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© Copyright 2005 Dr Jeannette Kavanagh
A tale of Barry Linden, but not the
Kubrick movie
In creating my website and my self-help kit Calming Words I was keen to bring you
the best of the best strategies that I’ve found effective in combating anxiety in all its forms. Through this e-zine I’ll bring you information and advice at no cost about
products I think will benefit you.
I also think it’s important to voice my opinion – and it is only my opinion, not Holy Writ – about
some of the products I bought as part of my research for Calming Words.
So far, the only products mentioned have been ones I think are marvellous. They have the
added benefit that usually, you can try them out for no cost. And in all cases they come with a money back guarantee.
The lies about anxiety and panic attack cures cures
I have to say that I’ve been amazed at the level of half-truths and deliberate lies on the Internet about anxiety and
panic attacks and the so-called cures for them. Amazed because when I write an article in my main area of expertise it is refereed by two sometimes more people with
impeccable credentials. I’m used to having to back up my claims and conclusions with evidence.
Anxiety products on the Internet
Interestingly, the commercial anti-anxiety anti-panic attacks websites I visited on the internet have three things in common.
- THE WEBSITES SELLING
THE CURE ARE ALL SELLING DIFFERENT CURES.
- THEY ALL CLAIM THAT THEIR VERSION OF
THE CURE IS UNIQUE
AND THAT
- THE
CURE IS NEW AND WAS DISCOVERED BY THEM.
You don’t have to be Einstein – as in Albert – to work out that they can’t all be THE
cure.
As part of my wider research, I bought those products. I genuinely wanted to see the very
latest in ways to manage anxiety and to deal with the distressing symptoms of panic attacks. Also, I wanted Calming Words to be comprehensive and to
include the best of the best strategies, so I needed to evaluate those products to see if I should put a link to them in Calming Words.
What I found on those websites:
- Not a single one of the websites whose products I purchased has an
approach that is original to the writer. Their so-called ‘cure’ ‘method’ or ‘technique’ is not something they discovered or invented.
- Not a single website fulfils its grandiose claim of having THE CURE.
Although they all put forward strategies that will help some people with anxiety some of
the time, I found at least one of the products to be dangerously misleading in its advice.
It’s dangerously true that each product being promoted by the commercial anxiety panic websites
has an element of truth and usefulness in it.
Enter stage right - Internet marketing hyperbole or hype for short
What’s with the number 7?
Am I the only one who’s noticed that all their products have varying prices but they all seem to end in 7? 47 and
97 are firm favourites.
Website #1 and the Barry part of Barry Linden
Panic Away by Joe Barry of
PanicPortal
is a short book, about sixty pages long. That is a strength in itself. It gets to the point in clear and concise language without too many deflections into the author’s
life. Its tone is reassuring and its content is accurate.
After reading about Panic Away on Joe Barry's website, I bought his “new” “unique”
product immediately for three reasons. First, I needed to review it to see if I should include it in my
Calming Words
self-help kit. Secondly, as with
Emotional Freedom Techniques™
I’m always keen to learn new strategies - particularly strategies that work - regardless of whether or not I know precisely why they work. As an aside, I found it easier to read
Panic Away as a WORD document so I converted it to WORD. When I did, the tracked editing changes appeared. Quite odd, but very instructive and revealing.
The third reason I bought it was that I was too inexperienced to recognise hype.
I was absolutely convinced that it was new, it worked and it would be worth including in my self-help kit.
I was really looking forward to reading Panic Away because I was
convinced that the claims made by Joe Barry were neither inflated nor false. I bought his product actually expecting that it was:
- Unique
- in the true sense of that overused word – from the Latin unus, una, unum
meaning one. I was convinced that Joe Barry's product was the one and only one of its kind. Both in content, and in the application of his unique insights.
- Effective
- he claims on his website that Panic Portal eliminates “100% of anxiety and panic attacks within minutes”
- Authentic
- a totally new and genuine contribution to the people seeking help with their anxiety and panic attacks.
Despite the marketing hype Panic Away is worth reading
In this review I’ve included my comments about a random set of claims on the
PanicPortal website which sells Panic Away.
Despite my concerns about the hype, I think that the Panic Away e-book was well worth reading. It’s written in clear and simple language and it explores in
much more depth than I’ve found elsewhere, the fundamental concepts of exposure and acceptance as part of managing panic attacks.
