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Pass Through Panic Lib/E: Freeing Yourself from Anxiety and Fear
In this eight-part radio series, Dr. Claire Weekes, bestselling author of Hope and Help for Your Nerves speaks to the listener intimately and compassionately about how to overcome anxiety, frustration, phobias, and depression. She coaches the listener on how to pass through panic and reach a place of strength and optimism. One of the first people to study and write about anxiety and panic disorders, Dr. Weekes was recognized by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to medicine. Her revolutionary approach is remarkably simple and effective and continues to be recommended by medical and psychological communities throughout the world.
Audio CD
First published June 1, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
July 2, 2020
Very good book, with some valid concepts everybody can apply. It's based on deceptively simple concept of downward spiral of sensitization, bewilderment and fear.
I liked the motherly, old-school, pompous tone of narration reminding me of the WWII propaganda that was running in cinemas in those times. It's the tone of axiomatic truth.
I liked the motherly, old-school, pompous tone of narration reminding me of the WWII propaganda that was running in cinemas in those times. It's the tone of axiomatic truth.
December 21, 2024
Pass Through Panic: Freeing Yourself From Anxiety and Fear by Dr. Claire Weekes
1h 56m narrated by the author, Dr. Claire Weekes, 120 pages
Genre: Nonfiction, Self Help, Health & Wellness, Mood Disorders, Personal Success, Psychology, Stress Management, Mental Health, Inspiring
Featuring: From Australia to America, Nervous Breakdown, Nervous Illnesses, Sensitization, Bewilderment, Fear, Special Problems, First Fear (Stress Causing Fear), Second Fear (Anxiety & Ruminating), Panic, Depression, Agoraphobia, Setbacks
Rating as a movie: PG
Books and Authors mentioned: Hope and Help for Your Nerves by Dr. Claire Weekes
My rating: ⭐️⭐️😬😰😨😓😟😥😧😳
My thoughts: 📱25% 29:10 [somewhere in Chapter 1] - This isn't what I thought it would be at all. I should have guessed with the title feeling off. So far I've learned little and I'm struggling to take Dr. Weekes seriously as she refers to mental disorders as "special problems" and uses first fear and second fear for fear and anxiety.
Although I appreciate the Brenda Fricker-like tone once sped up I wasn't a fan of the delivery. The vocabulary combined with the condescending view was a major turn-off. Was this written for children? She had a few good points but failed to explain them, only referring to her book. It was very repetitive and the jist was to stop worrying about your fears and they will go away.
Recommend to others: Honestly no, there are so many better books out there that tell you the how and why.
1h 56m narrated by the author, Dr. Claire Weekes, 120 pages
Genre: Nonfiction, Self Help, Health & Wellness, Mood Disorders, Personal Success, Psychology, Stress Management, Mental Health, Inspiring
Featuring: From Australia to America, Nervous Breakdown, Nervous Illnesses, Sensitization, Bewilderment, Fear, Special Problems, First Fear (Stress Causing Fear), Second Fear (Anxiety & Ruminating), Panic, Depression, Agoraphobia, Setbacks
Rating as a movie: PG
Books and Authors mentioned: Hope and Help for Your Nerves by Dr. Claire Weekes
My rating: ⭐️⭐️😬😰😨😓😟😥😧😳
My thoughts: 📱25% 29:10 [somewhere in Chapter 1] - This isn't what I thought it would be at all. I should have guessed with the title feeling off. So far I've learned little and I'm struggling to take Dr. Weekes seriously as she refers to mental disorders as "special problems" and uses first fear and second fear for fear and anxiety.
Although I appreciate the Brenda Fricker-like tone once sped up I wasn't a fan of the delivery. The vocabulary combined with the condescending view was a major turn-off. Was this written for children? She had a few good points but failed to explain them, only referring to her book. It was very repetitive and the jist was to stop worrying about your fears and they will go away.
Recommend to others: Honestly no, there are so many better books out there that tell you the how and why.
August 6, 2015
First, Dr. Weekes has a fantastic Australian accent and listening to her radio broadcasts could be fun for just that, but she goes beyond the superficial in that her advice is solid and still applicable even if she created these years ago. Her no-nonsense delivery reminded me of my fifth grade English teacher, in a good way. There's so much fear and prejudice surrounding the issue of mental health that it was refreshing to get the facts and then coping mechanisms in a simple, straight forward way with very few frills.
One of her statements stuck with me, it went something like "Can anyone's nerves become over sensitized? Yes." So, panic attacks and nervous issues are not only for a select few, this can affect everyone, with enough triggers and not enough relief, over time. That was good to know. I also liked the idea that time can heal most any nervous disorder with appropriate doctor's care and mindfulness therapy.
