The Unwinding Anxiety Workbook: Practical Exercises to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind

by Judson Brewer MD, PhD

Overview

A hands-on resource to help you break addictive habits and heal your anxious mind, based on the New York Times bestseller Unwinding Anxiety.

Between the relentless uncertainty—political, environmental, societal—in the world and our own personal challenges, many of us are living in a state in which we are overwhelmed by anxiety. When anxious or negative feelings strike, we might find ourselves falling into unhealthy patterns of thought and behavior that we struggle to change—worrying, stress-eating, constantly scrolling on social media, procrastinating, and more. But there is a way out. In this workbook companion to his New York Times bestseller, psychiatrist and neuroscientist Judson Brewer shows how you can uproot anxiety using brain-based techniques that are accessible to anyone.

Filled with powerful exercises and thought-provoking journal prompts, the Unwinding Anxiety Workbook will guide you through a scientifically proven three-step program designed to hack your anxiety and help you access more peace and calm in a constantly changing world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593853016
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	08/05/2025
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Judson Brewer, MD, PhD, is an internationally renowned addiction psychiatrist and neuroscientist. He is a full professor in the School of Public Health and Medical School at Brown University. His 2016 TED talk, “A Simple Way to Break a Bad Habit,” has been viewed more than 20 million times. He has trained Olympic athletes and coaches, government ministers, and business leaders. His book Unwinding Anxiety was a New York Times bestseller.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Unwinding Anxiety

"One of the hardest things about tackling a bad habit is confronting the anxiety behind it. Jud Brewer has given us a breakthrough program with great tips and hacks that anyone can use to feel better. We all need this book!"
—BJ Fogg, PhD, New York Times bestselling author of Tiny Habits

"Unwinding Anxiety provides a step-by-step guide to Judson Brewer’s personally designed, clinically proven path that can alleviate your mind from anxiety, obsessive thinking, addiction, and more. It guides your brain to rewire in helpful ways as it inspires your mind to understand it’s inner processes more deeply and to live with more freedom, gratitude, interpersonal connection, and joy."
—Daniel J. Siegel, M.D., New York Times bestselling author of Aware

"You cannot thrive if you’re perpetually anxious. It’s that simple. Jud Brewer has given us a plan that can help us overcome our anxious thoughts, feelings and habits to create true well-being. It is absolutely game-changing."
—Arianna Huffington, Founder & CEO, Thrive Global

"Grounded in the best of current science and totally user friendly, Unwinding Anxiety reveals how a powerful set of mindfulness tools can free us from the worry that rules our lives. This is the most helpful and informative book on anxiety I’ve read!"
—Tara Brach, Ph.D , author of Radical Acceptance

"In a world that can be overwhelming, Jud Brewer has created a plan to stop the overwhelm. He shows us accessible ways to stop worry in its tracks and mindfulness techniques that can redirect our energy in positive, healing ways. It’s exactly what we need right now."
—US Representative Tim Ryan, Ohio

"An incredibly relatable and practical guide to anxiety. Judson Brewer's research has contributed greatly to our understanding of why anxiety is so hard to shake. This book gives us the tools to break free. Anxiety is at the root of so many of the habits we want to change. Unwinding Anxiety will not only help you deal with anxiety, but will also help you find freedom from the behaviors that hold you back."
—Kelly McGonigal, PhD, author of The Joy of Movement

"Brewer weaves together science from his lab and stories from his clinic to expertly illustrate how anxiety develops, becomes a habit loop, and why our anti-anxiety strategies continue to fail us. Unwinding Anxiety provides actionable steps that you can implement into your own life to stop this cycle. Compellingly written, this compassionate book is full of insights that couldn’t have come at a better time."
—Jewel, New York Times bestselling author of Never Broken

"This may be the only book on anxiety you’ll ever need. Drawing on his lab’s latest neuroscience and clinically proven techniques, Dr. Brewer ingeniously reveals why anxiety loops are so hard to break. Showing clearly how and why worry is so addictive, he guides you how to shift through the gears to break the old habits that keep anxiety going, and to unwind the rope that’s been coiled around your life. With new insights on every page, this is evidence-based psychological science at its best."
—Mark Williams, Emeritus Professor of Clinical Psychology, University of Oxford, UK, Co-author of Mindfulness: Finding Peace in a Frantic World

"In Unwinding Anxiety neuroscientist Judson Brewer offers a brilliant breakthrough, brain-based methods for lessening our anxiety-driven habits. And anxiety, after all, is the common cold of our emotional life."
—Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence

"Judson Brewer has written a relatable, introspective guide to overcoming anxiety. Backed by research and experience Unwinding Anxiety is an exploration on how anxiety grows in our brains and offers a key to unwinding those habitual thought patterns. Much more than relaying research and science, this book offers user-friendly, practical steps to the possibility of managing worry!"
—Sharon Salzberg, author of Lovingkindness and Real Change

"A helpful guide...These evidence-based, structured recommendations will be useful to anyone who feels caught in a negative loop."
–Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher