How To Control Your Anxiety Before It Controls You [Paperback]

Albert Ellis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2000

A guide to controlling unhealthy anxiety explores the wide range of anxiety-related dysfunctions and includes more than two hundred rational maxims for staving off anxiety. Reprint.

Editorial Reviews

From AudioFile

In the 1970s the late author was a pioneer in a form of psychotherapy that emphasizes the value of thinking in managing one's emotions. In this abridgment you'll hear an accessible reading of Ellis's core thinking and prescriptions. Though few in mental health circles today look to Ellis for ideas about emotional health, this pleasant volume is strikingly relevant and will be especially useful to people who enjoy approaching their emotional lives with a sense of control. The program encourages us to distinguish between what we can and cannot control, and says we can choose how we shape our beliefs about various life events. It's especially cogent and helpful on the problem of setting unreasonably high personal standards. T.W. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 243 pages
• Publisher: Citadel (August 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806521368
• ISBN-13: 978-0806521367
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #48,553 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #72 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Mental Health > Anxiety Disorders

More About the Author

(1913-2007) Albert Ellis held M.A and Ph.D. degrees in Clinical Psychology from Columbia University. He was the founder of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), the pioneering form of the modern Cognitive Behavior therapies. He was the president of the Albert Ellis Institute in New York, where he practiced individual and group psychotherapy, supervised and trained psychotherapists, and presented many talks and workshops at the Institute and throughout the world. He published over seven hundred articles and more than sixty books on psychotherapy, marital and family therapy, and sex therapy.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy read; comprehensive action methods to control anxiety, June 24, 2001

By 

J. Lizzi (Costa Mesa, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How To Control Your Anxiety Before It Controls You (Hardcover)

At the time I bought this book, I was unaware of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, had never heard of Dr. Albert Ellis, and wasn't really looking to solve any particular anxiety problem of my own. Always a fan of Dale Carnegie's "How to ..." instructional writings, I figured this would be a new perspective on a popular and important subject. What I learned was that Dr. Ellis has extensive experience (since 1943) in psychotherapy and actually devised REBT in 1955. Like Carnegie, he is quite good at putting his research and wisdom into books (more than sixty), and turning this knowledge into useful information for those who might be trying to solve a problem related to emotion and personality.

To me, the most important part of REBT is "Rational," the exercise of thinking through what is causing anxiety, why your beliefs about it are unfounded (i.e., irrational) and unnecessary, and what you can do to convince yourself that anxiety can be lessened, if not eliminated, through a formulaic rational process. Throughout most of this book, Dr. Ellis clearly describes nearly twenty very specific methods for controlling anxiety. This was all new to me, but I found the methods to make total sense, and imagined that almost all of us could find any number of these helpful in addressing specific anxiety scenarios.

The way in which Dr. Ellis sets forth the varying aspects of REBT is impressive. He's easy to read, and almost grandfatherly in his tone. Each method is portrayed first by explanation, then by documenting a real example using one of his psychotherapy patients. The last three chapters contain 231 "Rational Maxims" which sum up the main points of the methods discussed in detail earlier, and are written in the first person for us to recite when REBT enforcement is needed. Good idea! Some might find this book to be a little repetitive (therapy is like that), and thus may be better off with the abridged version. For someone new to REBT, I'm glad Dr. Ellis presented these methods in a comprehensive manner, and I'll always have the Rational Maxims for review on short order.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Life Changing, May 9, 2009

By 

S. Wilms (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How To Control Your Anxiety Before It Controls You (Paperback)

When I started college I was a complete and utter anxious ship-wreck. I couldn't sleep, think straight, and felt like I was going to lose my mind. Basic daily tasks suddenly became terrifying or anxiety provoking. It was a scary and exhausting time for me.

On the edge, I went to see my school counselor. She recommended I read Ellis's books and his Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy style. I have to admit, I expected very little. Honestly, I felt like she had passed the buck and gave me a book instead of helping me. However, I was desperate and would have tried anything short of an exorcism to feel better. I read his first book, "A new guide to rational living." (I would recommend reading that book before this one, it gives more background. This book is still good, too.) I was astonished. Within a few weeks, I legitimately felt noticeably better. Nearly two years later, I can honestly say his books changed my life and multiple friends and family members who have borrowed my books.

It takes time and won't happen all at once. As Ellis would say, you spent a life time learning how to be anxious, and can't undo that in a day. It took me about a year to get much better, two years to completely change my life, and three to be an entirely new person. I am deeply saddened that Ellis died recently. I would have loved to thank him for completely overhauling my life and making me a much happier, outgoing, and less anxious person. Now, I plan to study abroad in a foreign country. This is something the old me could have never handled.

PS. Dr Ellis is in fact a well respected psychologist. Even the great Beck recognizes his work. Ellis' work is based on his empirical studies with real patients he counseled throughout his long career. His stuff is not Dr.Phil style non-sense like "You're like a shoe with no strings," or the ever classic Dr.Phil statement "get over it!" I hate when people tease psychological books because Dr. Phil (and others like him) poisoned the entire genre. "Those" people are first and foremost entertainers. Dr.Ellis is real, and his work actually helps, but it takes time!!!

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read this Book to Control Your Unnecessary Anxiety, April 21, 2008

By 

bronx book nerd (Bronx, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: How To Control Your Anxiety Before It Controls You (Paperback)

Albert Ellis is, in my opinion, one of the great minds in psychology of the last 100 years. His name does not come as easily from peoples' mouths when they talk about the greats who have studied and helped solve mind problems for many, many people. You will always hear about Freud, Jung, Rogers et al, but hardly ever about Ellis. This work, as well as his many others, are why he should be among those in that pantheon.

Ellis claims, rightly, that it is not just events that affect how we feel but our reactions to those events. Now, most psychological texts stop there. It has become almost a cliche - it's not what happens to you, but how you react to what happens to you, that makes the difference. Ellis' insight is that when your reaction creates extreme emotions - depression, rage or anxiety - it is because you are holding irrational beliefs, mostly under the category of musts, self-downing, catastrophizing and overgeneralizations, e.g. I must do well on my job interview or I am a total incompetent who will never get a good job and will always be seen as a loser. Hard to believe that this is how we think but put it to the test. Uncovering those irrational beliefs, and replacing them with rational beliefs, is a key to personal emotional liberation and productivity.

Ellis' writing is straightforward and practical. Perhaps the reason he is not as renowned as other therapists is that he doesn't engage in tedious philosophical wanderings about the psyche - he gets right to the point.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who struggles with anxiety. Read it and truly help yourself.