Panic

Someone at HealingWell had these remarks to make:

First of all, the e-book cost me around 70 dollars CAD. A panic workbook written by PhD doctors sell for about 10-15 dollars in any other bookstore.

It is overpriced beyond belief

The writer, "Joe Barry" isn't even a PhD. There are NO credentials anywhere in the e-book.

The writer is unqualified.

Every book about panic attack that i've read teaches you similar ways to the "One Move" techinique - simply to accept panic as the physical symptoms and invite it.

It uses re-expressed commonly known ideas.

I could have written an e-book like this by paraphrase panic workbooks out there. Secondly, the book is 100 pages, but half of it is mindless repetition of the same idea over and over again.

It is written by the same type of people that build 'made for adsense' sites that have no value.

The book has a small section on medication, but it starts off by saying "it makes sense to seek for natural remedies" and doesn't even touch on SSRI's or benzos. It does not teach you breathing or muscle relaxation techniques. It has no workbook style sheets which some books have to interact with readers. I can go on and on.

Read about the Panic Away Scam at Healing well. (Healingwell no longer has the post referenced in this post. It appears to have been deleted.)

Hey Andy,

I have to challenge your comments about this book as I think it is a comprensive, easy to understand book for anyone suffering from this disorder. The truth is that it won't work for everybody because not everyone is ready to overcome this disorder. What this book provides is all the information required to overcome it, but step by step, which no one has really done before. Yes the author does not have a medical background but he has been through the disorder and I think that is better because you've been through it and come out the other end. As for the $67 for the book, well yes it is a lot but the costs for advertising and marketing on the web are not cheap also. 5 am speaking from experience because I am promoting the book and have lost money doing so, but I want to tell my story, share my recovery because it helps other people to overcome this life debilitating illness that really is curable without any drugs. Anyway I am not saying your commments are wrong, I just wanted to add my opinion because I am someone who has been through this too and come out the other end. Take care.

Hello Ben,

Thank you for taking the time to respond. I was hoping someone would.

bennash wrote:I have to challenge your comments about this book as I think it is a comprensive, easy to understand book for anyone suffering from this disorder.

Comprehensive? I doubt in 60 pages you can be very comprehensive.

The truth is that it won't work for everybody because not everyone is ready to overcome this disorder.

Apart from being an excellent get-out-clause, I'll take that to mean: To get over panic attacks some people need assistance that goes beyond reading a book, or some information on the web. For example they might need to see a professional, such as a therapist, or a doctor, or visit a support group.

There is a wealth of easily available information on the net (from respected sources) regarding how to cope with panic attacks. If none of that is effective then this ebook is unlikely to be also.

...or this ebook could just be not very good.

What this book provides is all the information required to overcome it, but step by step, which no one has really done before.

When Panic Attacks: The New, Drug-Free Anxiety Therapy That Can Change Your Life (Paperback) by David D. Md Burns over 400 pages, $10

Panic Attacks Workbook: A Guided Program for Beating the Panic Trick (Paperback) by David Carbonell 167 pages, $12

Embracing the Fear: Learning To Manage Anxiety & Panic Attacks (Paperback) by Judith Bemis 160 pages, $12

The Anxiety & Phobia Workbook, Fourth Edition (Paperback) by Edmund J. Bourne about 400 pages $14

I could go on and on.

Why is Panic Away not in print?
The obvious answer is: it isn't any good, and nobody would buy it.

Yes the author does not have a medical background but he has been through the disorder and I think that is better because you've been through it and come out the other end.

I don't begrudge anyone giving out their advice, but charging for it would have to make some implicit assertion this it is:
a) very good advice
b) its creation cost time/money
or c) its distribution costs money

For Panic Away:
'a)' is at best unknown, but given the lack of impartial promotion likely to be false.
'b)' is irrelevant
'c)' is false

As for the $67 for the book, well yes it is a lot but the costs for advertising and marketing on the web are not cheap also.

The internet is a great thing. If you have anything to say of any merit then people will find it. Good value information is linked to and promoted naturally, and has zero advertising costs.
Poor quality information, and marketing scams aren't promoted naturally, thus require advertising and marketing costs which are recouped by inflated sale prices.

Let's be clear here. The $67 gives Mr 'Joe Barry' $30 clear profit ( a markup not even world renowned authors get ), and the rest is for affiliates to shovel into advertising in the hope they will make some profit somewhere.

