Own It.: Make Your Anxiety Work for You

by Caroline Foran

Overview

There's no such thing as a stress-free life but in Own It, anxiety transforms from a crutch into an ally. This empowering self-help guide includes a panic attack rescue guide with exercises, techniques for getting to the root of a problem, the brain chemistry behind anxiety (and how to outsmart it), tools for breaking down the negativity bias, and more.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781615199679
Publisher:	The Experiment
Publication date:	04/02/2019
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 5.00(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Caroline Foran is a number-one international bestselling author, motivational speaker, freelance lifestyle journalist, and cofounder of digital publishing venture GAFFInteriors.ie. She is the author of Own It.: Make Your Anxiety Work for You and You Got This: Face Your Fear, Find Your Confidence, and the host of Owning It: The Anxiety Podcast. She lives in Dublin with her husband, Barry.

Table of Contents

Introduction: What this book will do for you 1

Part 1 Assessing Anxiety 13

1 What is anxiety? 14

2 Figuring out why you are here 26

Exercise: Psychological Formulation 43

3 The less sh*t side of anxiety 46

Exercise: What has anxiety given you? 52

4 Understanding the negativity bias 53

Exercise: Finding the Balance 59

Exercise: Cognitive Restructuring 60

5 Owning your vulnerability 63

Exercise: Owning your vulnerability 68

Exercise: What's the worst that could happen? 69

Tool Kit: Quick Things You Can Jump To 71

6 How to deal with a panic attack in real time 72

Exercise: 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding exercise 81

7 Common mind traps associated with anxiety 82

Exercise: Thought record for mind traps 90

8 Anxiety survival kit 91

9 BS-free inspirational quotes and affirmations 99

Part 2 Addressing Anxiety 107

10 Acceptance is key 108

11 Know the difference between personality and anxiety 118

Exercise: Nourishing vs. depleting activities 124

12 Why social comparison is bad for you 127

13 Relationships can help and hinder your well-being 136

14 Shut up and breathe 146

Exercise: How to master the Ujjayi breathing 157

15 How to sleep like a baby 160

16 Why Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is everything 173

Exercise: Fact or opinion approach 180

Exercise: Behavioral experiment 184

Exercise: Determining your core values 185

17 What you eat matters 188

18 What you should know about exercise 201

19 Let's talk about meds 209

20 Ass-kicking alternative therapies and treatments 218

Exercise: S.T.O.P. mindfulness 232

Conclusion: What now? 245

Acknowledgments 252

Endnotes 256

Resources 257

Text permissions 259

About the author 262

Editorial Reviews

"Praise from Ireland

"It seems like in the age of self-care, everyone is dealing with some level of anxiety. But Caroline Foran is here to tell readers that whether you find yourself bursting into tears on the daily, or experiencing mental roadblocks more than usual, there are ways to identify and change your lifestyle to better suit the stressors that are eating away at your brain. She would know, as an everyday woman who has once let her anxiety define her life. Devoid of any boring, professional healthcare jargon, Foran lays out baby steps you can take to ease yourself into a less anxiety-filled world."

W Magazine

"Stop panicking and read this book."

Jenny Lawson

"Own It offers a frank and funny approach to the ins and outs of anxiety—what it is, why it happens, and how to manage it. I love Caroline Foran’s message of self-acceptance and leaning into mental illness rather than trying to outrun it. That she delivers this message with a healthy dose of curse words makes it even better. Highly recommended!"

Sarah Knight

"[Caroline Foran's] personal take on how to live with anxiety is honest, thoughtful and perfect for millennials privately struggling with what can be a crippling condition."

Sunday Business Post

"One of Marie Claire’s 30 Best Self-Help Books to Read in 2025

"Foran shares not only how she muscled through the worst of her mental health struggles but also how she learned to live with her anxiety disorder and how she has learned to manage it successfully on a day-to-day basis."

MarieClaire.com

"It’s fairly easy to read, filled with tips and chapter summaries on dealing with anxiety, and as such, may be especially useful for busy college students (who are no strangers to stress and anxiety)."

The Daily Californian

It’s fairly easy to read, filled with tips and chapter summaries on dealing with anxiety, and as such, may be especially useful for busy college students (who are no strangers to stress and anxiety).”—The Daily Californian

“Own It offers a frank and funny approach to the ins and outs of anxiety—what it is, why it happens, and how to manage it. I love Caroline Foran’s message of self-acceptance and leaning into mental illness rather than trying to outrun it. That she delivers this message with a healthy dose of curse words makes it even better. Highly recommended!”—Sarah Knight, New York Times–bestselling author of Calm the Fuck Down

“Stop panicking and read this book.”—Jenny Lawson, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Furiously Happy

Praise from Ireland
“It seems like in the age of self-care, everyone is dealing with some level of anxiety. But Caroline Foran is here to tell readers that whether you find yourself bursting into tears on the daily, or experiencing mental roadblocks more than usual, there are ways to identify and change your lifestyle to better suit the stressors that are eating away at your brain. She would know, as an everyday woman who has once let her anxiety define her life. Devoid of any boring, professional healthcare jargon, Foran lays out baby steps you can take to ease yourself into a less anxiety-filled world.”—W Magazine
 
“[Caroline Foran's] personal take on how to live with anxiety is honest, thoughtful and perfect for millennials privately struggling with what can be a crippling condition.”—Sunday Business Post

From the Publisher