Anxiety Happens: 52 Ways to Find Peace of Mind

by John P. Forsyth PhD, Georg H. Eifert PhD

Overview

Break free from anxiety—once and for all! From the authors of The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Anxiety, this powerful yet portable guide offers fifty-two in-the-moment mindfulness strategies you can use anytime, anywhere to cultivate calm and radically transform your life.

We live in an age of anxiety, and studies show that it’s only getting worse. Anxiety forces itself into our awareness and can deplete our energy, resources, and resolve. It screams “pay attention to me—or else.” We may confront it the moment we wake up in the morning, and it can even keep us from getting to sleep at night. In short, it can run our lives. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

Building on the success of The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Anxiety, this quick reference guide offers fifty-two simple tools and strategies—one for each week of the year—based in proven-effective acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to help you break free from worry, fear, and panic. In addition to “in-the-moment” tools for staying calm, you’ll learn about the underlying causes of your anxiety, why avoidance just doesn’t work, how to move past your negative inner voice, and how focusing on your values can help you move past anxiety and live a rich, meaningful life.

If—like many people—you’re fed up with anxiety getting in the way of living your life, the powerful little exercises in this guide will show you how to break the cycle of anxiety for good.

This book has been selected as an Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Self-Help Book Recommendation—an honor bestowed on outstanding self-help books that are consistent with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) principles and that incorporate scientifically tested strategies for overcoming mental health difficulties. Used alone or in conjunction with therapy, our books offer powerful tools readers can use to jump-start changes in their lives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781684031108
Publisher:	New Harbinger Publications
Publication date:	04/01/2018
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	4.90(w) x 6.80(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

John P. Forsyth, PhD, is an internationally renowned author and speaker in the fields of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), mindfulness practices, and self-development and growth. For over twenty years, his writings, teachings, and research have focused on developing ACT and mindfulness practices to alleviate human suffering, awaken the human spirit, and nurture psychological health and vitality. His personal journey and experience, balanced with practical insights grounded in scientific evidence, offers hope to those wishing to find a path out of suffering and into wholeness. He has coauthored several popular ACT books, including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Anxiety Disorders for mental health professionals, and several self-help books for the public: The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Anxiety, Anxiety Happens, The Anxiety Happens Guided Journal, ACT on Life Not on Anger, and Your Life on Purpose.

Forsyth regularly gives inspirational talks and practical workshops to the public and professionals in the United States and abroad, and offers ACT trainings with his wife at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies, The Esalen Institute, and Cape Cod Institute where he serves as a member of the teaching faculty. He is known to infuse his teaching and trainings with energy, humility, and compassion, and his down-to-earth workshops are consistently praised for their clarity, depth, and utility. Collectively, Forsyth’s work has helped foster growing interest in acceptance and mindfulness in psychology, mental health, medicine, and society.

Georg H. Eifert, PhD, is an internationally recognized author, scientist, speaker, and trainer in the use of ACT, an integrative approach balancing mindful acceptance, change, and compassion to foster psychological health and wellness. He is also professor emeritus of psychology at Chapman University in Orange County, CA, where he was previously department chair and associate dean of health sciences. He has won numerous awards for his research, teaching, and writing contributions. He is also a licensed clinical psychologist. As an active developer, researcher, and practitioner of ACT and transcendental meditation, Eifert is coauthor of several popular books, including the highly praised practitioner’s treatment guide, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Anxiety Disorders, as well as several ACT books for the public: ACT on Life Not on Anger, Your Life on Purpose, and The Anorexia Workbook. He has also authored and coauthored several ACT books in German.

Eifert regularly gives workshops and talks around the world, teaching ACT to both the public and professionals to help people end psychological suffering and lead more fulfilling lives. His workshops have been praised as inspiring, humorous, and empowering, and are renowned for their authenticity, clarity, and practical usefulness.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction 1

1 Live Your Life 7

2 Find Connection 12

3 Creating Space 15

4 Live with Intention 18

5 Release the Fear 22

6 Exploring the Costs 25

7 The Struggle Trap 29

8 Letting Go 32

9 Flip the Switch 36

10 Do the Opposite 39

11 Taking a Leap 42

12 Voices of Anxiety 45

13 On Autopilot 48

14 Whole, Complete, Enough 51

15 Kindness and Self-Care 55

16 Cultivating Allowing 58

17 Popping the Illusion 63

18 Not Buying It 66

19 Getting Unstuck 69

20 Humanizing the Mind 73

21 Words, Letters, and Ink 76

22 Be Patient 80

23 Disarming Anxiety 84

24 Who Am I, Realty 87

25 The Expansive Self 90

26 Let It Be 93

27 Drop the Stories 97

28 Behavior Matters! 102

29 Discover Your Passions 105

30 Finding Your North Star 109

31 Opening the Right Doors 112

32 Making Wise Choices 115

33 Do, No Trying 118

34 Exercise Kindness 121

35 Don't Feed It 124

36 Body Surfing Emotions 128

37 Refocus, Reconnect, and Redirect 132

38 Moving with Barriers 136

39 Lay Off the But(t)s 141

40 Unhooking from the Past 144

41 Grounding in the Now 148

42 Releasing Attachments 151

43 Drifting Along 155

44 Take Good Care 158

45 Reclaim Your Power 161

46 The Gift of Gratitude 165

47 Paying It Forward 169

48 Taking the Reins 172

49 Inhabiting Your Body 175

50 Growing Through Adversity 179

51 One Step at a Time 182

52 The Journey Ahead 187

Interviews

Forsyth resides in Schenectady, NY; Eifert resides in Port Angeles, WA.

Editorial Reviews

John and Georg have done it again: this is now their third superb book for radically transforming the way we respond to anxiety. In fifty-two bite-sized chapters, they’ll show you a wide variety of simple yet powerful ways to powerfully change your relationship with fear, anxiety, and insecurity in all their different forms. You’ll learn not just how to disarm anxiety, but how to actively utilize it to build a rich and meaningful life. If you want to get past your blocks and barriers, develop a deep sense of inner security, and do those important things that really scare you—this is the book for you!”
—Russ Harris, author of The Happiness Trap

Russ Harris

There are fifty-two weeks in the year, and fifty-two nuggets of gold glinting in this short book. You don’t have to climb to the top of a mountain to find your guru: John Forsyth and Georg Eifert are sitting, figuratively speaking, right in this book. They guide you through well-tested, poignant exercises and mind changers for stopping anxiety from interfering with the life you want to live. And they talk to you the way they suggest you talk to yourself: with compassion, openness, acceptance, and wisdom.”
—Ian M. Evans, FRSNZ, professor emeritus of psychology at Massey University, New Zealand; and author of How and Why People Change

Ian M. Evans

Forsyth and Eifert have written a rare book, which combines solid scholarship, enormously practical tools, and an overflowing heart. Anxiety is pervasive, perhaps these days more than ever. To find a deep sense of confidence and inner peace, I highly recommend this book.”
—Rick Hanson, PhD, New York Times bestselling author of Resilient

Rick Hanson

Anxiety Happens is a gem of a book. It reads like a gentle journey with a wise and caring guide. The highly expert authors guide you every step of the way, as you develop the willingness, self-compassion, and wisdom needed to embrace the fullness of a life well lived. It’s just excellent.”
—Dennis Tirch, PhD, author of The Compassionate-Mind Guide to Overcoming Anxiety

Dennis Tirch