Dare: The New Way to End Anxiety and Stop Panic Attacks

Why it's worth it

This is a short, plainspoken book built around one four-step response to panic: move toward the fear instead of fighting it. If your anxiety shows up as sudden attacks rather than a steady hum, it gives you something to do in the moment, not homework for later.

The whole method fits into four steps you can actually recall mid-panic. Barry McDonagh built the book around a single response — defuse, allow, run toward, engage — then repeats it across short chapters you can flip to when your heart's already going. That's the design choice that matters. Most anxiety advice fails in the moment because you can't retrieve it in the moment. This you can, which is why it works as a first line of defense.

It goes after the second wave of fear, not the first. The premise is that a panic attack runs on your reaction to the sensation rather than the sensation itself. So instead of breathing tricks meant to shut the feeling down, McDonagh has you move toward it and strip it of the power to escalate. Owners who'd already cycled through breathing apps and grounding exercises often say this reframe was the thing that finally broke the loop.

From our review of 8 books for anxiety and mental health, by Genevieve Dubois, Home & Living Expert

What we like

• +The whole method fits into four steps you can actually recall mid-panic
• +It goes after the second wave of fear, not the first
• +You don't need a clinical vocabulary to use any of it
• +It works better as the first book you read than the last

What to know

• –It's thin if your problem is steady, low-grade worry
• –The evidence here is testimony, not citation