Hart Critique

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Theory Critique: Hart Samantha Farmer Liberty University Summary Dr. Hart (1999) explains in his book, The Anxiety Cure, how to cure anxiety disorders naturally and without the use of synthetic tranquilizers. Hart states that about 10% of people have had at least one panic attack and many people have had more than one. This affects more women than men. It also affects those who are considered strong and because of the amount of stress in their lives. Although anxiety attacks are an unwelcome symptom of anxiety, they are also a warning that one is under too much stress and should seek help. If one does seek help for this anxiety, it is likely he can overcome the disorder whereas ignoring the symptoms will only make it worse. Some of the anxiety disorders that Hart lists are panic anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), specific phobias, social phobias, agoraphobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), acute stress disorder, and separation anxiety disorder (Hart, 1999). Hart calls anxiety a disease of stress. He goes on to explain that stress causes the neurotransmitters of the brain to deplete which causes anxiety. Neurotransmitters are what Hart calls happy messengers and without them, the brain cannot achieve tranquility. Some of the happy messengers named are serotonin, noradrenaline, dopamine, and other natural tranquilizers. There are also sad messengers which include cortisol and another group of enzymes. These sad messengers deplete the happy messengers which causes a person to become depressed, anxious, sleepless, and fatigued. Good mental health is achieved when there is a balance of happy and sad messengers. These messengers get out of balance when there is too much stress present (Hart, 1999). Hart goes on to discuss treatment of these disorders. First, a doctor, psychologist, or psychiatrist
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