Living with anxiety and depression with Bev Aisbett

Bev Aisbett has written several books on anxiety and depression. Her most recent book is a memoir called All of it: a memoir of love, fear and art.  

On Monday night at Ashburton Library, Bev Aisbett talked passionately about her own experience with anxiety from being told by a doctor that she was the most afraid person she had ever met all the way to running workshops for people also suffering. Lots of people ask ‘why me’ when they are starting to deal with anxiety.  They tell themselves a lot of junk and a lot of it is negative self-talk.  Bev says that if you can change your thinking you can often change your anxiety levels.  Anxiety and panic attacks are often a warning sign that you are not being true to yourself.  She encouraged us to not get hooked on the misery of staring deeply into anxiety and negativity.

Bev created the ‘anxiety monster’ IT character in her books to portray the negative self talk and self-critic that is often present in anxious people.  Bev also runs workshops for anxiety sufferers and she is a artist who will soon open a gallery in Yarraville.

Check out her books in the library catalogue here

We were tweeting live from the event on Monday night - check out our twitter feed here.