So let’s be clear. I’m not saying that what is recommended in Joe Barry’s book is incorrect,
or that it’s harmful. Far from it. In fact, in Chapter 5 he explores the role of diet, medication and complementary medicine in such a no-nonsense way that it is a great
addition to the advice people who have problems with anxiety need. Having said that, there is not the slightest hint of anything “new”, “unique” or original in Panic Away.
Apart that is, from his claim that he’s invented the One Move Technique.
The kernel of his book is not his original idea. It’s been an acknowledged part of dealing
with panic attacks for decades. In common with other sites selling THE cure, Joe Barry claims that his technique is an original discovery. It “does
not rely on old techniques such as 'deep breathing' or 'positive affirmations'.” Instead, it’s
“a completely natural approach to eliminating 100% of anxiety and panic attacks within minutes.
As if minutes isn’t quick enough, “Best of all... It takes seconds to implement wherever you are, at home, at work or out
socializing with friends.”
Like so many websites selling THE (new, instant) CURE the author of Panic Away
became an expert after managing his own debilitating panic attacks. He however, “discovered this powerful technique that stopped panic attacks in their tracks.” (emphasis his)
He made:
“some startling observations about how a panic attack fuels and
generates itself. I developed the technique on the principal (sic) that if you extinguish the fuel that powers the panic attack, you eliminate its reoccurrence”.
Cheeky possum! As we say in Australia. Here Mr Barry is claiming that he
developed his unique, new technique on the principle that if you eliminate the “fuel that powers the panic attack, you eliminate its reoccurrence”. That fuel he later
identifies correctly as: fear of fear, also known as fear of having another panic episode. The gradual or immediate elimination of a person’s fear of fear has been the
cornerstone of Cognitive Behavioural Therapeutic and many other approaches for years.
What Joe Barry claims is true:
you do need to take a new look at your panic, accept it rather than reject it, welcome it rather than fear it. Only then will it cease to hold you in its grasp.
That’s true, Mr Barry, true indeed. But definitely not new and it is not unique to One Move.
Modesty has no place on this website
Although one of his headings is “Allow me to be briefly boastful... “ his entire website is a boast about the fact
that “people were reporting instant panic elimination and further research
confirmed that the technique I taught was not only instantly effective (emphasis mine) but also a permanent solution to all forms of panic and anxiety disorders.
(emphasis mine).
Instant panic elimination, no less.
We all know that if once that adrenaline pumps its way into your system even the calmest Zen monk
takes a minute or two to regain his calm. That’s just a physiological fact. A fact that is totally counter to the claim that the effective One Move technique defuses panic
instantly.
At the end of his pithy book Joe Barry acknowledges that nothing about managing anxiety and panic
attacks is immediate or instantaneous by advising the reader to:
“Apply the techniques of mind and body that we have discussed. Take
it one day at time. Soon, you will look around and find yourself living a completely new, confident, fearless life.”
He doesn’t specify what he means by ‘soon’, but it’s not instant.
Later in his website, he asks us to “Please do not mistake this for Internet hype or an
exaggerated sales pitch, Having bought and read his book in an hour,
I’m not sure what else I can call the website material. And of course his
“technique is completely unique and proving daily to be an absolute success ….”
I have to admit that it was only after reading many, many other similar claims that I realised that the terms “unique” “original” “discovery” and “100% or 96% successful” are key terms
in Internet hype.
Mr Barry confides in us that it was “almost by accident” that he “stumbled on a technique that
brought it all together and got me immediately anxiety free. …I developed the technique, honed it down, and made it more understandable so that everyone could apply it.”
He even provides us with a diagram of what he calls The Anxiety Thought Loop.
In the same diagram, he illustrates his
stumbled upon technique has a name. The
One Move technique.
It even has a trademark (!).
I would urge you to look at that loop. Think about what it actually
communicates. Write to me and tell me at
Jeannette@calmingwords.com
I may be totally wrong, but to me a loop which has continuous arrows looping
between fear, panic and anxiety back to fear, panic and anxiety – as if one automatically leads on to the next - is just plain inaccurate.
You know that fear can be quite a separate and legitimate response from the things
that make you feel anxious. You know also that not all anxiety leads directly to panic.
The middle image in the so-called “application” explains nothing. It merely
reiterates Mr Barry’s unsubstantiated claim that when you apply his mysterious One Move technique, your anxiety thought loop will disappear. Taking with it the fear which
leads to panic which leads to anxiety which loops back to fear.
