THE CONCEPT OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY THINKING

- no need to break the flow!

Ok, so I got round to writing a book! Both Paperback and Ebook versions are available - please see attached review and 'Book Review' sections to see what other people think....

On Fri Apr 25 14:59 , pdavid@anxietynomore.co.uk sent This book was written by Will Beswick, who is one of the very few people whose views I respect on the subject of anxiety and the recovery from it. He is also a very nice, genuine person who in the past has given up a lot of his own time to help other sufferers. Will and I have kept in contact over the years since I first developed my site and in one of his emails he mentioned that he felt the time was right for him to write his own book on the subject. I told him I thought that would be a great idea as I admire his work and have always thought it should be available to a wider audience. Once completed, Will sent me a copy of his book and asked if I would review it for him and offer my opinion on it. This book proved to be a real eye opener for me and is one of the very few books I have read on the subject to which I could completely relate and which helped to increase my knowledge. I passed the book on to a couple of friends who were suffering from anxiety in the hope that it would help them also. They thought it was fantastic. I 'genuinely' believe it will help sufferers who are plagued with scary thoughts and obsessive behaviour.
Scary thoughts are one of the most common symptoms of anxiety and Will does an excellent job of explaining this frightening symptom in more detail and, more importantly, gives a far better understanding of how to break the cycle, which has also helped me personally.

About The Book

Will, like me, never promises overnight cures; he understands that recovery does not come this way. He teaches that recovery comes through understanding and knowledge. The book tells his own story of suffering and how it affected his life for many years. While at University and at the height of his own suffering he went on to develop his own ideas and beliefs of what was truly wrong with him and how he could help himself (re COPAST). I have read the book from start to finish and believe that it can do nothing but help people to truly develop their understanding and knowledge on the subject, knowledge that can take them a lot further towards their goal of recovery from this terrible illness.
Anyone who knows me can confirm that I don't advertise anything and never affiliate myself to any product. Regards Paul

'Irrespective of 'how' you panic 'react' - this is forced and unnecessary behaviour. Why? Because the 'time' we panic is actually when we become conscious of/realise what we were thinking about'

This is the main thrust of COPAST - understanding that this 'time of recognition' is when we are actually coming out of our thoughts and that nothing else needs to be done about them (ref - solution working in reality - 'Crux of Recovery/Advice Column').

So really, it's important that I explain this concept is 'only' applicable if you're experiencing 'repetitive' mental distress. Why? Because this is where you've 'gone off the mark' and started to 'break the flow'. Anyone who is happily 'moving on' in life 'doesn't' need to read this, as anxiety or panic is caused by 'reacting to your subconscious thinking'. This is the whole problem. "However", if you want to understand 'how' the mind works and would also like to get a greater 'focus'/positive control in your life 'without' it being forced, then this may prove to be a very useful tool in achieving that i.e see Ch 5 onwards.

COPAST is not some fanciful theory, it's the result of years of turmoil where I have been so desperate I've not known which way to turn. So, this has been hard-earned and is something I know works and makes complete sense, as it's been tried and tested, not only on me, but many others.

Basically, I came to realise that we can't help what thoughts 'come in', whether they're internally or externally 'prompted'. Whilst they can be negative or positive (see 'MORD' - Chapter 1) - it's pointless trying to alter this, as these 'just happen', almost like some pre-destined event - and that's why I also think this concept does imply there 'is' a fateful line for us all to follow - but - more importantly that this is a path where we can 'flow' through life 'picking up' the positive habit as we go along!

Indeed, the main reason we all panic is due to our intensity - but a little 'trick' is played on the minds, where we 'erroneously' think we have to 'do' more (our 'actual' illness) to cure our 'initial' discomfort, when, in fact, we don't need to need to do 'anything' (see '...to enable the normal, subconscious 'doing', the repetitive sufferer has to, first of all, 'correct' the problem of 'the conscious overdoing'' - Ch 2).

So, there is nothing we can 'do' about incoming 'primary' thoughts. Secondly, what I came to realise, is that there is a very 'subtle' process 'going on' in our heads, where we also 'let go' of these thoughts and that we don't have to 'react' to this 'cut-off' process either. Therefore, we 'don't' have to try to 'consciously' fight to correct or run from anything in our thinking. This only becomes secondary when we 'react' by this 'fighting or running' from our 'initial' thinking - this becomes a 'mind racing' event where there is 'no way out' (ref 'The COPAST Diagram', one of many diagrammatic explanations/self-do tests you will find - Ch 7).

As my discussion with Abid revealed ('Advice Column' - Ch 6) - 'it's when we deviate from this path that the problems start to occur'.

As stated, due to our varied character types - our 'reaction' to our thoughts is 'characterised' by a 'fighter or flighter' response. Fighters tend to 'internalise' their panic, whilst flighters tend to 'externalise' theirs - over-control vs complete loss of control if you like. In fact, many sufferers - and I'm not just talking about a small minority here, do it in many aspects of our lives, it's just that 'some' of us may go on to really serious problems if events take a turn for the worse. That's why many of my reference examples also come from my involvement in sport, as I know how 'pressure' in the mind can lead to all types of coping behaviours.

In my book, you will see how this has benefited many other sufferers, but I could only 'unleash' this understanding on others when I knew it had 'worked for me' over a substantial period of time. You will have setbacks - as you will see, this is 'real' and tells it as it is - BUT - with a very positive ending that you can recover from panic and any associated 'repetitions' if you understand 'how' the mind works - and that we 'can' operate 'normally' if we let the mind flow.

Before my next 'Recovery' page, suffice it to say that COPAST is about two strands of thought - one being the person 'in flow', who only thinks 'subconsciously' and 'in the moment' (primary) and two, being the person who compulsively and 'consciously' reacts to what they've just thought (secondary). As detailed, we are not just talking about a 'secondary' reaction to negative thoughts here - we are also talking about a reaction to 'positive' thoughts of 'control', as we also don't trust these and want to clarify/hold on or ignore/bypass them, such is the confused mess we get ourselves into!