Letter from Dr. Gardner

“There is nothing more unpleasant or frightening than the physical and psychological experience of anxiety. We all have felt anxiety at different times and degrees throughout our lives, and our emotional well-being largely depends on how well we manage it. Good emotional health and control over anxiety, in turn, is necessary for positive self-esteem, healthy relationships, and success in academics, sports, and career goals.

Ultimately, our emotional health is the most important factor in determining whether or not we reach our potential as human beings—more important than looks, brains, money, or opportunity.

This Website was created to help you recognize, understand and overcome everyday fears and anxiety, as well as anxiety symptoms that arise from pathological conditions like Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Panic Disorder (PD), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), and phobic disorders like Social Phobia, Agoraphobia, and Specific Phobia. You will also learn how to overcome the anxious feelings caused by Depression. Even acute anxiety caused by emotional stress or grief, or addictive behaviors that arise from anxious emotions can be relieved by the simple and straightforward strategies and lessons that are offered in this website.

If you are at your wits end and are having uncontrollable anxiety attacks or have had thoughts of suicide, please the Emergency Information page to find out how to get immediate help. If this does not apply to you, then read on about the Anxiety Toolbox Program.

The Anxiety Toolbox Program is unlike any other on the market, and reflects the cumulative knowledge of a wide range of medical specialists in the fields of psychiatry, neurology, pharmacology, psychopharmacology, neuropsychiatry, and internal medicine, as well as advisors in the fields of psychology, theology, financial planning, life coaching, behavioral therapy, biofeedback therapy, nutrition, yoga and rhythmic exercise training, Chinese medicine, homeopathy, hypnotherapy, and many others.

It is the first program that takes you by the hand from beginning to end —from your personal anxiety vulnerabilities and diagnoses to fully understanding your anxiety to being in complete control of your symptoms.

If you are addicted to tobacco, alcohol, or drugs—have an obsessive or unhealthy nervous habit —cannot seem to hold a job or sustain a successful relationship—are not living up to your potential —choke up and perform poorly in a situation that is stressful—are single, isolated, or still living at home —you may be suffering from anxiety. If you look for excuses not to show up, feel more and more comfortable just staying home, feel embarrassed about your peculiar behaviors and fears, think of yourself as a social failure, have lots of physical complaints that have sent you more than once to the doctor —you may be, like millions of Americans, living with an anxiety condition that will seriously impact your health and happiness.

This program is all about taking responsibility for ourselves and our dysfunctions. It is about changing and transforming who we are. It is about being whole and well and free of emotional problems.

Take the Comprehensive Anxiety Screening Tool (CAST) self-test to help you identify the underlying source of your anxiety. Use the Personal Anxiety Assessment List (PAAL) to organize you stressors and anxiety symptoms. It is actually fun and instructive to understand yourself and it will be a great relief knowing that you are pro-actively taking control of your own emotional health. Then download and apply the step-by-step Anxiety Toolbox Program using the provided Personal Daily Planner (PDP) to create your own anxiety-busting program.

Today is a good day to get started on a new life free from unreasonable anxiety. We will provide you with the skills you need to master your fears and turn your anxiety into a helpful friend rather than an unpredictable monster.”

James C. Gardner, MD
January 2005, Greenbrae, California