otter126's review against another edition
4.0
One of the more unique perspectives I've read on anxiety. The author gives a lot of really valuable insights, but most of the real-world examples he gives relate to addition (mostly overeating and smoking). The book would have been more easy to apply with more examples directly relating to "worrying habits".
sabs98's review
informative
medium-paced
3.5
The core information presented in this book is digestible and accessible. I feel the scientific concepts were explained well. Still, I thought some parts were repetitive and some analogies really missed the mark, both factors making me shake my head and lose my thread of comprehension. Sometimes, when I can’t figure out the best phrasing for an idea, I write several sentences, each worded differently but conveying the same thing. That’s what certain paragraphs, even chapters of this book felt like. As for the analogies, they may have worked for some people but a lot of them, even the biggest one of gears of speed, didn’t really do it for me.
ela_lee_'s review
3.0
2.5 stars rounded up to 3? This book really didn’t do it for me. Not only does it mainly focus on addiction instead of generalized anxiety, but I hardly retained any helpful information. It just felt like a lot of words being talked at me without much enlightenment. (Plus, the author talks way too much about himself for a scientific book. How many times did he mention he’s been practicing mediation for 10 years?)
I learned to breathe into the places you feel anxiety, note what is happening during my anxious experience, and acknowledge it is a wave of feeling to ride out. I also highlighted this quote: “But you can’t fill a void. By trying to fill it, you just perpetuate the habit loop. But when you can see that this void is just made up of thoughts, emotions, and body sensations, you can step back and make sure you don’t feed the loop and let awareness do the work for you.”
I would be interested in trying out another book about anxiety, but this one wasn’t it.
I learned to breathe into the places you feel anxiety, note what is happening during my anxious experience, and acknowledge it is a wave of feeling to ride out. I also highlighted this quote: “But you can’t fill a void. By trying to fill it, you just perpetuate the habit loop. But when you can see that this void is just made up of thoughts, emotions, and body sensations, you can step back and make sure you don’t feed the loop and let awareness do the work for you.”
I would be interested in trying out another book about anxiety, but this one wasn’t it.
maddness22's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
fast-paced
3.0
The first half of this book was very good and felt very affirming. The second half, where the actual practice comes in, felt very repetitive and just cycled on the "break habits" thing without offering much further insight outside of case studies or the author's personal experiences. I kind of wish there was more science offered in the second half or more direct actions that can be taken outside of "just believe in yourself"
heidirgorecki's review
5.0
Some really great practical tools and steps for anxiety. Loved the science and background behind them, rather than just nice theory, that makes you understand why those strategies work and why they’re important.
passion's review
0.25
Why oh why did a psychiatrist decide to add a chapter to the end of his book about his mental health and overeating app to attempt to convince his readers to put "extremism" aside in exchange for "kindness" in the wake of George Floyd's murder?