Dancing Away an Anxious Mind

Robert Rand tells the tale of how dancing freed him from the grip of panic disorder. Rand was a serious, shy, and intense scholar who had achieved national recognition in a writing and radio production career. Dancing became a cathartic and liberating endeavor.

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In this engaging memoir, Robert Rand tells the tale of how dancing freed him from the grip of panic disorder. Rand was a serious, shy, and intense scholar who had achieved national recognition in a writing and radio production career. In the midst of his success, panic attacks overwhelmed him. For more than two years, he suffered their debilitating effects; the disease flattened his spirits and stripped him of self-confidence. Then he discovered social dancing and, in particular, Cajun and zydeco dance and music. Dancing became a cathartic and liberating endeavor, helping him beat back his panic disorder to discover a world of passion and romance and to gain control of his life.