# The Charles Linden Method



## Guest (Mar 5, 2005)

Hi Im new to this forum but have been suffering from anxiety and the others sumptoms that go with it for many years now, i did recently get better without taking any pills or having any therapy and actually felt normal for the first time in 9yrs but in the last 5 weeks or so i have become ill mentally again after being pysically ill, I have dicovered this website thelindenmethod.co.uk and wondered if anybody had any views on it or if anybody had tried it before. As much info on it would be highly appreciated, Thanks Alan


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## [rula] (Jan 16, 2005)

well, it kinda depends...Linden is a very good sales person, and makes it seem like he discovered some magic cure for anxiety. not so. his advice is common sense relaxation techniques compiled in one package, and also included is a cheesy Tai Chi video. now for a newbie on how to cope with anxiety (and dp/dr which he insists is nothing more than a symptom of anxiety) the advice is good and can be very helpful. but for the rest of us, his 9 magic pillars are laughable and nothing new:

1. Don't visit practictioners 
2. Withdraw from medication 
3. Stop finding out about anxiety/panic attacks 
4. Only follow the Linden Method (! convenient eh?) 
5. Don't talk about your condition - *and that includes on bulletin boards like this. *
6. Stop leaning on other people 
7. Forget about your condition 
8. Practice diversion techniques - such as taking up a hobby (!) 
9. Don't accomodate your anxiety

um, ok...you'll get most of that valuable advice on this board too, and you can send ME the $180 bucks :wink:

-ru


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## Guest (Mar 5, 2005)

LOL! This is pretty lame!

I stumbled across his web site recently and was wondering what it was all about. But normally, when people want money for their "advice" I choose to withdraw and save my money. Now I'm glad I did! Thanks for sharing this!

The sad thing is that a lot of people will actually pay him...

Why don't we come up with our own "9 Magic Pillars" that actually work? That would be worth something!


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## Guest (Mar 5, 2005)

Yes, the Linden Method is the cure to anxiety. I paid my $149 and now I am cured of anxiety forever.


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## Guest (Mar 5, 2005)

Pure Narcotic said:


> Yes, the Linden Method is the cure to anxiety. I paid my $149 and now I am cured of anxiety forever.


R you for real or are you be sarcastic ?


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## enigma (Feb 18, 2005)

sexpert said:


> R you for real or are you be sarcastic ?


R you for real or are you be acidmale69 ?

e


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## person3 (Aug 10, 2004)

Yes pure narcotic is serious! You see, DP is the inability to tolerate anxiety. So through DP he has rid himself of normal everyday anxiety


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## Guest (Mar 6, 2005)

No, fo realz peepz. Da linden method definetly be da cure! I like had hella anxiety and i like tried da linden method and it was after dat there be no more anxiety! It was totally fo sho yall, totally off the chain, it was da best thing since tupac shakorr. So you best on be gettin off your grill's and get yourself a copy of this totally tight dizeallll!


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## AHuseman (Jan 29, 2005)

hahahaha....thats too funny...i know ur prolly bein sarcastic but I wouldnt believe that in a split second


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## Guest (Mar 6, 2005)

Pure Narcotic said:


> No, fo realz peepz. Da linden method definetly be da cure! I like had hella anxiety and i like tried da linden method and it was after dat there be no more anxiety! It was totally fo sho yall, totally off the chain, it was da best thing since tupac shakorr. So you best on be gettin off your grill's and get yourself a copy of this totally tight dizeallll!


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## Universal (May 30, 2005)

the linden method is seriously a scam? wow , unbelievable. why don't it work? anyone ever buy it on this site? 
:?: supposedly he discovered something about the amygdala or whatever its called


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## Sojourner (May 21, 2005)

Yeah, he discovered something every sleazebag con-man --- be they a salesman or a psychiatrist --- knows: people who are suffering are an easy mark.


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## maria (Oct 28, 2004)

I'm pretty sure the amygdala thing is there just to make it sound more scientific, from his website I get the idea that his tapes and stuff are just ordinary relaxation tapes.


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## [rula] (Jan 16, 2005)

Universal said:



> the linden method is seriously a scam? wow , unbelievable. why don't it work? anyone ever buy it on this site?
> :?: supposedly he discovered something about the amygdala or whatever its called


I came across this just 3 days ago, funny that you bring this thread back up.

copied...

*a review on the Linden Method by Professor Paul Salkovskis, Clinical Director of the Maudsley Hospital in London, a leading hospital for Anxiety Disorders and Trauma.*

Following on from the many enquiries received on the helpline on the Linden Method, we asked 3 people - 2 National Phobics Society volunteers (Rachel Fitzsimmons and Dave Davies) and a patron of NPS, Professor Paul Salkovskis to review the programme, Professor Paul Salkovskis? review is as follows and has been chosen to be printed because both volunteer reviews were disputed by Mr Linden on the grounds that the first volunteer didn?t suffer with panic attacks and therefore couldn?t accurately assess the package. The 2nd volunteer review was rejected because Mr Linden felt that being a sufferer of an anxiety disorder wasn?t sufficient qualification to review the package:

The claims made in this programme are bullish. We are asked to believe that this is the one true way to rid yourself of panic attacks, anxiety disorders and phobias. At one point it says that it's the only cure for anxiety. But before looking at the evidence for such extraordinary claims, lets look at the process.

