Henry Emmons MD - The Chemistry of Calm: A Powerful, Drug-Free Plan to Quiet Your Fears and Overcome Your Anxiety

Praise for Dr. Henry Emmons and

If you are looking for a natural way of dealing with fear, anxiety, and worry, The Chemistry of Calm is for you. Dr. Henry Emmons offers a blueprint for a happier, healthier, and more fulfilling life that is based in solid science and deep wisdom. At this moment in history, when our society is obsessed with pharmaceutical solutions to lifes problems, Dr. Emmonss message is urgent. This fine book should be read by millions.

Larry Dossey, M.D., author of Healing Words and The Science of Premonitions

The Chemistry of Calm is a gemcontaining very effective and safe solutions to the thousands who daily suffer from debilitating anxiety.

Christiane Northrup, M.D., OB-GYN physician and
author of the New York Times bestsellers Womens Bodies,
Womens Wisdom and The Wisdom of Menopause

This book will change your life! With cutting-edge science and user-friendly language, Dr. Emmons eloquently explains the underlying chemistry of anxiety, including how the brain and the body function together to create it. He then offers powerful natural solutions that avoid the addictive medications that create their own problems, as I have found in my own holistic psychiatry practice. Much-needed in our stress-filled lives, this book has the tools to make a difference to millions. I highly recommend it!

Hyla Cass, M.D., psychiatrist and author of 8 Weeks to Vibrant Health

The Chemistry of Calm educates and inspires the reader with science, common sense, and harmony. Henry Emmons, M.D., has excavated the brain, heart, and embodiment of balance to give us keys for orchestrating life with the power of peace.

Don Campbell, author of The Mozart Effect,The Harmony of Health, and Healing at the Speed of Sound

Henry Emmons is a skilled and gifted physician who blends the best of Western science with complementary medicine and Eastern approaches to well-being. He holds it all together in the heart of a healer, and offers us his insights and practical advice in clear, graceful, and compelling prose. The calm this book will help you achieve is not about going to sleep: its about waking up!

Parker J. Palmer, author of A Hidden Wholeness,
The Courage to Teach, and Let Your Life Speak

Touchstone
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Copyright 2010 by Henry Emmons

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce
this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address
Touchstone Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas,
New York, NY 10020.

This publication contains the opinions and ideas of its author. It is intended to provide helpful and informative material on the subjects addressed in the publication. It is sold with the understanding that the author and publisher are not engaged in rendering medical, health, or any other kind of personal professional services in the book. The reader should consult his or her medical, health or other competent professional before adopting any of the suggestions in this book or drawing inferences from it.

The author and publisher specifically disclaim all responsibility for any liability, loss or risk,
personal or otherwise, which is incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents of this book.

First Touchstone trade paperback edition October 2010

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Designed by Ruth Lee-Mui

Manufactured in the United States of America

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Emmons, Henry.

The chemistry of calm : a powerful, drug-free plan to quiet your fears
and overcome your anxiety / by Henry Emmons
p. cm.
A Touchstone Book
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. AnxietyAlternative treatmentPopular works. I. Title.
RC531.E45 2011
616.85'223dc22

2010024797

ISBN 978-1-4391-2906-7
ISBN 978-1-4391-4953-9 (ebook)

Part One
Build a Strong Foundation

1 The Promise of Tranquility
Why Anxiety Hurts, and How You Can Fix It

2 A Brief History of Anxiety
Why We Are Stressedand Why a Prescription May Not Be the Best Answer

3 The Roots of Resilience
How to Understand the Seven Types of Anxiety

4 Step 1: Balance Your Brain Chemistry
How to Feed Your Brain for Optimal Mental Health

5 Step 1 (Continued): Balance Your Brain Chemistry
How to Support Your Brain with Safe Nutritional Supplements

6 Step 2: Manage Your Energy
Why Recharging Your Body Is Key to Sustaining a Healthy Mind

7 Step 3: Align with Nature
How to Tame Your Mind and Ease Your Anxiety

Part Two
Awaken to Equanimity

8 Step 4: Quiet the Mind
Why Mindfulness Is the Key to Restoring Your Calm

9 Step 5: Turn Toward the Feeling
How to Remain Steady Even in Tough Times

10 Step 6: Cultivate a Good Heart
How Self-Acceptance Leads to Greater Peace

11 Step 7: Create Deep Connections
How to Develop a Sense of Belonging in the Larger World

Part Three
Understand Your Body-Mind

IM HAVING round two of PTSD. I havent slept in seven months!

Meeting me for the first time, Catherine slumped in her chair with fatigue, yet her body was so tense and restless that she could not stop moving. What bothered her most was the ceaseless movement of her mind, so locked in activity that it allowed her no rest, not even in sleep. Ive tried everything Ive been told to do, and nothing has worked. Im afraid Ill never come out of this. Is there any hope for me?

Catherines life had been entirely halted by anxiety. Nine years earlier, she had experienced a similar episode that left her paralyzed by fear. Then, too, she couldnt sleep well for months. She found sleeping medications to be helpful at that time. But now, reeling from her diagnosis of cancer just seven months ago, nothing was helping. She had tried half a dozen medications, yet slept only three to four hours per night. She could not turn off the cascade of fear, and despite trips to a sleep center and several doctors, she had lost any hope of improvement.

I know it seems like it will never end, I told her, but this is only temporary. I explained to Catherine that she was actually a very resilient person who normally enjoyed good health. Her fear switch was just locked in the on position right now, and it was keeping her stress hormones so high that she couldnt sleep. We need to find some things to calm that down, and to get you sleeping again, I reassured her. If you can get some sleep, Im confident that youll feel a whole lot better within a few days. Then we can look at ways to keep this from happening again.