The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Anxiety: A Guide to Breaking Free from Anxiety, Phobias, and Worry Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (Paperback)

by John P. Forsyth (Author), Georg H. Eifert (Author)
Key Phrases: wise mind, life bus, value mountain, The Mindfulness, Developing Comfort, Anxiety News Radio (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Anxiety happens. It's not a choice. And attempts to "manage" your thoughts or "get rid" of worry, fear, and panic can leave you feeling frustrated and powerless. But you can take back your life from anxiety without controlling anxious thoughts and feelings. You can stop avoiding anxiety and start showing up to your life. This book will get you started, using a revolutionary new approach called acceptance and commitment therapy, or ACT.

The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Anxiety has one purpose: to help you live better, more fully, more richly. Your life is calling on you to make that choice, and the skills in this workbook can help you make it happen. Find out how your mind can trap you, keeping you stuck and struggling in anxiety and fear. Learn to nurture your capacity for acceptance, mindfulness, kindness, and compassion. Use these qualities to shift your focus away from anxiety and onto what you really want your life to be about. As you do, your life will get bigger as your anxious suffering gets smaller. No matter what kind of anxiety problem you're struggling with, this workbook can guide you toward a more vibrant and purposeful life.

"...Highly recommended for all those struggling with worry, anxiety, and fear." - David H. Barlow, Ph.D., professor of psychology and psychiatry at Boston University and author of Anxiety and Its Disorders.

"...a "must-read" for anyone encountering anxiety as a barrier to a leading a fuller life." - Zindel Segal, Ph.D., Morgan Firestone Chair in Psychotherpy at the University of Toronto and author of The Mindful Way Through Depression.

This workbook comes with a CD that includes a full-length audio guided meditation and electronic copies of the worksheets that appear inside the book.

From the Publisher
Building on the success of their book for professionals, leaders in the field of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) John Forsyth and Georg Eifert present this exciting and innovative ACT workbook to general readers. It is the first self-help workbook to adapt the revolutionary techniques of ACT into a powerful program readers can use to overcome any of the anxiety disorders.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: New Harbinger Publications; Workbook edition (January 2, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572244992
• ISBN-13: 978-1572244993
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #4,813 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Very Different Approach, LOVE This WorkBook, March 3, 2008

By	S. Jones (Georgia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have been to therapy in the past (for childhood abuse issues and
anxiety) and read other material on anxiety, and it truly did give me
significant relief from my symptoms, and helped my life overall. But
the goal was to totally get rid of anxiety for me. So I was always
left with the hang ups that came when I had anxiety, which every
human has, and is unavoidable. I would see the anxiety as proof that
something was wrong with me, I wasn't coping well, etc. It fed into
negative thoughts about life and myself. So I had obsessions and
hangups surrounding the residual anxiety itself. In the past several months I had started coming to some of the viewpoints in the workbook on my own, so when I found out about it, it just clicked with me on a deep level. It has been so helpful already to me, and enriched my life.

When I started identifying my values (an important step in the workbook), I realized for the first time
that a lot of what I have tried to do with my life, was about things
other people cared about and not me. I finally saw what *I* cared
for. It has already shifted the focus of my life. For instance, I'm
29 years old tomorrow, and I always thought I "should" be going out
and having drinks with friends periodically. Or doing the things
people my age "should" do. But I never really cared about that, OR
got any real enjoyment out of it. That's just a small example, but
to me was a big epiphany. The things I care about are my children,
raising them WELL. My marriage, my family, learning, doing something
meaningful with my life that helps others...etc.

So I kind of found myself in this book, and I'm not apologizing for
who I am anymore. I always felt "too serious". But I was judging by
someone else's standards.

In the realm of anxiety, I have been practicing mindfulness and
acceptance, and I keep getting these just awe inspiring moments. Where you just think, Wow! I feel like I'm getting in touch with something much bigger than myself, a place much bigger than me, where anxiety, worries, and fears are a very small and inconsequential thing. Another thing that has really changed my perception of anxiety and worries is the realization that there is much more "space" in me than just what I'm feeling at a particular time. There is "room" for a lot more in me than I thought. Room for the anxiety or fear to be there, and room for me to bring acceptance to them at the same time, and then peace. And no matter what, my values are always there, they are a constant. And they have within them much more energy than my fears to tap into. I've been feeling very spiritually peaceful and joyous at random times throughout the day since practicing this workbook.

Even my dreams have changed. Like last night I dreamt of riding an airplane and looking down at the world, viewing a beautiful sunrise, etc. It's a dream I've never had. I'm very hopeful and excited about living life this way, in acceptance. Something I've never been able to achieve before, b/c I didn't really know "how" to do it. I know I'll always have anxiety and fears and that change is going to take time, and for the first time I think that's ok.

Thank you to the writers of the book. It's an amazing addition to
the world.

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars NOT JUST FOR ANXIOUS FOLKS!, February 7, 2008

By	Dr Mitchell Earleywine "Dr. Mitch" (Albany, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

First off, I usually hate workbooks. I can't stand to pay money for a bunch of pages filled with lines that I'm supposed to fill in, as if I am writing the book myself. THIS BOOK IS NOT LIKE THAT AT ALL. It's brief but thorough, with great ideas on every page. It takes you by the hand and explains in detail, but does it in a way that you don't feel talked down to.

Second, about half the people out there touting acceptance these days don't have any idea what they're talking about. There are a bunch of psychobabblers who go to one Steve Hayes workshop and think that since they read some Zen twenty years ago they know the whole ACT paradigm. John and Georg are really immersed in this work, and it shows up in the gentle way that they explain the key concepts. The subtle way they frame examples also shows their deep understanding of what this framework is all about. Because they understand it so well, the exercises flow from the central themes, so you can see how they build to an understanding of emotion. Readers will find themselves more forgiving of themselves and their own feelings. It's not a bunch of cognitive hoop-jumping that you see from other books that don't really understand this paradigm. Instead, you finish with the sense that this is really a way of life.

Last, you don't have to be anxious to benefit from reading this book! Much as I would love to pretend that I picked it up just to help clients and supervisees, I get wound up and freaked out like the next person. This book helps me identify moments of willingness, however brief and infrequent, and gets me to cultivate mindfulness throughout the day.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Effective for anxious individuals, January 24, 2008

By	A. Layne (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am a psychologist specializing in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for anxiety. I found this to be a highly effective program for my anxious teens and adults. For many, it is life changing, liberating, and results in a level of peace they have not accessed before. I especially welcomed alternative ways of addressing and conceptualizing anxiety. I have found the approaches and philosophies outlined in this program to be well-received by patients. It is a great stand-alone program but is also a great adjunct to more traditional CBT approaches. The book is well written and easy to read, the illustrations are powerful, and the CD allows forms to be printed and contains excellent guided meditation exercises. What a great addition to the field of workbooks for anxious individuals!