A quick comparison:
"Panic Away" by Joe Barry: $67 for a 60 page ebook written by an unknown with no peer review. Download only, and tiny distribution costs.
"When Panic Attacks" by David Burns: $10 for a physical book with 400 pages written by an MD, and reviewed favourably by PhDs in the field. Physical production, real costs of manufacture and distribution.

speaking from experience because I am promoting the book and have lost money doing so

$34 per sale and you still lost money? That should tell you something.

but I want to tell my story, share my recovery because it helps other people to overcome this life debilitating illness that really is curable without any drugs.

There seem to be lots of people 'wanting to share their story' in this way. "I got better and you can too. (But only if you pony up $67 bucks.)"

Anyway I am not saying your commments are wrong, I just wanted to add my opinion because I am someone who has been through this too and come out the other end.

Thank you.

In conclusion I will say, if Mr Joe Barry really wanted to help as many people as possible with this ebook he would put in on the web for free and let anyone download it. If it was any good it would get to everyone who wanted it naturally.

If you say "well the guy has to make some money for his efforts" he could do that too. Just put some ads on the download page. If the download was popular he would make some money.

I am of the belief that none of the above will happen because the ebook is no good, no reliable source would link to it, and Mr Joe Barry would have no avenue to reap profit.

Here is an example of a legitimate help resource for panic attacks:
Coping with panic attacks:
http://www.mind.org.uk/Information/Booklets/

You can get a physical copy of this little booklet too for

Continuing my rant about panic away, I read this on BestBuyInformer.com.

(Best Buy Informer is the home of the most ridiculous claims around... such as "permanently cure your alcohol or drug addiction... for just $29.95!". Wow... if only the governments of the world knew about this they could save billions.)

This is a page that attempts to do an unbiased review of Panic Away. (But fails miserably.)
http://www.bestbuyinformer.com/ anxiety_treatment/ panic_attacks_treatment-2.htm

A section that starts:
"It is true that the Linden method is more commonly known than Panic Away but here are some facts:"

Facts? Right....

"The Panic Away Techniques are so Simple, Profound & Effective that even the Medical Establishment is Starting to Take Notice."

What medical establishment?

"( Panic (Away) Portal) is also a member of the prestigious International Society For Mental Health Online"

Prestigious?

"(membership only to medically certifiable treatments)."

This is lie.

Membership of the ISMHO (International Society For Mental Health Online) is open to, and I quote from their website, "any interested person". You pay and you become a member. That's it. ( I know, because I am a member! )

Also the ISMHO does not certify any treatments; only people, not organisations or products, can be a member of ISMHO. Having a membership badge for ISMHO is like having a membership to a gym; it means nothing.

The amount of dis-information out there on the web is shocking. But I'm sure Panic Away, and it's affiliate programmes, aren't the only cause of such widespread willingness to fill people's heads with junk.

I going to have to say, I think BestBuyInformer.com is one of the most socially irresponsible sites I've ever laid eyes on. And they dare to say of themselves 'helping you make informed decisions always'.

I read this thread with great interest, thank you Andy for starting this thread.

I would love to read the thread over at Healing Well about Panic Away being a possible scam but cannot get that link to work (do we have to be registered with that forum?). I am sure there are interesting points about this on that forum.

Bennash? If I may ask, how on earth could you lose money promoting this book? I am baffled, even with my limited knowledge of the vast array of money making opportunities on the web.

Kaymel wrote:I would love to read the thread over at Healing Well about Panic Away being a possible scam but cannot get that link to work (do we have to be registered with that forum?).

It looks like that thread has been deleted. :\

Just the other day I read through Barry's pitch on the Panic Away website. I read through such a long pitch only to find out that I have to pay over $60 to even find out what this method entails. I thought it was ridiculous that the original price was over $100. If it is truly a life changing technique, why charge so much money to those who are desperately in need (especially if they can't even hold this expensive book in their hands)? I'm surprised that I can't even find out on any site what in the world the method involves. In some reviews I've read that it's similar to other methods.. but what are they? I'd like to get an idea of what I'd be spending 67 bucks on.

I have suffered from panic attacks for years and Barry's pitch is almost convincing enough to by the darn ebook. I'd love to be free from the fear that has consumed so much of my life.

emhem wrote:I have suffered from panic attacks for years and Barry's pitch is almost convincing enough to by the darn ebook.

Yeah. His pitch is just like that of the get rich quick scammers. His affiliates sound the same with their patter along the lines of 'i didn't think it would work either... but it does!'

It is of course all lies.

Andy, thanks for your comments. I just found an article that has educated me more on the type of method that Barry uses. Nothing new to me...actually nothing that HAS worked for me.

This website has been very helpful:
http://www.calmingwords.com/ezine/ezine_feb06.html

The author specifically talks about "One Move" under "Feature Article"

I'm not going to waste money on this book.