140- Book- Je dépasse mes peurs et mes angoisses

Book- Je dépasse mes peurs et mes angoisses 
(which means ''I surpass my fears and anxieties'') 

Authors : Christophe André (psychiatrist) &Muzo (illustrator) 
Note : 7/10
Year: 2002
Publisher: Seuil
257 pages 
ISBN 978-2-7578-1746-9

This is a book in French as you could read above. The author is a therapist and after meeting a childhood friend, they embarked on this joint project. His friend Muzo illustrates the various explanations and case studies presented by Mr André, often with great humour. Sometimes, however, they verge on misogyny and specism, which reduces my overall appreciation.



Another issue is that I didn't learn much new from this book as I had read and done extensive research before it - so it added almost nothing, except for a funny way of teaching. 

For Francophone beginner readers it's great to have the simple, mostly jargon-free explanations of anxiety, fears and phobias, as well as GAD (generalized anxiety disorder), panic attacks and OCD (Obsessive compulsive disorder). 

The author details the origins of each, gives examples and ideas to surpass and get rid of them. 

The main advice I can tell you thus far breaks down as follows :
Making a list of situations we feel the anxiety ; organize it in incremental level of difficulty. Set out to exposures, alone or with a therapist's help - specifically CBT (Cognitive therapy) which has proven very effective. 

Disproving one's catastrophic imagination to treat cases of OCD and reduce their impact on one's life - with the help of a therapist, and sometimes also medication is suggested in this book and I have to admit that sometimes, this is required indeed. 

I'll direct my french readers who want the details to my original French review.