Theory Critique
Theory Critique of Hart
Lateshia Michelle Esau
Liberty University
Summary The book titled “The Anxiety Cure” by Dr. Archibald Hart serves as a self-help book to help deal with stress, anxiety, and panic in adults, adolescents, and children. Hart seeks to inform reader about causes, prevention, and ways to cope with anxiety. Hart offers techniques to help reshape behavior that is caused by stress by introducing methods of meditation and tranquility to help people live a healthy life. Hart uses God and His word as the ultimate authority when it comes to finding the anxiety cure, and makes sure to incorporate the spiritual aspect into his teaching. Hart uses a multitasking technique when it comes to the anxiety cure because he offers the spiritual, psychological, and theological perspective when it comes to the healing process. Hart refers to anxiety as being “a disease of stress” that in turn can lead to physical and emotional illness such as: panic attacks, posttraumatic stress disorder, and obsessive compulsive disorder among many other. So how does one become anxious or have anxiety? As Hart put it, “(people are) designed for life at camel speed, but we’re racing like cheetahs!” (Hart 1999), meaning that as people we are moving through life as such a fast-pace and because we take on so many responsibilities it has causes us to become anxious, which leads to stress. Hart goes on to explain about the brain’s inner workings, how one’s body responds to stress, and how the thought process can contribute to anxiety. Hart explains how anxiety can cause problems within the brain, due to the absence of neurotransmitters, which he refers to as the “happy messengers”. The balance between happy, which is due to the GABA and sad, Cortisol, is determined by the levels of stress which one is experiencing that causes a chemical imbalance that in turns allow anxiety to take over one’s mind, body, and spirit. Hart offers concepts to help aid overstressed people, one
Lateshia Michelle Esau
Liberty University
Summary The book titled “The Anxiety Cure” by Dr. Archibald Hart serves as a self-help book to help deal with stress, anxiety, and panic in adults, adolescents, and children. Hart seeks to inform reader about causes, prevention, and ways to cope with anxiety. Hart offers techniques to help reshape behavior that is caused by stress by introducing methods of meditation and tranquility to help people live a healthy life. Hart uses God and His word as the ultimate authority when it comes to finding the anxiety cure, and makes sure to incorporate the spiritual aspect into his teaching. Hart uses a multitasking technique when it comes to the anxiety cure because he offers the spiritual, psychological, and theological perspective when it comes to the healing process. Hart refers to anxiety as being “a disease of stress” that in turn can lead to physical and emotional illness such as: panic attacks, posttraumatic stress disorder, and obsessive compulsive disorder among many other. So how does one become anxious or have anxiety? As Hart put it, “(people are) designed for life at camel speed, but we’re racing like cheetahs!” (Hart 1999), meaning that as people we are moving through life as such a fast-pace and because we take on so many responsibilities it has causes us to become anxious, which leads to stress. Hart goes on to explain about the brain’s inner workings, how one’s body responds to stress, and how the thought process can contribute to anxiety. Hart explains how anxiety can cause problems within the brain, due to the absence of neurotransmitters, which he refers to as the “happy messengers”. The balance between happy, which is due to the GABA and sad, Cortisol, is determined by the levels of stress which one is experiencing that causes a chemical imbalance that in turns allow anxiety to take over one’s mind, body, and spirit. Hart offers concepts to help aid overstressed people, one
References: Hart, A. D. The Anxiety Cure. (1999). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson. Hawkins, R. (2007). Hawkins ' pastoral assessment model. Accessed @ http://bb7.liberty.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&;url=%2Fwe bapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_159997 6_ on December 9, 2012.