Academics are always accused of being too pedantic and I don't want to be
pedantic. But it is important to differentiate between the terms ‘fear’, ‘panic’ and ‘anxiety’. We all use them interchangeably but they do have distinct meanings and very
different functions.
One of the functions of fear is to save our lives. I wouldn't want anything,
One Move or Two Moves to eliminate my fear. It’s appealing to think about eliminating panic attacks - your normal fear and anxiety gone haywire and out of control.
He claims:
“In a marketplace crowed with products and courses telling you they
have the solution to your anxiety problem it is very hard to find something new that is truly unique and effective.” Although his claim is that his product is not like the
other websites that “are rewriting old material”.
That’s precisely what he’s done, though perhaps unintentionally and unknowingly. As I said
earlier, he has rewritten some important and essential messages about panic – about accepting and floating with the feelings and about practising your newfound attitude to your fear
and panic. His book is written in a way that makes those vital messages clear to everyone. It would be better if he acknowledged his sources, lowered the price for his
little book and made his counselling/coaching a separate offer. I am sure that if he coaches as well as he markets, his clients will do well.
His best two lines? It’s difficult to choose but I go for:
(1) “For Three Lucky Days Ending February 11, 2006 I am slashing the price from $138 to $47”.
Let’s watch and see how long three days can be in marketing hype land.
(2) Having suffered from panic attacks I would never promote something unless it was getting
truly remarkable results. Again, I’m sure people are getting results.
I’m certain that people reading his book may find it helpful to overcome their fear of the fear
symptoms in their panic attacks. As they would by visiting
Anxieties.com
to read Dr Wilson’s FR+EE advice. Implementing the core principle in Panic Away means that people
are following advice which the late Dr Claire Weekes wrote about in the 1970s, and countless others have written about before and since. I repeat her wise counsel:
- Accept your panic attack symptoms of fear – your racing pulse, dry
mouth, churning stomach, as inappropriate reactions of fear. They’re inappropriate because you’re safe from harm;
- Flow with the symptoms;
- Invite them to do their very worst rather than fight or tense up against
them.
- Watch them dissipate, dissolve before your very eyes. Because…
What Joe Barry, Dr Weekes and many others say is true. When you no longer fear your symptoms of fear, they lose their power over you. That’s true.
It is most assuredly NOT his idea.
Tensing up against
your feelings of fear only intensifies those feelings. Look at those words – tense, tensing and intensify. It makes sense at every level to do
the opposite of what is a fairly natural and normal response: instead of tensing and fighting, float and accept.
Learning to accept those admittedly frightening and unpleasant feelings, letting them do their
worst and not fighting them achieves the opposite. Accepting makes your feelings of fear diminish and disappear.
In his book
Facing Panic: Self-Help for People with Panic Attacks
Dr R Reid Wilson sets out very clearly how a person’s fear of fear and their related anticipatory anxiety plays a crucial role in what he calls the panic cycle. His book is
brilliant, clear and concise and at around $15US it’s one third the price of the $47US Panic Away And no, I don’t get a commission for suggesting that you buy Dr Wilson’s
book.
Click to order Facing Panic from the Anxiety Disorder
Association of America (ADAA).
That was the Barry part of the review, now let’s look at the Linden.
Who discovered
the THE CAUSE of anxiety? NOT Charles Linden
Panic Away is half the price of the
downloadable version of The Linden Method and it has coaching attached to it. As with Mr Barry’s product, I’m sure that many people who’ve bought The Linden Method have been
helped by it. Depending on which Linden site you’re on, it’s either 23,000 or 31,000 people who’ve been “cured”. On one site –
www.panic-anxiety.com the number goes up each day…by about
100. Based on my twenty years experience working to help people overcome anxiety, I know that just finding out that someone has overcome his panic attacks may be all someone
needs to start her/his journey from panic to calm. Knowing you’re not alone, and not going mad, is immensely therapeutic.
Even if The Linden Method (TLM) has worked for you, consider asking for a refund on the grounds
that there’s no substance to his claims that his strategies are new or unique to him. The ‘method’ he sells for $97 or $177US for hard copy is available free on
Anxieties.com and many other websites. As I point out later,
that’s not the main reason to seek a refund. The fact that he makes untrue and dangerous claims is.
