Is Anthony Robbins a Psycho-Quack cheese-master or does he actually have something useful to say? This is my true story of how Anthony Robbins made me a functioning member of society again.

A few years ago, I was afflicted with the often-undiagnosed Supermarket Anxiety and as-yet unrecognized disorder on the DSM. It hit me abruptly and without warning. After years of leisurely strolling through the aisles, I became panicky at the Grocery Store, just wanting to get the F out of Dodge. If i went with a friend, I would wait in the car. If I went alone, I walked quickly and with my head down, as if in a trance. The situation became so bad that I started dissociating at the drop of a hat. (If my mind left my body, I was not cognizant enough of where it went to be able to enjoy the experience.)

Finally, I broke down and told my doctor, also known in Shrinky-type circles as a P-doc about my condition. I expected pills to solve the problem and lots of them, but he recommended deep breathing instead. Great advice from a great master it was not, but I was willing to try anything. The next time I went to the store, I inhaled and exhaled as slowly as I possibly could. I believe that my deep breathing was not helped by then habitual smoking. Nevertheless, the deep breathing did not work as magically as a pill, so I went back to my doctor and asked him again for a pill to enable me to be a functioning (well, at least grocery-shopping) member of society. Again, he refused me the pill.

My initial reaction was, "Fyuck" although I did not voice this aloud. I went home and contemplated my empty cupboards.  I looked around my apartment and stumbled upon "Awaken the Giant Within" by Anthony Robbins. I had picked it up as a joke for free at a garage sale, but had never read it and thankfully had had minimal exposure to his late-night TV appearances, but was desperate enough to believe that he could possibly be the Guru that I needed.

My copy of the book had 512 pages of text and I didn't have time to perfect my speed-reading abilities, so I opened the book at random and allowed his "divine wisdom" to guide me. Page 160. "WHATEVER WE FOCUS ON BECOMES OUR IDEA OF REALITY". The all-caps was a little disturbing and might frighten you, also, but the book was published in 1991, prior to the designation of all-caps as shouting.

The basic premise was that we need to change our focus. This was good, I agreed, but how, Anthony, how?

I dipped into the book again randomly, but couldn't find anything of use. Did I really care that Bill Cosby made people laugh? What relevance did a person with Multiple Personality Disorder to me? Then, I found it: The Science of Neuro-Associative Conditioning. He actually had words of wisdom that my p-doc (at 120 bucks a pop) had failed to give me. We have the power to re-condition our thinking. If we have a negative association to something, it is in our power to re-set the neural pathways. (Brain researchers refer to this as neuro-plasticity.)

I took his advice. It didn't work at first either. I pictured myself at the "evil supermarket" shopping for groceries and tried to eradicate the negative associations from my mind. I envisioned myself delighted to find a new candy bar and taking joy at the produce aisle (oh to feel a melon.....). I drove my car to the store and basically marched into the store, more soldier-like than relaxed. It wasn't the best grocery-store trip I'd ever had, but it wasn't the worst either. The next few times it got easier. It wasn't overnight at the snap of the finger, but the ideas in Anthony Robbins Chapter 6 gave me some semblance of myself back.

So, my final conclusion (which I know you are excited to read): Anthony Robbins may be a bit wacky and over-the-top, but may actually have some wisdom for those willing to look past his manner. I guess what I would like to say is, "Don't judge a self-help Guru" by his cover.