Soothe Your Nerves: The Black Woman's Guide to Understanding and Overcoming Anxiety, Panic, and Fearz (Original)

by Angela Neal-Barnett

Book Overview

Do you or someone you love suffer from "bad nerves"?

-Denise is constantly on edge. She's convinced something bad is going to happen.
-Ruth will drive an hour out of her way to avoid driving over a bridge. When she has to do it, her chest thumps, her heart starts racing, and she breaks out in a sweat. She's beginning to think she shouldn't leave her house.
-Bernice hasn't slept in two months for fear that the witch is going to...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743225384
• ISBN13: 9780743225380
• Release Date: September 2003
• Publisher: Fireside
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.5" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

Good, Practical Advice

Excellent book on how to manage panic and anxiety. The book gives good, practical advice that can be easily incorporated into your daily life. The writing is straightforward and concepts explained well. The book is a quick read and would be good for someone who is very busy.

Fills a needed void

As an African American female and a doctoral student in psychology who specializes in research and treatment of anxiety disorders, I personally and professionally recommend this book to all readers who think they may suffer from "bad nerves." It is difficult to discuss anxiety disorders in a community as easily "spooked" by talk of mental health concerns as ours is, but Dr. Barnett manages to pull it off. My only slight criticism is that Dr. Barnett seems to often make the assumption that all of her readers are not only Christian, but Southern Baptist. Other than that, this is a very much needed addition to the popular literature on anxiety in African Americans, and I hope that individuals who could benefit from this book will pick it up.

Must-Have on Black Women's Book Shelves

As a black woman who has suffered from "bad nerves," Dr. Angela Neal-Barnett's book "Soothe Your Nerves" was a welcomed and much-needed work in my life. Everyone has heard of the SUPER WOMAN, those women who can be mother and worker and homemaker and lover, and whatever other titles there are to staple onto her. This super woman icon is even more prevalent in the black community, and when you have a culture that for the most part, would rather work out their problems themselves instead of seek outside help, it's not hard to see why thousands of black women suffer from anxiety disorders.What Neal-Barnett does in "Soothe Your Nerves" is first reassure women by letting them know that they are not weak because they need help, and then she explains reasons why black women-historically-have not sought outside help for their problems. From there, Neal-Barnett offers a variety of methods for women to utilize in order to begin the healing process and embark on reclaiming their lives. Outside of the great information that Neal-Barnett provides in the book, what I loved most about it is that I finally 'felt' that I was not alone, that there are others, like me, who need guidance, who need to be reassured that there is nothing wrong with them, that these problems can be removed. Neal-Barnett's book, I believe, can be used as a bridge to spark discussion and bring forth community among black women so we can create support systems and give the help that so many sisters need.Shon Bacon

Mental Health Strategies

In her book SOOTHE YOUR NERVES, Dr. Angela Neal-Barnett tackles the most common psychological disorders afflicting women of color and presents them in a succinct, easy to read self help format, aimed at equipping black women with the necessary tools to effectively cope with these stressors. She also attempts to explode the myth of the strong black women by citing numerous case studies of black women who suffer from various forms of psychological disorders. She starts out with a definition of anxiety and fear and then expounds on the way they are manifested in women of color and impact their day to day existence. She includes screening tests to help recognize symptoms of mental illness and offers information on the different types of therapies and resources available to help black women battling mental health problems. SOOTHE YOUR NERVES takes the reader on a journey of self discovery as it provides step by step guidance on how to recognize and even self treat symptoms of anxiety, panic and fear. This author does a marvelous job of interpreting clinical information in a manner easily understood by the layperson. While Dr. Neal-Barnett's book appears to be specifically geared toward black women, all readers can benefit from this book. Reviewed by Autumnof The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

Encouraging people to seek help when needed

Dr. Angela Neal-Barnett practiced psychotherapy especially with black women who typically avoid such treatments because the community and family expect these super strong females to overcome their case of "bad nerves". Dr. Neal-Barnett contends that "bad nerves" is a euphemism for anxiety and a myriad of fears and phobias. She ties her anecdotal findings with religious beliefs so as to make the case that more black women need professional help. However, the image of superwoman and the lack of African-American female psychotherapists lead to the use of home remedies for such problems as obsessive-compulsive disorder, overeating and drug and alcohol abuse.This book is written in such a manner as to encourage African-American females and others to seek professional help and where to go to find that assistance. Current medicines that are commonly prescribed at least in the white communities are also described. Though aimed at the black women, any person who suffers from anxiety and panic attacks will find this guide a solid first step. Dr. Neal-Barnett provides solace and assurance to overcome the fear of those first steps towards seeking help, something this reviewer first hand understands the difficulty due to the social stigmatism.Harriet Klausner