Nothing, absolutely nothing in Linden’s ‘method’ is new, and nor does his rambling incoherent book
constitute a method. His method sets out Nine Pillars which are issued as edicts of what you must and must not do to find THE cure.
“I
promise
you that is singly the most important anxiety website and 'real world' solution you will find. As you read every word
on this page, you will realise that you can turn back the hands of time using this method.”
Turn back time! Wow.
My CD version of the visualisation exercises were very poor quality, but those exercises have been
around for decades. They do help to relax a person and they help to re-program the anxiety-related thinking with more positive and affirming images and thoughts. That help
is available free or for much lower cost at many other websites, including
Silva UltraMind.com.
I bought The Linden Method early in 2005. The e-book is a 2003 version which may have been
updated. My strong objection to Linden’s product is not just that, like Barry’s website claims, there’s absolutely nothing new and original in it. My strongest objections
are his false claims and his dangerous advice.
On one of the many websites selling The Linden Method he states: “Here's the science
bit!”
The “science bit” refers to the untrue, inaccurate and totally unsubstantiated that he
discovered that “the amygdala is the cause of all your panic and anxiety”. That discovery even comes with a diagram – which like Mr Barry’s diagram says nothing.
On all his websites he refers to the amygdala as “a small but powerful organ in the brain and is part of the Lymbic (sic) System, the nerve centre which controls emotions and anxiety
levels, amongst other things.” In his book, he describes the amygdala as ‘a small organ in the centre of the brain’.
- FACT: Among many documented students of the amygdala, Herophilus a Greek
physician 335-280BC did drawings of it, millennia before Linden’s discovery.
- FACT: The amygdala is not a small organ in the centre of the brain. Its
name is from the Greek word (αμύγδαλo, amigdalo:almond) and there are actually two almond-shaped structures on either side of the frontal lobes of the brain, a fact he
partially acknowledges on the difficult-to-follow audio on his site.
- By Lymbic, he may have meant the Limbic System. That is NOT a nerve
centre, let alone as he claims, “the nerve centre which controls emotions and anxiety levels, amongst other things.”
- FACT: The bone fide scientific community is still exploring the
possible link between the amygdalae and ongoing anxiety reactions. They remain undecided about the exact role of the amygdalae in the anxiety response and/or in its role in
maintaining inappropriate fear responses. Once again, fact. Not my opinion.
Those and many other claims are untrue.
Besides, it’s just not at all helpful with emotional problems to talk in terms of a cure, and certainly not THE CURE. Based on years of working with wonderful people who have all
types of anxiety, it is my strong belief that:
- There is definitely no one cause of any emotional problem, including
anxiety and…
- By default there are many, many paths out of fear, anxiety and panic back
to calm.
Having made the amygdala the centrepiece of his SOLUTION (he loves capitals), he only mentions it
three times in the 200 page book. Nowhere does he guide the reader to strategies to overcome the effects of the amygdala’s dastardly deeds.
Apart from numerous spelling errors, his book is riddled with errors of fact. He tells us
that:
“In order to escape the ‘anxiety trap’… you MUST learn new, non-anxious behaviour
which is stored in the fabric of the brain as neural pathways and triggered by the Amygdala, a small organ in the centre of the brain. (my emphasis)”
That 43-word sentence is incomprehensible. Is it the new non-anxious behaviour which is
stored, and triggered by the Amygdala?
Two of Linden’s dangerous lies about anxiety and panic attacks
As if the transparent lie on his websites that he discovered the amygdala as THE CAUSE of all anxiety is not
enough, he goes on to claim that:
“THE National Institute of Mental Health must have read my research. It's funny how they
have come to the same conclusion as me 7 years later”.
That delusory statement is made in relation to a piece of research the Institute did in 2002. Mr
Linden thinks they could only have found out about the amygdala through his “research”. They don’t make that admission.
On his
www.panic-anxiety.com
website he opens with the astounding claim that “Research by The National Institute of Mental Health confirms that this anxiety elimination method targets and eliminates the cause
of anxiety & panic attacks directly."
He then directs the reader to click a link to a press release. (Press Release NIMH November 6th by
Julie Asher NIMH Press Officer). In his own preface to that press release he states: “They have concluded and confirmed with this material that my research (concluded a decade
ago) is 100% accurate and targeted.” No they have not. Do read that press release and Linden’s comments. Charles Linden ends up challenging most of
what the article states. Nowhere in the article is his so-called ‘research’ even mentioned. No one from the NIMH suggests that his CURE is accurate and targeted.
