as so grateful for her acting success and even the times when she had a line in May to December and a line and a look in the Gwyneth Paltrow version of Emma, siting that everything is important and she ensure in her writing too that nothing is wasted.

Excitingly she is working on 3 TV projects from her own company and has started writing her 3rd novel

Us Three is available to buy now!

The Influence of Music Within Books, Writing and More… #Article #Books #Music #Lockdown

Both music and books are important parts of people’s lives and is part of what helps people through lockdown, I thought I would re-blog an article I wrote some time ago about the influence of music within books, writing and more…

Click Here for the Article

An Online/Virtual Event with Erica James @EricaJames #LettersFromThePast #VirtualEvent #NewBook

So, regular readers of my blog will know, that I have been attending some online events and writing some of them up on my blog. Today I sat in a room and watched the author Erica James do a Q&A session. So take a look to find out a snap-shot of her new bestselling book and a little bit about this very successful author.

A New Book

She has a new Bestseller called Letters From the Past, set in the early 1960’s. It may be a large book, but the chapters are lovely and short and it sounds a book that many will enjoy. It is a sequel that to Coming Home to Island House, but stands perfectly well as a standalone.
Erica James talked of her sons living in Seattle and Tokyo and it was when she was in Seattle with her son there, driving by movie stars houses, that she then decided to set the scene for her character.
I have been very lucky in being given the opportunity to review this wonderfully interesting sounding book on the 20th of April, so you will find out my thoughts and a little more about the story then, that will hopefully inspire you.

Inspiration

A place, something she sees, something that touches a nerve can inspire her.

Swallowtail Summer is set in Norfolk and for research she read up on, which she sounded quite taken by, and then travelled there to be in situ.

Pastimes

Erica James likes watching some sport such as ice-skating and gymnastics, her icon there being Olga Korbut. Her favourite sport of all is F1 racing. She also likes to do gardening and knitting. She clearly enjoys reading too as she has many books on her shelves.

Writing and Reading

For budding writers, she says read, write words on the page and don’t worry about who will read it, it might just be for you and that’s okay and enjoy the process.

Erica started writing as a hobby for escapism and then went on a writers course and a conference and it sounded like someone helped her out and she got an agent from Curtis Brown, who she is still with and got published by Orion. The writing came from a love of reading and she wondered if it was as fun writing a book as it was reading and it turned out, for her, it is and she has now written many books.

The covers of books have changed over the years to suit a new audience and as fashions change, book covers change.

She enjoyed writing Letters from the Past and many of her other books.
She really likes A Woman of Substance by Barbara Taylor Bradford, although perhaps one of its time and people find they themselves change over the years. It was interesting hearing her talk so candidly about going back to a book to re-read after many years.

She says A Breath of Fresh Air is a book of hers that would be great for escapism. I reckon, all of them are really good to try for that. Also try out her latest, enticing sounding book – Letters From the Past.

A few of her many books

Letters From The Past

Hamnet Q&A #Hamnet #MaggieOFarrell #VirtualEvent #Writing #NewBook

A Q&A featuring Maggie O’Farrell about her new book Hamnet and more…

I joined to watch this insightful Q&A with Maggie O’Farrell. Her latest book is Hamnet, available now. For those wondering who she is or what Hamnet is about, here is a quick introduction and blurb, before I get onto the event.

Maggie O’Farrell is the author of the Sunday Times no. 1 bestselling memoir I AM, I AM, I AM, and eight novels: AFTER YOU’D GONE, MY LOVER’S LOVER, THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US, which won a Somerset Maugham Award, THE VANISHING ACT OF ESME LENNOX, THE HAND THAT FIRST HELD MINE, which won the 2010 Costa Novel Award, INSTRUCTIONS FOR A HEATWAVE, which was shortlisted for the 2013 Costa Novel Award, THIS MUST BE THE PLACE, which was shortlisted for the 2016 Costa Novel Award, and HAMNET.
She lives in Edinburgh.

Blurb For Hamnet

Their mother, Agnes, is over a mile away, in the garden where she grows medicinal herbs. Their father is working in London. Neither parent knows that one of the children will not survive the week.

Hamnet is a novel inspired by the son of a famous playwright. It is a story of the bond between twins, and of a marriage pushed to the brink by grief. It is also the story of a kestrel and its mistress; a flea that boards a ship in Alexandria; and a glovemaker’s son who flouts convention in pursuit of the woman he loves. Above all, it is a tender and unforgettable reimagining of a boy whose life has been all but forgotten, but whose name was given to one of the most celebrated plays ever written.

The Main Event

It was interesting to hear that Maggie O’Farrell gets editorial feedback from her husband. So she doesn’t really tell her husband too much about what book she is working on or indeed chat much about a book until it is finished. She went onto talking about how all writing is personal, but decided harsh feedback can be in the best interest to either cut a character or to see if it can be made better.

Why Write Hamnet?

She decided to write Hamnet because she studied Hamlet in Scottish Highers and was intrigued by the symmetry of the play’s name Hamlet and Shakespeare’s son. She was interested in the fact that there is so little known about Shakespeare, but the fact that the play (and in fact one of his most popular and enduring plays), was named after his dead son, so she wanted to bring his son more to the forefront. It sounded like she had an interest in writing this story for quite some time.

Research

In the research, she found most interesting in the gaps as there is a lot of potential to fill them. Research was library based and she discovered that he probably would have walked 4 or 5 days between Stratford and London.

She did some physical research. This included, cultivating her own medicinal garden and making bread as in Tudor time to really get a feel for and experience what that was like for research purposes for her book.

She talked about, with research, you need to know more than you actually put down on the page on the book, so it doesn’t feel like any essay or clunky.

Crafting her voice

How long it took her to craft her voice, she doesn’t feel she has ever completely nailed it, but that keeps her writing.

She found it awhile to pinpoint where in the chronology of Shakespeare where to start to write. It sounds like it took a few attempts, but then she found the pinpoint of where to start the story, the voice came.

Setting and Shakespeare (or not)

The setting is of course Stratford-upon-Avon, which she did travel down to (it really is a very long way from Edinburgh), but it was an effort she made.

For a chapter about an infected flea, Maggie O’Farrell tried to imagine what it was like in Warwickshire and what it was like for the plague to spread through the place and coming into your house. She then researched the trade routes and also how it travelled.

Shakespeare is not mentioned by name in the book because everyone has a sense of him and wanted to ask readers to think about him again and to see another side of him. She reckoned a lot of Shakespeare’s drama happened, not all on stage, but in the time with his son and she didn’t want him to be the focus of the book, when it is about Hamnet.

Routines and Challenges

She tries to do something new with every book and sets herself challenges and creates almost like hurdles to go over.

For writing, she doesn’t really have a routine. She has sometimes a big surge of inspiration that is followed by a bit of a fall, but thinks both is useful to get words on paper and then it can be looked at critically and then writing can be edited.

She wrote a memoir, but not all in chronological order. She wrote diaries, but didn’t look back at them when writing the memoir. There are gaps that she didn’t want to divulge everything or write someone else’s narrative.

What’s Coming Next

Maggie O’Farrel has a children’s book coming out around the autumn. A girl wakes up one night and a snow angel has come into her bedroom. It will be a bit like a modern fairytale.