About the Linden Method

Tens of millions of American adults suffer from anxiety disorders each year, and millions encounter panic disorders, according to the National Institute for Mental Health. This anxiety and panic goes beyond feeling stressed about work, worrying about a loved one in the hospital or suddenly remembering a pot of boiling water on the stove an hour later. To be classified as a disorder, the panic or anxiety is not related to a specific, rational cause; it's a generalized state of perpetual terror that makes daily activities a challenge. The fear of having another random panic attack triggers a host of bizarre phobias, social inhibitions and negative thoughts.

Treatment for these mental disorders ranges from anti-psychotic drugs to cognitive behavioral therapy. Xanax, Klonopin, Valium and Ativan are commonly prescribed medications, although the side effects can be quite unpleasant. Patients may feel drowsy, unable to concentrate, depressed and nauseous, prompting them to discontinue treatment. Another approach is cognitive behavioral therapy, a method using psychotherapists and hypnosis, in addition to techniques such as systematic desensitization, relaxation and cognitive restructuring. Ideally, after 10 sessions, a patient finds freedom from thoughts that fuel fear. The Charles Linden Method is one of the popular schools of cognitive behavioral therapy used in treating phobias, panic attacks and anxiety disorders.

History

• Charles Linden, from Britain, suffered from panic attacks and agoraphobia beginning at age 12. His school years were plagued by poor performance and overshadowed by the anti-depressants he was prescribed. By the time he reached 21, he was having up to 10 acute anxiety attacks a day. Linden needed to be sedated to fly on airplanes, gained excessive weight when things weren't going well and irrationally feared he had everything from heart disease to HIV.
  Finally, one day he decided he wasn't going to live his life gripped by these negative emotions. After several landmark discoveries, Linden discovered a cure for what he believed had been an incurable condition. After some prompting from his wife, he wrote the Linden Method in 1996 to help others learn and progress past the disorder as he had. Today there are Linden Centers in the UK, the United States and Germany, with teams of counselors, psychologists and anxiety disorder coaches.

Core Beliefs

• Patients joining the Linden Method program receive a printed manual, a "Conquer Anxiety & Panic Attacks" DVD, seven audio CDs, a year of email / phone support, access to the download library and a 365-day-refund guarantee. Once patients receive the package, they can begin their odyssey into finding and addressing the root of the problem.

  The Linden Method's basic premise is that all fear takes root in the brain's amygdala region, but can be reversed through operant conditioning. In 2002, Dr. Gregory Quirk and Mohammed Milad of the Ponce School of Medicine in Puerto Rico found that rats could be conditioned to fear certain sounds--but that conditioning could also be undone through repetitive exposure. The old memories would not be erased entirely, but new memories of safety would be created. Similar methods are used on the A&E television series "Obsessed," in which people with obsessive compulsive disorders and phobias are continuously thrust into uncomfortable situations that test the limits of their sanity in hopes that they will overcome their feelings of trepidation. While this may sound frightening, Charles Linden assures that it is "easy-to-follow, drug-free, neither scary or threatening, but gentle and very effective."

  "It's all about changing your behavior and your thought processes," he told the Birmingham Post, "but without raking up all the things that have happened to you in the past, bringing them to the front of your mind."

Benefits

• Many Linden Method clients report their anxiety clearing up within days or weeks of beginning treatment. The pros of this system include the flexibility and anonymity of being able to work on one's own yet also being linked to forums and a web of support. In addition to participating in the home study program, interested parties can contact the nearest Linden Foundation for more hands-on workshops, counseling sessions and guidance. Few cognitive behavioral therapy methods offer a one-year money-back warranty, so it makes trying the system less daunting. Naturally, the real benefit is a newfound understanding of the disorder and an end to suffering.

Drawbacks

• Not everyone is impressed with the Linden Method. It takes concentration and the will to succeed. Patients must approach the package with an open mind, patience and faith that they can be cured. Positive encouragement from family, friends, Linden Method Specialists and the online community are imperative to successful completion of the course. If the patient gets bogged down with depression or becomes socially withdrawn, the task gets harder.

  Some critics argue that the Linden Method is nothing "revolutionary" or new but a collection of theories that have been posited by researchers including Pavlov, Skinner, Watson and numerous others. Others worry that the more they research their condition, the more worried or obsessed they'll become. Individuals may be unwilling to complete their treatment because they're afraid to let go of the disorder, which is where the phone/email/online support comes in handy. Lastly, it can be dangerous if people opt to take the advice of Charles Linden (who is by no means a trained psychotherapist) over the direction of their health practitioners. Those who are on medication should continue taking their regular doses, as directed by a physician.

Popularity

• The Linden Method is highly respected in England. Charles Linden has been featured in publications including the Birmingham Post, the Express and Star, the Daily Express, The Chronicle, Pendle Today, Take A Break magazine, Woman magazine, Real Life magazine and the California Chronicle. What started as one man battling his life-long anxiety spawned tens of thousands of clinical sessions, government trials in conjunction with the National Health Service, a publishing house, five international centers, many workshops, a TV series ("Stress Less With Charles Linden"), the Karma Mind shop and the creation of the Charles Linden Foundation.