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"We were only born with two fears--falling and loud noises. All other fears are learned"--Steven Gurgevich

Customer Rating:
I have several CDs on anxiety and this one, so far, is my favorite. It is 2 CDs which cover the education side (what is anxiety? what are the categories of anxiety disorders? what causes anxiety? what types of treatments are out there?) and the treatment side (medical hypnosis). It is the first time I heard the word "emetophobia' (fear of vomiting) which is the cause of my anxiety in the first place (I had no idea there was a name for it and that others suffered from it) so, on a personal level, I am very grateful for this CD set.

Disc 1 covers the education side. Gurgevich explains the "fight or flight" response which can cause panic attacks and that the antidote to anxiety is relaxation. With medical hypnosis, you use your mind to alter learned and inherent patterns of anxiety and develop the understanding of the roots of anxiety to keep you in control. He also explains that conquering anxiety can also require a life style change. Poor diet, negative thoughts and self talk, constantly watching and reading gloom and doom in the news, lack of exercise, and stress can create or exacerbate anxiety disorders. Finally, Gurgevich dispels the myths and misconceptions of medical hypnosis. The hypnotic trance used to relax your body, mind, and spirit is like a daydream, not like the hypnotist stage shows where people act like a chicken for entertainment. I find this CD effective for relaxation, too. Sometimes just hearing a helpful voice is good therapy, especially when you are going through anxious moments alone.

Disc 2 covers the hypnosis sessions. After a brief introduction, he guides you through a 28-minute session that can be used for general day-to-day use. He teaches you to breathe through your "tummy" which is a technique used in other relaxation CDs. He is an effective guide in these exercises even though his voice sounds like it could make a good cartoon character. Other hypnosis sessions have you pressing your finger and thumb together and then releasing to give you the feeling of releasing tension and stress. It is difficult to remember some of the later sessions specifically as they do put you in a daydream state. I don't fall asleep to it but he explains many people do but that, their subconscious minds can still pick up the signals. I've always been a bit skeptical about the subconscious mind stuff, but what do I know. One thing I do know is that this CD is an effective way to relax and get through bouts of anxiety in a safe, non-pharmaceutical manner.

Very good

Customer Rating:
A very good set of CDs. The first one explains anxiety, its types, causes. The 2nd one has actual sessions for trance. His voice is soothing, he uses indirect method which works best. May be some people want some kind of direct commands like You are calm, peaceful, etc. The market is flooded with those kinds of CDs. Here is something intelligent and I think it is meant for people with some level of intelligence. His words are not intrusive at all, but are relaxing. I would give it 5 stars any day. There is no magic in hypnosis, one needs to practice it every day. His CDs are an aid, you can take the suggestions and make your own recording as you would have a better knowledge of the whole process after listening to these CDs. The CDs exceeded my expectation. You will always find reviews where people are quick to run down anything, but I would say give it a try if you suffer from anxiety. Your anxiety won't disappear after listening to these two CDs in the package, but you will have better understanding of the process, and either you can listen to these CDs and in longer term they will surely help as they induce calmness and promote positive suggestions, or as i mentioned before you can give yourself positive suggestions in trance using these CDs as a guide. Five stars for sure. I am looking forward to listening to his other CD on relaxation and there is one coming out on deep sleep. Self-hypnois is good, effective and fun. Each time you do it, I can bet you will come out feeling better than when you started. The changes are subtle, but surely there. Probably, over a period of time, they will take deep roots in the mind and effect definite changes. I have been using self-hypnois for three months or so, and I can surely say I personally love it and will always do it, make it part of my everyday experience simply because I come out of it feeling happier, smiling as I give myself positive suggestions. The body-mind feels good with all the positive suggestions. But there is no overnight miracle for sure, and that is unnecessary anyway because the change that comes about with the passage of time is the best. Just like anything in life -- if you plant a seed today, you can't expect a grown-up tree there next day. All in good sweet time, be patient, persevere. All best.

Disappointed

Customer Rating:
Real disappointed in this one,wish i hadn't bought it, his suggestions in trance were ineffective and way too general for a cd about anxiety and panic attacks, the affirmations I felt were not anywhere near strong enough or focused enough to help me at all.
He wastes too much time talking about the symptoms and then not addressing them in the trance section, he seemed to go around and around and get nowhere and at one point i shut it off and skipped ahead. And what is this tummy/belly business, why doesn't he just say STOMACH for heaven sake???
Oh and the 'guidebook' is quite pointless and gives you strange things to do but doesn't explain either HOW to do them or when.
I didn't like his voice either (sorry doc.) he sounded patronizing to me.

Really does help

Customer Rating:
I've been using these CDs for a little over a month now and I've noticed an improvement in my anxiety. I even used the CD when a panic attack started and was able to stop it. Obviously nothing is a magic bullet but I do feel like this is helpful for anyone with anxiety and panic disorders. I would recommend this to anyone.

Lulls me to sleep every time! Cures my insomnia!

Customer Rating:
I use this product to help me fall asleep. I find his voice extremely soothing and am always asleep before three tracks go by. If I wake up in the middle of the night and have trouble getting back to sleep, I turn it on and out I go! I'm not sure how well it works for anxiety, but it certainly works for my insomnia. I'm giving it to a friend who is 88 and has suffered from insomnia for years.