The Stress Response: How Dialectical Behavior Therapy Can Free You from Needless Anxiety, Worry, Anger, and Other Symptoms of Stress [Paperback]

Christy Matta MA (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2012

Life is stressful, and that’s not always a bad thing. A certain amount of stress actually helps us work more productively and take action in a crisis. But recurrent and prolonged stress can paralyze us or lead us to feel exhausted, angry, or overwhelmed. The skills presented in The Stress Response can dramatically change the way you process stress. And they don’t take much time to learn. Drawn from a technique therapists use called dialectical behavior therapy, these powerful strategies can help you manage the slings and arrows of life more gracefully and effectively.

After learning the skills in this book, you’ll:
• Respond quickly to early signs of stress
• Approach, not avoid, stressful tasks and events
• Cope effectively with life events that contribute to stress
• Change the catastrophic thoughts and biases that make stress worse
• Practice soothing strategies for calming your body’s stress response

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Christy Matta has written an elegant description of how dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) concepts relate to everyday stress-related symptoms in peoples’ lives. This resonates fully with me, as I and many other practitioners of DBT have found DBT concepts and techniques to be extraordinarily meaningful for ourselves as teachers as well as for those we treat. Her organized and practical examples, exercises, and practice assignments can be helpful for those seeking self-help and clinicians who are seeking a companion text in the course of conducting psychotherapy.”
—Marvin Lew, PhD, ABPP, licensed psychologist and adjunct professor at the Center for Psychological Studies at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, FL

“I personally have found Matta to be grounded, practical, and thoughtful in addressing difficult emotional problems. I am always looking for ways to translate DBT skills to real life and how to apply old material to new contexts. Matta has certainly done this in her book. In addition to providing user-friendly, practical, how-to steps, she offers a beautiful overview of DBT-based material that addresses a wide and flexible spectrum of coping options.”
—Renee Hoekstra, PsyD, licensed clinical psychologist in Boston, MA

“In The Stress Response, Matta has done an effective job of explaining complex issues and techniques in ways that can be understood and are helpful to anyone who experiences stressful emotions. She has shown great creativity in adapting DBT skills to develop an excellent resource that provides many strategies for stress management, which are explained through helpful examples and step-by step exercises. I am so appreciative that Matta has given a gift to anyone who experiences a stress response; that is, she has given a gift to everyone. I look forward to recommending this book to clients, colleagues, and friends.”
—Pat Harvey, coach, trainer, consultant, and coauthor of Parenting a Child Who Has Intense Emotions

“The Stress Response offers the reader great tools for identifying and managing stress. Matta provides important techniques for learning to trust your body and intuition in order to live a calmer, more peaceful life. The mindfulness exercises in particular provide the reader with a way to cope better with everyday anxiety and worry. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for concrete ways to reduce stress and anxiety in everyday life.”
—Carey Wagner, LICSW, licensed independent clinical social worker

“I am pleased to recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning to understand and manage stress. In this book, Matta skillfully translates the science of emotion and the stress response into user-friendly, practical skills and techniques that can be applied in a variety of situations that may cause emotional distress. This book will teach readers to become aware of their patterns of response to stressful events, recognize how such reactions can interfere with physical and emotional well-being, and develop specific coping skills to live a more aware, calm, and productive life.”
—Michael J. Wagner, PhD, clinician, clinical manager, and director in community behavioral health care

“The core skills of DBT are skills for life. As a DBT therapist, I use these skills every day to live a fully engaged, happy, and healthy life. Matta’s straightforward, easy, common-sense approach will not only provide relief from stress and anxiety, but, when practiced on a daily basis, will also enhance your quality of life at work, at play, in relationships, and with your family. I will highly recommend this book to my clients.”
—Laura J. Winton, cognitive behavioral/DBT therapist at Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC

“Matta provides a practical application of research that can help people accept themselves while still striving to improve the way they deal with stress. The book includes examples and exercises that are accessible and engaging. This is a great book for anyone who wants to manage stress better.”
—Clare Conry-Murray, PhD, assistant professor of psychology at Penn State University, Beaver

“This book does a wonderful job of translating proven stress-reduction techniques commonly used by therapists into an easy-to-read and practical manual for managing stress in daily life.”
—Kristin Neff, PhD, associate professor of human development and culture at the University of Texas at Austin

About the Author

Christy Matta, MA, has worked in mental health for over twenty years as a clinician, trainer, and administrator in the Boston, MA, area, specializing in the treatment of emotion dysregulation and behavioral problems.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: New Harbinger Publications; 1 edition (April 1, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1608821307
• ISBN-13: 978-1608821303
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.7 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #99,059 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Christy Matta M.A., a trainer, consultant and writer, is the author of The Stress Response: How Dialectical Behavior Therapy Can Free You from Needless Anxiety, Worry, Anger, and Other Symptoms of Stress published by New Harbinger Publications in April 2012. She has worked in mental health for over 20 years and is intensively trained in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). She has presented nationally on the topic of DBT and participated in the design and clinical supervision of DBT residential programs, including a winner of the American Psychiatric Association's Gold Award. She is also an expert contributor and featured blogger for a number of websites, exploring an array of topics related to stress management, mindfulness, and dialectical behavior therapy.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Worrying Can't Stop June 14, 2012

By Maxine Holmes

Format:Kindle Edition

Stress Response by Christy Matta

Stress Response is a wealth of user friendly information written by Christy Matta and supported with empirical research without being complicated. The reader gains a better understanding of how they react to overwhelming The strategies suggested by Ms. Matta throughout the book will require the reader to focus and journal the events that cause them moments of irritability, anger, sadness, confusion and hostility. The strategies suggested by Christy Matta for recognizing the components associated with difficult circumstances as they arise can be pragmatic. Keeping the documentation and applying the recommended techniques for handling stress is an awesome resource. The journal idea although is not a new concept is an excellent tool for individuals suffering with stress and under the care of a medical professional. This technique is critical in the treatment process for both the client and the medical professional partnership.

Crisis appear in various stages during a lifetime. They tend to always be an emotional and painful milestone that impacts the reactions to one's daily routine. Illness or death of a love one, lost of job, divorce are occurrences that last longer than a week and dealing with the day to day concerns may seem unbearable. I appreciated Ms. Matta's incorporation of realistic conflicting experiences of people as demonstrations for utilizing the practical tactics for coping with episodes of difficulty.

I recommend Ms. Matta's book Stress Response as a must read for everyone's personal and professional library. I will share this well written resource with family and colleagues because there immunity of STRESS and its often negative effects it brings is never an option.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful! April 6, 2012

By Susanc_

Format:Paperback

I just finished reading this book and I feel like I am on a path to a new life! This book is well written and informative. I have already noticed a difference in my ability to handle anxiety and stress in my personal and professional lives. I would recommend this book to anyone- even if they don't think they need it!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Helping us create a more peaceful home April 9, 2012

By Amy Alice

Format:Paperback

My husband and I have been taking turns reading this book. As parents of twin toddlers, life was starting to feel really out-of-control. This book has helped us both realize when stress is building and how to best cope with it. Between the kids, work, and life overall, we can all start to feel a little crazed. This book has helped us learn how to cope with it. By calming ourselves down, we're finding that our kids are mellowing out as well since our reactions have such an impact on them. We highly recommend Ms. Matta's book. Thank you!