It’s always a pleasure to be able to celebrate how far a fellow brain injury survivor has come since their injury. That’s why when writer Tanya Peterson, who is a fellow survivor asked me to review her book, I was delighted to. She has authored both novels and self-help books before, and is credentialed as a National Certified Counselor so I knew her latest offering, “The mindful path through anxiety: An 8-week plan to quiet your mind & gain calm” was going to be full of useful information.
How this book helped me make sense of my experience of anxiety
I started having panic attacks after my car accident about things that I really didn’t need to be panicking about. The craziest one was when there was a mix up with my car insurance and they overcharged me thinking that I had entered some wrong details when I was taking out the policy. (It’s a long story as to why this happened and it’s not interesting or pertinent so I’ll just move on. ) I think at worst it meant I was going to be charged an extra £100, which isn’t a small sum of money, but it also wasn’t go to leave me broke. I’d been stressing about it by myself over several hours, so when my partner James got home I unleashed my feelings of injustice. It was a full on rant about how terrible it was and how I didn’t know know to resolve it. James was calm, and told me to just call them tomorrow and explain, he was confident that they would understand and reverse the charges. In my state of high anxiety, this level headed approach felt like he wasn’t understanding how I was being victimised in my eyes, and I got even more distressed. Suddenly I was in the grips of a full on panic attack, and I couldn’t breathe. I started to get dizzy and laid down, sure that I was going to suffocate and die. Thankfully I did survive this episode, but it was the first time I recognised that I suffered from anxiety.
However, for a long time I went on believing that I wasn’t an anxious person before my accident. My friends and family always described me as sensible and level-headed, but that was because that’s what I allowed them to see. Believing it their narrative, I discounted that fact that I was silently worrying about things all the time. This I thought was just because I was open to all outcomes of my actions and inactions, which meant analysing both the good and bad possibilities.
That was until I read this book……
Tanya doesn’t give you instructions, she explains things in a compassionate way
It was in the section where she details the different forms for anxiety that I realised my silent constant worrying was the first form of my anxiousness. What that meant was that I finally accepted that anxiety has been a part of my whole life, not just since my brain injury. However my accident had exacerbated it. Anxiety was always there, but it didn’t rule my life, I had coping methods although I hadn’t recognised that was what was happening. This light bulb moment was key for me because it proved what Tanya says about mindfulness is true:
“Mindfulness is within you. It’s a state of being, a mind-set, that helps you flow through life unencumbered by anxiety. Mindfulness involves skills that you develop and hone, such as observation, acceptance, awareness, and openness to what is. When you have these skills, you won’t be stuck in fear and worry, hypervigilant for problems and things that might go wrong.”
What I also enjoy about this book, is even in the paperback version there is a helpful use of colour. The headings are a soft purple and pages with important details are green. This all contrasts with the black print, and is helpful for those of us who struggle with attention and concentration. It stops my eyes from getting bored of just staring at text and highlights go places for a moment of reflection.
When mindfulness isn’t just meditation
Lots of us have heard of Mindfulness Meditation and it’s a very useful practice. But not everyone feels it’s right for them. If your one of those people, please don’t discount this book as not for you. Tanya explains how this way of being doesn’t mean you have to sit in silence. It’s a though process that goes on all the time, no matter what you are doing. I know that sounds like a lot of work, but honesty it isn’t. And Tanya has broken this down into 8 weeks worth of work to help you build this into the fabric of your life. It just simple tasks just help you take on board each new chapter and weave it into your way of being.
Even if you’re a sceptic of mindfulness, I urge you to give this book a try. I’m not saying that because I’ve been paid to, in fact all I got was a paper copy of the book so I could review it. So I’ve got nothing to gain by me writing this, but you have.
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2 replies on “Brain injury survivors guide through anxiety : Book review”
Great post Michelle. I’d like to read this book for both my daughter and my benefits. I’m writing it down for a must read. Thanks!
Honestly I think you’ll both get so much from it 😀