New self-help book highlights author's battle overcoming agoraphobia through alternative methods

LOS ANGELES - Aug. 31, 2020 - PRLog -- During the global pandemic and in a time of heightened anxiety, one author hopes to bring a lifeline to others suffering alone in their homes.

"Fear Less: An Agoraphobic's Journey Out of Mental Purgatory" is a new memoir and self-help book from author Shawna Baca. The book documents her personal battle overcoming depression and anxiety after a downward spiral into panic disorder and agoraphobia that left her sequestered in her home for more than a year.

When Western medicine failed her, Baca's indigenous Apache/Yaqui mother took her to see a medicine man on the Pala Indian reservation who cured her in a sweat lodge ceremony. This sparked a journey of exploration as she worked with various therapists, doctors, 12-step programs, and indigenous healers. Each therapy in its own way helped her deprogram the emotional conditioning that resulted from childhood trauma as she worked toward her personal transformation.

Fear Less comes at a time when millions of people around the world are struggling with stress and anxiety.

"Everything I experienced has prepared me well for this pandemic," Baca said. "Most people are not used to staying in their homes 24 hours a day. After not leaving my house for a year, I know firsthand how this can affect a person's mental state."

Baca's ultimate aim is to strip away the stigma associated with mental illness while rewriting the narrative on mental health awareness.

"This book is a tell-all that leaves me vulnerable, but if it helps just one person overcome their panic, it was all worth it," she said. "I think the single most important thing for people suffering from mental illness is not to feel like they are alone. There are so many of us hiding in plain sight."

Fear Less is now available in paperback format on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Fear-Less-Agoraphobics-Journey-Pur.... The Kindle version of the book will launch September 7.

View the book trailer for Fear Less on YouTube at https://youtu.be/pWEHLoynjNU.



For more information about Fear Less, go to www.fearlessagoraphobia.com.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Born in east Los Angeles to Apache, Yaqui, Spanish, and French parents, Shawna Baca is an award-winning writer and director. She was selected by Steven Spielberg and Mark Burnett from more than 20,000 filmmakers to be part of the 2007 FOX reality show, ON THE LOT on the basis of her short film "Isabel." Her feature-length screenplay, "Space for Raven," is currently in development.

Learn more about Shawna Baca at www.shawnabaca.com.