If you enjoyed Pass Through Panic, I'd also recommend some of Dr. Steven Gurgevich's hypnotic therapy recordings like Relax RX and Gateways to Now by Eckhart Tolle.
One of her statements stuck with me, it went something like "Can anyone's nerves become over sensitized? Yes." So, panic attacks and nervous issues are not only for a select few, this can affect everyone, with enough triggers and not enough relief, over time. That was good to know. I also liked the idea that time can heal most any nervous disorder with appropriate doctor's care and mindfulness therapy.
If you enjoyed Pass Through Panic, I'd also recommend some of Dr. Steven Gurgevich's hypnotic therapy recordings like Relax RX and Gateways to Now by Eckhart Tolle.
April 10, 2020
Last week I read Dr. Weekes’ book, “Hope and Help for Your Nerves.” I thought it was very helpful in terms of alleviating stress and changing the way we see anxiety. As such, I figured I’d try another one of her titles. That’s how I got here.
This one is a quick (two hour) audiobook that’s broken down into several “broadcasts.” Overall, the content is good, to-the-point, and helpful. Weekes’ voice is also soothing and assuring, which I loved. However, the content is eerily similar to “Hope and Help For Your Nerves.” Seriously — they’re practically the same product.
So, I’ll leave it at this: I would only buy one of the two products I’ve mentioned. Since this audiobook is longer than “Hope and Help,” then if audiobooks are your thing, buy this one, as it’s likely more comprehensive. If you instead prefer to read physical / digital books, buy “Hope and Help.” Just don’t buy both, otherwise you’ll be left feeling like you bought the same product twice.
-Brian Sachetta
Author of “Get Out of Your Head: A Toolkit for Living with and Overcoming Anxiety”
This one is a quick (two hour) audiobook that’s broken down into several “broadcasts.” Overall, the content is good, to-the-point, and helpful. Weekes’ voice is also soothing and assuring, which I loved. However, the content is eerily similar to “Hope and Help For Your Nerves.” Seriously — they’re practically the same product.
So, I’ll leave it at this: I would only buy one of the two products I’ve mentioned. Since this audiobook is longer than “Hope and Help,” then if audiobooks are your thing, buy this one, as it’s likely more comprehensive. If you instead prefer to read physical / digital books, buy “Hope and Help.” Just don’t buy both, otherwise you’ll be left feeling like you bought the same product twice.
-Brian Sachetta
Author of “Get Out of Your Head: A Toolkit for Living with and Overcoming Anxiety”
February 16, 2018
Eight years ago I had a bad reaction to Ativan and suffered extreme anxiety for over a year. This audio book was instrumental in my recovery.
Dr. Weekes reads her own book and has this lovely calm and sympathetic grandmotherly voice.
She talks about different cases/people she's worked with and how they found their way back to normalcy. She clearly leads you on a path of coping strategies as you learn to disipline your mind.
There is no judgment or pity. Just a deep understanding of what you are feeling and how to make it stop.
Dr. Weekes reads her own book and has this lovely calm and sympathetic grandmotherly voice.
She talks about different cases/people she's worked with and how they found their way back to normalcy. She clearly leads you on a path of coping strategies as you learn to disipline your mind.
There is no judgment or pity. Just a deep understanding of what you are feeling and how to make it stop.
April 14, 2025
I found this SUPER helpful as someone who has recently started having panic attacks and not sure why. Learning about what is happening and the why gave me hope for the next one. I also loved “you can do it on wobbly legs” -facts
February 18, 2025
3.5 - def needed that and had some helpful information!
April 20, 2019
It contains the same information from Hope and Help for Your Nerves. However, her voice is like that of a Disney fairy Godmother so it was a delightful listen. Plus it is nice how it feels like she is talking directly to you. She is reassuring and encouraging.
December 25, 2020
I would like this woman to narrate the trajectory of my life 😀 it's short, insightful and definitely can help you understand your nerves better
December 16, 2020
“Only Thing We Have to Fear Is Fear Itself” -- FDR
I don't believe FDR meant we should panic when emotions of fear arise in our hearts and minds. He thought it was the one thing holding us back. According to Dr. Weekes, we should not even fear fear itself -- that compounds it. (sensitization to stress, overreacting to life's problems) It's natural to feel it when life is stressful; however, not wanting to feel fear, we sometimes fear it. Then we do what we can to address the fear, not the event that stressed us out. Because the mood is detached from the reality, we solve the wrong problem and end up even worse off. For example, turning to food or drink when one feels afraid can relieve one of fearful emotions temporarily, but it does not change our situation that gave rise to the fear in the first place. The lingering stressor can push us beyond fear and harmful coping strategies to ultimately disintegrate our personality, resulting in depression.
