Why Worry?: Stop Coping and Start Living

by Kathryn Tristan

Overview

Discover practical strategies to permanently overcome stress and worry from a scientist with first hand experience on how to truly thrive.

Knock fear out of the driver’s seat and take control of your own life through simple, proven strategies.

There always seems to be plenty to worry about, and worry we do—from nagging concerns to full-blown anxiety. It’s time to stop worrying and instead create a more peaceful, powerful, and purposeful life.

Kathryn Tristan’s hands-on, solution-oriented book empowers you to break free from constant fear, worry, and anxiety. She shows how to eliminate automatic doomsday thinking and take back control of your own life. This no-nonsense approach draws from a variety of disciplines to offer a comprehensive guide for rewiring your brain that includes restructuring how you think, easy relaxation exercises, simple lifestyle changes, and transformative spiritual practices. Through personal anecdotes and inspiring true stories, including self-assessment quizzes and the latest science, you’ll discover the secrets to a worry-free existence, including how to:

• recognize and eliminate inner trash talk and negative thinking;

• create outlook makeovers to slash stress and worry;

• master sure-fire worry busters;

• and discover calm during chaos.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781582703879
Publisher:	Atria Books/Beyond Words
Publication date:	12/04/2012
Edition description:	Original
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	804,367
Product dimensions:	5.62(w) x 8.24(h) x 0.55(d)

About the Author

Kathryn Tristan has written and coauthored more than 120 articles in leading health publications under her professional name, Kathryn Liszewski, as well as published articles in mainstream publications, such as Parade and Psychology Today. She is a member of the Anxiety Disorders Association of America and the American Association of Immunologists. She lives in St. Louis, Missouri, where she is a research scientist on the faculty at Washington University School of Medicine.

Table of Contents

Introduction: How This Book Can Help You vii

1 Understanding Why We Worry 1

2 The Worry Spectrum 13

Chapter Summary 28

CORE Concept 1 I Always Have Choices

3 Waking Up to Your Hidden Powers: Awareness and Choice 33

Chapter Summary 54

New Strategies: What Was I Thinking? 55

CORE Concept 2 I Choose to Change My Outlook

4 How You Think about Anything Determines How You Experience Everything 61

Chapter Summary 75

New Strategies: Clear Your Clutter 76

5 Outlook Makeover: Terribilizing versus Possibilizing 79

Chapter Summary 90

New Strategies: Power Up arid Worry Down 91

6 Outlook Makeover: Redefining Perfection 93

Chapter Summary 102

New Strategies: Releasing from Perfection 103

7 Outlook Makeover: Blame, Anger, and Guilt 105

Chapter Summary 130

New Strategies: Building Inner Power 131

CORE Concept 3 Risking Helps Me Recover

8 Risking Expands Your Comfort Zone 137

Chapter Summary 161

New Strategies: If It's Gonna Be, It's Up to Me 162

CORE Concept 4 I Embrace My Spirit

9 Embracing Your Spirit: Doorway to Healing 167

Chapter Summary 179

New Strategies: What's the Message? 179

Putting It All Together

10 Changing Your Life: Co-Creating Your Future 185

Chapter Summary 193

New Strategies: The Five List 194

Acknowledgments 197

Appendix A Quick Help for Anxiety Attacks 199

Appendix B Bouncing Back from Anxiety 201

Appendix C What If I Need More Help? 203

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Why Worry? is just what the doctor ordered for all those who suffer from the devastating effects of constant fear and worry. Written by a compassionate scientist who has overcome the problem herself, Why Worry? offers instantly accessible solutions that really work!"

—CHRISTIANE NORTHRUP, MD, author of Mother-Daughter Wisdom, The Wisdom of Menopause, and Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom

“The experiences of my own life have taught me to never give up, to remain positive, and most importantly, to believe in yourself and your ability to overcome obstacles. This book not only inspires you to move beyond your fears, it provides simple and concrete ways to do it.”

—CATHY TURNER, two-time Olympic gold medalist in short track speed skating

“Not many people are talented enough to find their way out of the deep woods of anxiety as thoroughly and directly as Kathryn Tristan has done. Her success in overcoming anxiety demonstrates the power of the mental tools she has discovered.”

—CAROL S. NORTH, MD, MPE, professor of Psychiatry and Surgery/Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX

Editorial Reviews

Why Worry? is just what the doctor ordered for all those who suffer from the devastating effects of constant fear and worry. Written by a compassionate scientist who has overcome the problem herself, Why Worry? offers instantly accessible solutions that really work!"
—CHRISTIANE NORTHRUP, MD, author of Mother-Daughter Wisdom, The Wisdom of Menopause, and Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom

“The experiences of my own life have taught me to never give up, to remain positive, and most importantly, to believe in yourself and your ability to overcome obstacles. This book not only inspires you to move beyond your fears, it provides simple and concrete ways to do it.”
—CATHY TURNER, two-time Olympic gold medalist in short track speed skating


“Not many people are talented enough to find their way out of the deep woods of anxiety as thoroughly and directly as Kathryn Tristan has done. Her success in overcoming anxiety demonstrates the power of the mental tools she has discovered.”
—CAROL S. NORTH, MD, MPE, professor of Psychiatry and Surgery/Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX

From the Publisher

"This book brings fresh hope and help for those suffering from anxiety and panic. The holistic and light approach makes you feel as if your best friend, who overcame her own struggles, is helping you do the same. If you are struggling with anxiety, I recommend that you read this book."

author of Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway and Life is Huge! - Susan Jeffers

Ford (psychiatry, Univ. of Connecticut) and leadership coach Wortmann base their advice on the notion that stressful events trigger a change in the brain itself, and that they can be managed. They teach the average person how to prepare for stressful life events through preventative actions—standing back, orienting, and self-checking—and pave the way for a productive response to the stressor. Tristan (psychiatry, Univ. of Texas) writes to those who are handicapped by worry and anxiety. Using case studies, quizzes, and research, she presents a four-step program (being aware of choices, changing one's outlook, risking to recover, and embracing one's spirit) to eliminate worry. The books overlap in describing causes and techniques, but Ford and Wortmann include more about the biology of the brain and the neurological components for change. Tristan brings together the underlying principles of cognitive behavior therapy, spiritual and relaxation practices, and diet and lifestyle changes to master stress. Ford and Wortmann are a bit more clinical, but will be readily absorbed by the average person who needs assistance with tension. Tristan's work is friendlier to general readers and will help those on all gradations on the stress continuum. One can't lose with either.

Library Journal