Review. David Norrington- Phobia Treatments Revealed.

Being a Booklady means that I sometimes get asked to read and edit books that are due for an update/ second edition, so I thought I would share some of these works with you. They aren't all fantasy fiction (gutting I know), some are self help books, business books, poetry books etc.
The most recent book I read and edited was:
Phobia Treatments Revealed, 20 ways to treat a phobia. by David Norrington.

At first I thought I was going to hate it and that it was going to be this awful self help book about how to help yourself get over a fear. However, I was wrong (you wont catch me admitting that very often)

I suffer with "Acrophobia" which is the fear of heights.
I don't think I've suffered with it forever but I certainly do now.
It has stopped me from enjoying a lot of things, it is yet to stop me actually DOING something that requires me to be at a height, but it certainly has ruined experiences for me. This picture of me and SK for example...

... you cant tell, but I had been crying for about 20 minutes before this photo was taken.
It is at the top of the leaning tower of Pisa and I was an absolute wreck getting to the top. Vertigo kicked in, my hands were ridiculously sweaty whilst I was clinging to the rails for dear life on the top levels. My heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest and at one point I involuntarily held my breath. I still made it to the top because SK was talking me through it but I was having a melt down and now that's all I can remember about being at the top of that tower. I remember me being terrified, I remember SK talking me into getting to the top and nothing else. I cant remember the view from the top of one of the most iconic towers in the world and I hate that.

So whilst editing Norrington's work I was not only looking for spelling errors and grammar fails, I was also trying to understand my phobia and how I can get help in overcoming it.

It was a really interesting read, the title is a little misleading as it only gives you the names and details of what treatments are available and how to source them, it doesn't actually give you the treatment method. It also admits to its own faults by letting the reader know in the opening pages that it contains more than 20 ways to treat a phobia, Norrington has just used "20" for a catchy cover title only. Sneaky!
This edition makes frequent references to a website ( www.phobiatreatments.org ) throughout, but it is no longer an active site so that will be changing in the next edition, but the methods mentioned inside are very helpful and give you the correct treatment names for you to be able to do further research yourself to decide what one would suit you best.

Although it is only 176 pages long, it is very thorough in making sure the reader understands a phobia before seeking treatment. The first 70 pages are dedicated to the definition of a phobia and the difference between a Fear and a Phobia, it continues to tell the reader how a phobia is diagnosed both in the UK and also the USA and what the usual symptoms are for a phobia sufferer when they are in that phobic situation.
The book continuously tells the reader that phobias are curable not just treatable which is a huge relief to me and after reading it I think I will try Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) as it is "the only talking therapy treatment officially recommended on the National Health Service." (Phobia Treatments Revealed, 2012, page 80)

I give this book a strong 7/10 it was very helpful but I would like to see how it is expanded in the next edition.

Regards,
The Booklady.