Quite the contrary. While they and the rest of the scientific community debate the exact nature of the amygdala’s role in ongoing problematic anxiety – even calling it indelible
– Charles the scientist writes: I can tell you right now
with absolutely no doubt whatsoever, a cure does exist and I have used it! Charles
‘Disorder’ used ninety times by a man who doesn’t like it
On his websites Mr Linden boldly states, without much punctuation:
“I don't like the terms anxiety disorder or panic disorder, your
increased anxiety isn't actually a disorder (the word disorder suggests illness, panic attacks and anxiety are NOT illnesses!)”
That’s true. And it’s a direct quote taken today from his website. On that same website, he
uses the term ‘disorder’ a minimum of 90 times. It’s used 112 times in his 2003 edition of his book.
How new and original does Charles think breathing really is?
Having claimed in his marketing spiel that his “method” is totally new and original and not just the old worn relaxation and deep breathing exercises, the book claims that “the holy
grail of being well again is made up of two powerful elements”. These are: 1. diversion and 2. breathing – in the sense of correct breathing and posture.
Neither diversion nor deep breathing is new. Nor were they discovered by Linden.
He admits that Qi Kung and Tai Chi are ancient martial art breathing exercises and that their
therapeutic benefit has been recognised for millennia. As for diversion, that’s been a basic therapeutic approach to pain and anxiety for a century or more.
That’s not new. And not the holy grail.
His advice is not only unoriginal, it is dangerous.
His book is a rambling rag bag of established well worn techniques and insights most of which have been around for a
long time. Most of which do work. My other main objection to it, is that it contains many dangerous ideas. I’ll mention only two here.
His many dangerous ideas include Pillar 3 out of 9: STOP RESEARCHING YOUR CONDITION.
Constantly worrying about any problem can become obsessive. Having been duped into buying his
extraordinarily expensive “method” he orders you to stop researching. That’s as arrogant as it is dangerous. Keep reading!
With no medical training Linden offers the dangerous advice to strangers in Pillar 6 to “Refrain
from visiting your doctor.” Pillar 7 is that you must “Withdraw your medication. (Do this slowly and under medical supervision).”
Joe Barry’s advice in Panic Away was much more moderate and sensible. The truth about
anxiety and panic attacks is that some people need medications. Charles Linden’s biographical sketch includes details of his dependence on benzodiazepine.
Leaving aside his ungentlemanly disclosures about his former girlfriend (and her father), I
believe that his own deliberate medicine misuse has coloured his view of all medication. He admits to taking eight benzodiazepine 2mg tablets each day and later 5mg tablets.
That’s 56 per week for which he blames the doctor. Even if one doctor was unwise to supply so many tablets for so long, it doesn’t justify Linden’s ongoing demeaning of medical
practitioners. He constantly tells us, on his website and in his so-called “method” that they know nothing compared to him. In my self-help kit
Calming Words
I advise that medicine is a matter to discuss with your doctor. Charles Linden doesn’t have five minutes of medical training yet he advises people whom he’s never met, that in
order to be “cured” they should ‘refrain from visiting their doctor and/or withdraw their medication’.
Very dangerous.
Modesty is not his strongest virtue
In the Forward (sic) to his book he claims that:
“My views and theories about this subject are becoming the
consensus of opinion across a wide range of practitioners but this information is still not commonplace in the field of conventional medicine…”
Thank goodness!
On his website, he claims:
“To date, we have probably successfuly (sic) treated more anxiety
and panic attack sufferers than any other therapist, doctor or psychologist would do in 5 lifetimes. Our experience in the anxiety disorder field is second to none and our success rate
is unquestionable.”
Linden’s websites have been revamped recently so but they contain the same old claim that poor
Charles is:
“…tired of watching nice people being taken advantage of and misled by the BAD information…
on "expert" anxiety … sites; …
They recycle old information that just doesn't work.”
Sums up my view of his “method” perfectly.
I’m certain that The Linden Method has helped people. The 31,000 people who didn’t know that
his “method” was a rehash of ideas that they can find for nothing on the Internet.
I’m even more certain that there is absolutely nothing new in it.
© 2006 calmingwords.com. All rights reserved.
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