Don't Feed the Monkey Mind , livre ebook

170

pages

English

Ebooks

2017

Écrit par
Jennifer Shannon

Publié par
New Harbinger Publications

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170

pages

English

Ebooks

2017

Lire un extrait

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne En savoir plus

Publié par

New Harbinger Publications

Date de parution

01 mars 2017

EAN13

9781626255074

Langue

English

Poids de l'ouvrage

17 Mo

The very things we do to control anxiety can make anxiety worse. This unique guide offers a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)-based approach to help you recognize the constant chatter of your anxious “monkey mind,” stop feeding anxious thoughts, and find the personal peace you crave.

Ancient sages compared the human mind to a monkey: constantly chattering, hopping from branch to branch—endlessly moving from fear to safety. If you are one of the millions of people whose life is affected by anxiety, you are familiar with this process. Unfortunately, you can’t switch off the “monkey mind,” but you can stop feeding the monkey—or stop rewarding it by avoiding the things you fear.

Written by psychotherapist Jennifer Shannon, this book shows you how to stop anxious thoughts from taking over using proven-effective cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and mindfulness techniques, as well as fun illustrations. By following the exercises in this book, you’ll learn to identify your own anxious thoughts, question those thoughts, and uncover the core fears at play.

Once you stop feeding the monkey, there are no limits to how expansive your life can feel. This book will show you how anxiety can only continue as long as you try to avoid it. And, paradoxically, only by seeking out and confronting the things that make you anxious can you reverse the cycle that keeps your fears alive.

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Publié par

New Harbinger Publications

Date de parution

01 mars 2017

EAN13

9781626255074

Langue

English

Poids de l'ouvrage

17 Mo

“If you are ready to turn the tables on your anxiety, you can find no better book thanDon’t Feed the Monkey Mind. Jennifer Shannon will help you turn away from the enticing tactics of fearful worry and teach you how to return to the life you love.”

—Reid Wilson, PhD, author ofStoppingtheNoiseinYourHead

“This book is a gem for people seeking to tame runaway anxiety and upset. Jennifer Shannon takes the simple metaphor of ‘monkey mind’ and fleshes it out with wisdom and simple steps that anyone can follow. Here, in plain language, is a compre-hensive set of concrete steps to let your anxiety run its course and then fade. Jennifer Shannon has blended the best of cogni-tive behavioral methods and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to produce a great contribution to the self-help literature. Here you can learn to return your energy and atten-tion back to your voyage through life, rather than the worries and fears that have hijacked your focus. Professional psycho-therapists will also find it useful. I highly recommend it!”

—David Carbonell, PhD, Chicago-based psychologist specializing in treating fears and phobias; author of PanicAttacksWorkbookandTheWorryTrick; and “coach” at www.anxietycoach.com

“Don’t Feed the Monkey Mindis clear and easy to understand. The book will teach you simple and powerful strategies to harness fear and worry. Jennifer Shannon teaches you how to transform your life by taking the ‘monkey’ out of your mind.” —Dennis Greenberger, PhD, coauthor of MindOverMood

“Don’t Feed the Monkey Mindbegins with a well-written synop-sis of basic attitudes and mental habits that perpetuate anxiety. The book follows with a set of clear, concise changes in mind-set and behavioral strategies to overcome anxiety at its roots. The ‘monkey mind’ concept is an apt, original contribution. Examples of points provided by the author as well as references to her personal story help make the book accessible to readers of all kinds.”

—Edmund J. Bourne, PhD, author ofTheAnxiety& Phobia WorkbookandCopingwithAnxiety

DON’TFEED THE MONKEY MiND HOWtoSTOP THE CYCLEofANXIETY, FEAR&WORRY

JENNIFER SHANNON, LMFT Illustrations byDOUG SHANNON

New Harbinger Publications, Inc.

Publisher’s Note

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering psychological, financial, legal, or other professional services. If expert assistance or counseling is needed, the services of a competent professional should be sought.

Distributed in Canada by Raincoast Books

Illustrations by Doug Shannon

Cover design by Amy Shoup

Acquired by Tesilya Hanauer

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data on file

Foreword

Introduction

Contents

Perception of Threat

The Three Assumptions

Feeding the Monkey

Playing It Safe

The World Is Round

Necessary Feelings

Monkey Chatter

Purpose and Plan

Lowering the Stakes

Practicing Praise

The Expanding Life

Key Takeaways

105

115

131

143

152

Foreword

What makes a great self-help book? Over these many years I have searched for the answer, and now I’ve found it in this book. The formula comes down to three things: expert knowl-edge, a unique spin on the subject, and most importantly, a deep understanding, beyond the professional, about the sub-ject—in this case, anxiety, and what it is like to struggle with it. By her own admission, Jennifer Shannon knows her way around the subject. Through her own personal struggle with anxiety, and her years of professional practice, she has learned a few things that she is eager to pass along to her readers. Her message is timely, perfectly suited for the anxiety-ridden society we live in. In this her third book, Jennifer presents her own unique spin on the problem of anxiety and its treatment in straightfor-ward, inspiring language. Her central metaphor for the source of anxiety, the monkey mind, is an ancient one, but in her hands, it feels both original and fresh. In the first chapter she introduces the three basic tricks the monkey mind plays on us, and the book takes off from there, describing a host of strate-gies that you can use to break the cycle of anxiety and calm that frisky creature within. Do not assume, however, that because Jennifer presents anxiety management strategies in a way that is fun and acces-sible that they are less powerful. We have over thirty years of research that tell us that these techniques are not smoke and mirrors. They are the real deal.

Don’t Feed the Monkey Mind

This book lays out a clear and consistent message that will help you overcome any kind of anxiety. If you are suffering, it will touch you. Here is an author who mastered her own monkey mind and who now wishes to help you master yours.

—Michael Tompkins, PhD

Introduction

This book will show you, in a clear and memorable way, every-thing you need to know to alleviate your anxiety, worry, and stress. That’s a bold promise, and it’s one that I don’t take lightly. One reason I feel qualified to make it is that I’m a therapist who has specialized in treating anxiety disorders for twenty years. My second qualification is that I was not blessed with a relaxed, easygoing nervous system. Like you, I am hardwired for anxiety and worry. I was an anxious child as far back as I can remember—I’ll skip the gory details about chronic nightmares, mysterious stomachaches, and endless worrying. When my anxiety per-sisted as a young adult I turned to therapy for help. My thera-pist had a psychodynamic orientation, commonly known as “talk therapy,” which is based on the premise that our problems originate in childhood and that once we have insight into them we naturally progress toward a healthier state. After a number of sessions, my therapist and I theorized that my anxiety began with my relationship with a distant and critical father, and that I developed a fear of being judged and criticized. This and other similar insights were comforting to me. It made good sense that I was anxious and it wasn’t my fault. My anxiety, however, continued. Several years later, shortly after the birth of my first child, Max, I started having panic attacks. If you’ve ever experienced a panic attack—almost 50% of the adult population has had at least one—you know what I mean when I say they are really,

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