Anxiety is a foreign language to anyone who has never experienced it. How do you explain it when you don’t understand it yourself? I so much related to this book, ‘Taming Crazy: Confessions and Lessons: A True Story for the Worried, the Fearful, & the Anxious!’ I laughed out loud as author Alicya Perreault described my life in full detail as she described her own. I loved her humor and she made me feel so much better about my own problems. She described her love-hate relationship with her thoughts, and I knew exactly what she was talking about because I’ve been there right alongside her with mine! She and I both are members of that ‘Extreme Introvert Club’ she mentioned.
Though crippling anxiety, depression, and OCD aren’t a laughing matter, sometimes the only way those of us who are blessed with it can survive is to laugh at ourselves. I personally have a counting OCD. I count everything. Over and over. Every day. Well, maybe not every day. Sometimes I can go without counting for a couple of days. How do I know that? Because I count the number of days I don’t count. And then I count my blessings!
In this book, Alicya (by the way, Alicya, how DO you pronounce your name?) Perreault compares anxiety to swimming. You’re floating in calm water and everything’s fine. Suddenly uneasiness overtakes you from out of nowhere. You paddle toward safety. Nobody sees what’s happened to you. You’re desperate. But instead of making it to shore, you’re pulled further and further into dangerous waters as you struggle internally to survive. Heart beating wildly, you finally make it, exhausted. But instead of feeling relieved, all you feel is shame for having been so weak.
This is one of the best books I’ve ever read on battling anxiety, depression, and OCD. You won’t be disappointed. If I could give it more than 5 stars, I certainly would.
In her book, Taming Crazy: Confessions and Lessons, author Alicya Perreault shares an honest and revealing account of her struggle against depression, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive behavior. She intimately describes times when she could not leave her house and days when she was unable to even get out of bed. The book is filled with details that draw the reader in by setting the author’s recollections in reality. The writing is excellent and contains both heart felt drama and moments of humor.
Her early years tell of tender, hurtful and terrifying moments that impacted her life as an adult. She talks about coping mechanisms she built around herself, such as avoiding people and using food to mask her feelings.
She made a commitment to turn her life around on her terms and started a journey toward self-awareness. She observed her physical reactions to each situation and documented what she thought, what her emotional reactions were and what actions she took. She calls the process T.E.A. By using this simple tool, along with studies in Yoga and inspiration found in books, she comes to understand her condition and discovers how to overcome it.
Ms. Perreault’s unwavering honesty has produced a courageous book detailing her personal voyage. Readers will find Taming Crazy engrossing. Even though some may take a different path to healing, those who suffer from depressions, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder will identify with the story, find inspiration and draw strength from it. A list of resources are included. The book is not a chronological memoir. Taming Crazy unfolds like a conversation between old friends over coffee.