“Firstly, let me begin by acknowledging my gratitude to my close friend, colleague, mentor and stout staff Professor Roddy Cowie of Queen’s University Belfast, in my opinion one of the greatest emotional psychologists in Europe today. I am sure he would appreciate my over simplification of the emotional processes described below given that it is written for the vulnerable and non psychological reader.”

Over the years I have worked with many groups of people affected by what is commonly referred to as “their nerves” and as a consequence, I have used many tools to help to alleviate and overcome these issues; in most cases I have tried the techniques myself in an effort to ascertain whether it improved my own wellbeing. These tools ranged from relaxation methods of all descriptions, herbal remedies, self-improvement programmes, hypnosis, Yoga, keep fit and many more. Some of these tools worked better than others and sadly some made matters worse, or just cost a fortune with no results at all. This will all sound familiar to many of you and you should take comfort – often the belief is that no one has experienced what you are going through or recovered – WRONG.

To begin I am not a clinical psychologist but rather a research psychologist, with an interest and expertise in human emotions, I believe that I have a thorough understanding of what is actually taking place inside the brains of anxious individuals. I also wish to state that I am working to set up a research consortium to investigate the cause and treatment of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ME. A major symptom in many CFS/ME cases is anxiety. This consortium will be open to academics and practitioners with an interest in emotions and their affect on human health.

The reader will also be glad to hear that The Linden Method and Mickel Therapy are pooling resources with regards to the anxiety symptoms of CFS/ME – progress indeed. Also to create maximum transparency the aforementioned consortium will be able to probe, test, advise and advance our understanding of the role of emotions in health.

The psychology of fear has been very well documented for almost 100 years, especially in the writings of William James, the famous American psychologist, whose findings now form an important part of the foundations on which modern emotional psychology is built.

I will not bore you with ‘science talk’, but suffice it to say that James believed the emotional centres of the brain were pivotal to health, mental stability and general wellbeing. Any greater elaboration of this would require me writing pages and would eventually arrive at the same conclusion. Please remember that this summary has been simplified to assist those from a non psychological background.

Within our mid brain structures lies the emotional centre. Our emotions, such as anger, sadness, joy, fear and boredom, create levels of activity within the brain that ebb and flow. You can neither laugh nor cry forever – even though we sometimes feel as if we have done the latter. In times of high anxiety, in reality, your emotional stability is simply out of balance. Too much of anything will eventually leave you unsatisfied – including ice cream or your favourite past time. Imagine then what too much exposure to stressful situations will do – apart from the obvious increase in anxiety levels, they will definitely leave you unsatisfied.

Pressure at work, at home or in relationships, fast or slow lifestyles with little fulfilment, all lead to emotional instability. What we do know for certain, is that these excesses are likely to cause the over production of adrenalin; in other words, you will be on red alert for too long and places people and things that once did not bother you, all of a sudden, become things to avoid at all cost. And yet, your salvation lies not in avoiding these things but in a structured programme of anxiety recovery.

You would not run a marathon without training to increase your fitness levels, so why do you expect to succeed without training for rejoining the marathon of life. Building up new memories, positive memories, emotionally enjoyable memories, bit by bit is the key to anxiety free fulfilment.

Remember there are no bears or wolves in the local shop – William James alluded to this many years ago in his findings about how anxiety builds and manifests in the human body.

It is possible, without forcing the creation of more anxiety, to replace anxious reactions and memories with none anxious ones, very quickly.

My personal experience of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), is that it relies on manipulating the cognitive section of the brain. This approach can work very successfully in some forms of mental illness, but due to its concentration on cognition it does not address the emotions, which is where I personally found it easier said than done.

I detest sprouts and always have, (despite my mother telling me they were good for me); all the cognitive refocusing I can muster is never going to make me emotionally satisfied when I sit down to a plate of sprouts. If CBT has worked to change your circumstances, I am indeed very happy and wish you every success and happiness in the future. Indeed let me repeat that I am not qualified nor do I intend to adjudicate upon CBT. The same applies to hypnosis, drug therapy, Yoga, flooding, NLP and all the other therapies. If they work for you I am happy – truly very happy.

