Book excerpt: "Un-Agoraphobic offers a comprehensive, step-by-step self-help program for overcoming agoraphobia and panic attacks. Since overcoming his own disorder twenty years ago, Mathew has been leading support groups and recovery programs for people with agoraphobia. He understands what agoraphobes need and how to deliver it. No one knows exactly what causes agoraphobia or panic attacks, but it clearly involves some misfirings in the brain. The good news is that recent neuroscience research suggests the brain is retrainable?at any age.The basis for any recovery plan for anxiety disorders is a highly structured approach each day. Mathew provides a daily schedule that lays out a clear set of steps and considerations for conquering this affliction, including: writing every day -- cultivating present-moment thinking -- taking a new approach to food and eating -- choosing a therapist starting a peer support group -- using visualization techniques specifically designed for overcoming anxiety and panic taking medications, if appropriate -- dealing with children, spouse, parents, friends, coworkers, teachers, bosses, and more -- taking your first trip out of the house Mathew includes FAQs, general survival tips, and a special chapter on tips for spouses and loved ones. Un-Agoraphobic is candid, funny, prescriptive, and spot on for panic disorders - by an author with a lot of life experience under his belt"--