Dr. Weekes suggests that recovery comes from accepting our feelings, whatever they are. If we're at rock bottom, it's OK; if we're somewhere in between tranquility and depression, that's also OK. There's no rush to recovery, nor a need to try and hold onto the positive emotions either. Simply live, accept that life yields bad as well as good emotions, and eventually a more balanced personality will emerge. The depression can go away, as well as the anxiety, and ultimately the fear that causes the cycle in the first place, at least the fear of fear. We will still end up feeling fear from time to time when life doesn't go our way, such as a sickness, accident, or criminal attack on our person.
Because stress is at the root, getting rest seems to be at the core of her solution. But in order to rest, one must also know what is preventing it.
From everything she's said in this short book I'm surprised she did not mention meditation or mindfulness once. It's basically the same thing from what I gather: you are not your mood. Your mind is separate from your spirit as much as your body is. Good or bad, it is a passing state, just like your body gets old, sick, and dies. Rather than grasp with its current state, yield to it in such a way that you are aware and do not react -- trying desperately to fix your mood with food, drink, etc. or hold onto the positive emotions. Through life's trials stability of character emerges, and as a result, the mind itself becomes stable as well.
Her perspective seems to be that many people simply need to accept that they're having a bad day, trivial, severe, or somewhere in between, and do what they can to recognize it so that they don't act out. Then there will be no need to stabilize moods with prescriptions because the body will heal itself; the mind will find equilibrium over time.
This "fear of fear" point was helpful to me as I continue to seek to understand the emotions as part of the body, not the spirit. It sounds like a good way to look at one's life story, not necessarily childhood, but something more recent like the last few hours, days, or weeks in order to explain one's current mood, and allow the story of one's life to unfold as both an objective drama and a subjective response to it, where good and bad feelings come and go in cycles rather than a sequence of bad to worse, and then rock bottom.
I don't believe FDR meant we should panic when emotions of fear arise in our hearts and minds. He thought it was the one thing holding us back. According to Dr. Weekes, we should not even fear fear itself -- that compounds it. (sensitization to stress, overreacting to life's problems) It's natural to feel it when life is stressful; however, not wanting to feel fear, we sometimes fear it. Then we do what we can to address the fear, not the event that stressed us out. Because the mood is detached from the reality, we solve the wrong problem and end up even worse off. For example, turning to food or drink when one feels afraid can relieve one of fearful emotions temporarily, but it does not change our situation that gave rise to the fear in the first place. The lingering stressor can push us beyond fear and harmful coping strategies to ultimately disintegrate our personality, resulting in depression.
Dr. Weekes suggests that recovery comes from accepting our feelings, whatever they are. If we're at rock bottom, it's OK; if we're somewhere in between tranquility and depression, that's also OK. There's no rush to recovery, nor a need to try and hold onto the positive emotions either. Simply live, accept that life yields bad as well as good emotions, and eventually a more balanced personality will emerge. The depression can go away, as well as the anxiety, and ultimately the fear that causes the cycle in the first place, at least the fear of fear. We will still end up feeling fear from time to time when life doesn't go our way, such as a sickness, accident, or criminal attack on our person.
Because stress is at the root, getting rest seems to be at the core of her solution. But in order to rest, one must also know what is preventing it.
From everything she's said in this short book I'm surprised she did not mention meditation or mindfulness once. It's basically the same thing from what I gather: you are not your mood. Your mind is separate from your spirit as much as your body is. Good or bad, it is a passing state, just like your body gets old, sick, and dies. Rather than grasp with its current state, yield to it in such a way that you are aware and do not react -- trying desperately to fix your mood with food, drink, etc. or hold onto the positive emotions. Through life's trials stability of character emerges, and as a result, the mind itself becomes stable as well.
Her perspective seems to be that many people simply need to accept that they're having a bad day, trivial, severe, or somewhere in between, and do what they can to recognize it so that they don't act out. Then there will be no need to stabilize moods with prescriptions because the body will heal itself; the mind will find equilibrium over time.
This "fear of fear" point was helpful to me as I continue to seek to understand the emotions as part of the body, not the spirit. It sounds like a good way to look at one's life story, not necessarily childhood, but something more recent like the last few hours, days, or weeks in order to explain one's current mood, and allow the story of one's life to unfold as both an objective drama and a subjective response to it, where good and bad feelings come and go in cycles rather than a sequence of bad to worse, and then rock bottom.
July 29, 2024
It’s a common sense book about ailments. But my first impression with the audiobook I thought the voice narrator was English, but from Australia. The narrator is the author. Memorable words “Acceptance, acceptance, acceptance…” make sure you remember to accept your emotions according this author. “…Brain fog and fear becomes obsession…”. Also, I heard this before from one of this self help-med books. But it is funny when she says something similar to: the cause of depression is depression. Some things she says are just comedy to me, but unless you want to hear an Aussie rap in full speed might want to slow the speed of the audio, because her accent wasn’t going in my head fast enough.