Some people do need a break from their daily stress and if their GP has proscribed them sedatives to use as a crutch in the short term, then I wholeheartedly agree that temporary relief in extreme anxiety can be far better than no relief at all. However, hopefully some day you will try to withdraw the sedatives, hopefully with the help, guidance and advice of your doctor or specialist, and by then, you will need to have implemented a technique that allows you to function without sedatives and to eliminate your anxiety completely. There are many techniques available – some more successful than others – and as I said I have tried many of them personally in an effort to alleviate CFS/ME. Mickel Therapy worked best for me. The anxiety aspect of my CFS/ME remained stubborn despite many therapies including EMDR, Hypnosis, CBT, NLP etc. Let me stress these where my personal experiences. Others will report positive results and I am delighted for them.

However I did try the Linden Method and I have noticed very progressive results. My family and friends see prolonged periods of my old self – confident, vibrant and articulate.

Through my many conversations with Charles and my ongoing work with him, his Method and the research consortium, that includes Mickel Therapy and leading academics, I have had the opportunity to evaluate and personally test Charles’ unique programme. I have no doubt that The Linden Method works and clearly see how and why the structure creates recovery; it makes perfect psychological sense.

I have personally come to the conclusion that The Linden Method is soundly based in solid psychological understanding. It promotes emotional balance, the development of new memories of once feared situations, empowers the sufferer to step out with courage, to attempt new challenges and the programme is written in easily understandable language; it is also very easy to do.

The testimonials advocate that The Linden Method has helped very many people and is an easy to understand programme with clear explanations of the processes taking place within your mind and body as anxiety disorder retreats. The Linden Method programme is backed up by a support network of qualified anxiety specialists, psychologists and counsellors, who can simply explain and reassure you about the thoughts, feelings and emotions you are experiencing. Sometimes even a sympathetic understanding voice can help you over the next hurdle.

The idea that anxiety disorder is simply “nerves” is no explanation at all and will never satisfy or settle your doubts or anxieties. Similarly, the idea that anxiety is something you have to ‘learn to live with’ or that it is a condition that you can never be free from is simply not true. The Linden Method provides a correct psychological explanation of your condition, reassurance and clear, structured guidance and is definitely a programme for recovery – one that will help you create new emotional memories to replace the anxious ones – and, in addition, The Linden Method provides a blueprint for leading an emotionally fulfilled life.

The Linden Method recognises and addresses the fact that there are no bears waiting to attack you, but rather only negative memories of fear that cause and perpetuate your anxiety condition.

The Linden Method shows you how to change those negative, anxious memories into happy and emotionally fulfilling ones.

I personally recommend the Linden Method wholeheartedly. It has worked for countless others and it can work for you as well as it has worked for me.

Finally, there are many out there who would exploit those suffering from anxiety. I am glad to say that the Linden Method will give you your money back if you do not improve.

I believe that Charles is going a very long way to shutting down the exploitation of sufferers in this guarantee; his experiences at the hand of anxiety disorder for over 20 years, his 12 years of practice helping sufferers to recover, his qualified staff and his and his organisation’s reputations are testament to the level of respect gained through constantly high results and many thousands of success stories. Lastly his willingness to join a consortium that will include academics and other therapies (such as those lead by Dr. David Mickel) displays an openness to have his Method ruthlessly tested and should be reassuring to those who doubt the efficiency of the Linden Method.

In other words, in my opinion, you have nothing to lose by trying this particular psychologically supported recovery programme but you certainly have everything to gain.”

Dr. Francis Teeney Research Fellow Queen’s University, Belfast

More information about Dr Francis Teeney

Dr Francis Teeney is a Psychologist at Queen’s University Belfast where he is a member of the Social Issues and Health Cluster. He is also a Research Fellow at the University of Aberdeen.

In 2004, Francis became Project Manager for HUMAINE – an EU funded 34 partner/ university worldwide network analysing emotions. Indeed his work in this emotional based research is reflected in is current investigations into the role of emotions in energy disorders such as anxiety, ME/CFS.

Francis’ recent activities involve identity and victimhood involving collaboration between the University of Aberdeen and Queen’s University Belfast.

Francis was involved in the Northern Ireland Peace Process, held numerous workshops and seminars for victims emotionally affected by the conflict, is an NLP practitioner and is at the forefront of forming an academic research consortium into the causes and treatment of anxiety and ME/CFS with Dr David Mickel, Psychologist Kyle Davies and Charles Linden. With the assistance and guidance of his close friend and colleague, Professor Roddy Cowie of Queen’s University School of Psychology, his objective is to develop a greater understanding of the role of emotions in human health and wellbeing.