Firstly, one has to learn the ?nine pillars?, read the materials, do the visualisation exercise twice each day, do Tai Chi exercises as often as possible and do exactly what the Method teaches you. Confusingly, there are then two ?powerful? elements; diversion which apparently re-balances the sufferer?s conscious logical thinking and subconscious habits. Secondly, the sufferer needs to breathe correctly and improve their posture.

So what are the nine pillars?

1. Stop visiting your doctor (and other doctors too)
2. Talk to your doctor about stopping the medication (confusingly as you are not supposed to visit them).
3. Stop looking for answers to your problems elsewhere.
4. Only use the Linden Method.
5. Stop talking to other people about how you feel.
6. Stop relying on other people for help with your feelings (which follows from not talking to them presumably).
7. Get rid of memories about your problem.
8. Keep busy as a diversion (distraction)
9. Don?t allow anxiety to change what you do.

You don?t have to be a psychologist to see that 1-7 are all ways of saying ?rely on the this method alone?. That leaves two pillars which are about not giving in to anxiety. Good stuff, but not good enough.

Interestingly for someone who says that the way to getting better is not to dwell on the details of your past problems, Mr Linden offers the story of this own problems in great details in the ?Nine Pillar? booklet. The story comes to its culmination when he received cognitive behaviour therapy. His cognitive therapist taught him all kinds of useful stuff, which Linden applied and added to. I found myself musing about this. Why is this person, who benefited from cognitive therapy (and added to it in ways any sensible CBT therapist would encourage one to do) now taking the position that other people should not seek help from anyone except himself? I?m keeping answers to myself, I?m afraid.

The Nine Pillars book then offers a reasonable account of the physiology of anxiety (although some of it made me wince). Nothing unique here, and certainly not the best account available. For someone opposed to the use of medication Linden seems very fond of biological accounts of anxiety. Oddly, although he seems to have benefited from cognitive behavioural therapy, the cognitive component does not come through directly. For example, in the early section on Panic Disorder he neglects to mention catastrophic misinterpretation of bodily sensation, choosing instead to suggest that the brain has been programmed to produce panic. Linden is also fond of diagnosis, and paraphrases the American diagnostic system as a way of describing anxiety disorders. This improves later as one listens to the CD based material, but the nuggets are well hidden.

The chapter on stopping anxiety has some good snippets, and Linden is fond of the idea of hyperventilation, resurrecting the old ?brown paper bag? idea. Some other practical ideas are to be found in ?diversion tactics?; these are good old fashioned distractions, varying from splashing water on the face to eating apples. Maybe he thinks an apple a day keeps the doctor away, so it fits with his first pillar? But there is another major problem here. He gives no consideration to the safety seeking behaviour. This is a shame, because a lot of his ?behavioural activation? stuff (meaning: don?t let your behaviour be changed, reach for the things you want) fits with current views on and evidence about the role of safety seeking in anxiety disorders. However, in places he is implicitly encouraging safety seeking behaviours.
This in my opinion is further evidence that Linden?s science is, as best, muddled.

The supplementary materials are interesting. The introduction on the CD is a pleasant and slightly soporific lecture which re-iterates the positive message in the nine pillars book. In the interview which follows, we are treated to more of the same. The visualisation exercise is even more soporific. It follows the convention set by progressive muscular relaxation, and again is worth doing for its relaxation and distraction potential, if relaxation and distraction is what you need.

The ?Panic Attack Eliminator? seemed more promising on the basis of its preamble. And I mean promising; the promise is there, right at the beginning; ?this is the conclusive method for disarming panic attacks?. Apparently it can work on the first occasion, but might take up to three times. In the rest of this seven minute wonder, the sufferer is told that they cause their own panic. ?Place every square millimetre of your body in my trust? Linden intones. Go with it, let it do its worst. Discover that it cant do anything bad to you. At last, something resembling cognitive therapy! Not set up properly, but sensible. Fear of fear is emphasised, as are vicious circles. But they are not explained properly, and of course it is not fear of fear which is the problem in panic, but fear of the consequences of fear. Sadly, it is clear that this is not the conclusive method.

This all a bit sad. One way of looking at it is that Charles Linden had cognitive behavioural therapy, found it helpful, embellished it and now markets it as his own one true way not just for the problem he had, but for all anxiety problems. Its not.

Now don?t get me wrong, this is mostly sensible stuff for panic, and if it cost ?5.99 at the bookshops, I?d be recommending it, suggesting that there might be useful snippets here and there.

My opinion is that it will be of no value to people whose anxiety is not fuelled by panic, and only limited value to most of those with severe and persistent panic. So would I recommend it in a limited way?

What makes any recommendation impossible is the cultic element. The explicit method is, use my method only (and pay my price for it). The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) anxiety guidelines are now available, summarising the best science. Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) is the treatment of choice. The Linden Method has no evidence underpinning it and therefore doesn?t even make third choice for NICE, which is guided self help based on CBT principles. Charles Linden?s method is not evidence based, the science is flawed and the price is ludicrous. In essence Linden claims this treatment is novel and effective; sadly, it seems likely that what is novel is not effective, and what is effective is not novel. My title for this review is that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence; there is no such evidence. Don?t buy this programme unless you can afford it.


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## Monkeydust (Jan 12, 2005)

I just love the way the first four or five of his "pillars" are basically telling you to drop all other treatments, stop seeing doctors, stop medications and *only* use the Linden Method.

It's as if you only get better when you stop getting better and decide to waste your money on Linden's books and tapes.

The guy really deserves a good kicking.


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