April 1, 2025
An incredible and reassuring read, Pass Through Panic offers clear, practical advice for overcoming anxiety and panic. Dr Weekes’ approach is simple, logical, and easy to apply immediately. Her compassionate tone and step-by-step method make this book a lifeline for anyone struggling with fear and panic attacks. It empowers readers to face their symptoms, accept them, and move through them with patience and confidence.
A timeless classic that demystifies anxiety and gives hope. Whether you're in the midst of a panic episode or supporting someone who is, this book is an essential guide to healing and calm.
A timeless classic that demystifies anxiety and gives hope. Whether you're in the midst of a panic episode or supporting someone who is, this book is an essential guide to healing and calm.
November 25, 2020
In this eight part radio series, Dr. Weekes speaks with the listener intimately and compassionately about how to overcome anxiety, frustration, phobias, and depression. She coaches the listener on how to pass through panic and reach a place of strength and optimism. Her revolutionary approach is remarkably simple and effective and continues to be recommended by both medical and psychological communities throughout the world.
March 28, 2025
Dated. But the core information holds true!! If you suffer from panic attacks, this is probably where all current CBT comes from.
The DARE program and the series by Sally Winston and Martin Seif all share this basic truth in different ways.
Accept the anxious sensations and thoughts. Allow them to be there without fighting and eventually the hold panic has over you will dissipate.
The DARE program and the series by Sally Winston and Martin Seif all share this basic truth in different ways.
Accept the anxious sensations and thoughts. Allow them to be there without fighting and eventually the hold panic has over you will dissipate.
August 25, 2023
This book is completely unnecessary after her other one but I still love listening to an Aussie grandma be like, “bruh you ever considered just hangin’ ten and riding that panic attack like a wave?”
Speaks to me.
Speaks to me.
February 28, 2024
Audiobook with her voice- a delightful conceptualization of anxiety and hopeful tangible ways to practice moving through it. Discovered her work from the anxiety coaches podcast and it’s different than cbt and other methods but very helpful to me thus far.
May 8, 2024
This is a great book that's easy to follow. It lays out clear and well thought out responses. It reminds me a lot of the basic principals in mindfulness meditation and how those methods are used to treat the same things.
September 6, 2024
If you can listen to this, do, the accent and charm of the 1960’s made it enjoyable.
I love this approach to anxiety and panic. It spoke true to me. She’s well before her time and I think the ongoing epidemic of anxiety and depression today could really be helped by this approach.
I love this approach to anxiety and panic. It spoke true to me. She’s well before her time and I think the ongoing epidemic of anxiety and depression today could really be helped by this approach.
May 27, 2018
outdated wording for anxiety disorder but good common sense solutions
July 19, 2019
4 stars. Only on audio. I think this might be a collection of podcasts? Kind of an odd format, but I love her message! Accept!
September 30, 2022
I listened to this audio and can't really recommend it. There are plenty of other books out there that are more helpful. I was being lazy and went for a short 2 hour audiobook.
March 16, 2023
AB- What a wonderful collection of radio interviews. This really helped me categorize my anxiety.
May 12, 2023
I wish I had this resource years ago. The way she explains everything and why it happens is so helpful. I will definitely be reading her book.
Read
March 26, 2024What was there was useful, but it was just a section of the series.
August 7, 2024
Nervously ill people - you can count on Claire to calm your nerves. You can listen to this for free on audible.
February 13, 2025
Short and to the point. The key is acceptance. And Dr. Weekes speaks so beautifully and calmly!
July 25, 2025
I love her. She is the fiesty, warm, honest and caring grandmother we all need. I highly recommend this resource for anyone who struggles with anxiety from time to time.
January 10, 2024
Appreciated the short length of this (listened on audiobook) and “Hope and Help for Your Nerves” I listened to the same day but was disappointed at the repetition and word-for-word repeat between the two. Made me not want to read any of her other stuff for fear it would be the same thing.
I wouldn’t recommend Hope and Help over this one as this one is shorter, bite-sized, and a bit watered down versions of the concepts in that book.
With that said, I did enjoy the concepts and how to approach this. Claire Weekes was recommended to me by someone who has worked through her own fears in this way and believe it will help me with mine.
I wouldn’t recommend Hope and Help over this one as this one is shorter, bite-sized, and a bit watered down versions of the concepts in that book.
With that said, I did enjoy the concepts and how to approach this. Claire Weekes was recommended to me by someone who has worked through her own fears in this way and believe it will help me with mine.
August 17, 2014
Despite being dated this book has some really good points - especially the chapter on depression and leaning into feelings instead of delighting then. And adding second fear - that is a helpful framing.
August 3, 2015
me encantan todos los libros de weekes claire
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews