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

by John P. Forsyth PhD, Georg H. Eifert PhD

Overview

Is anxiety and fear a problem for you?  Have you tried to win the war with your anxious mind and body, only to end up feeling frustrated, powerless, and stuck? If so, you’re not alone.  But there is a way forward, a path into genuine happiness, and a way back into living the kind of life you so desperately want.  This workbook will help you get started on this new journey today!
 
Now in its second edition, The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Anxiety offers a new approach to your anxiety, fears, and your life.  Within its pages, you’ll find a powerful and tested set of tools and strategies to help you gain freedom from fear, trauma, worry, and all the many manifestations of anxiety and fear.  The book offers an empowering approach to help you create the kind of life you so desperately want to live.
 
Based on a revolutionary approach to psychological health and wellness called acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), this fully revised and updated second edition offers compelling new exercises to help you create the conditions for your own genuine happiness and peace of mind. You’ll learn how your mind can trap you, keeping you stuck and struggling in anxiety and fear. You’ll also discover ways to nurture your capacity for acceptance, mindfulness, kindness, and compassion, and use these qualities to weaken the power of anxiety and fear so that you can gain the space do what truly matters to you. Now is the time.
 
Nobody chooses anxiety.  And there is no healthy way to “turn off” anxious thoughts and feelings like a light switch. But you can learn to break free from the shackles of anxiety and fear and take back your life. The purpose of this workbook is to help you do just that. Your life is calling on you to make that choice, and the skills in this workbook can help you make it happen. You can live better, more fully, and more richly with or without anxiety and fear. This book will show you the way.

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Recent studies support for the effectiveness of ACT-based self-help workbooks as a low-cost treatment for people experiencing anxiety. (Ritzert, T., Forsyth, J. P., Berghoff, C. R., Boswell, J., & Eifert, G. H. (2016).  Evaluating the effectiveness of ACT for anxiety disorders in a self-help context: Outcomes from a randomized wait-list controlled trial.  Behavior Therapy, 47, 431-572.)



 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781626253346
Publisher:	New Harbinger Publications
Publication date:	04/01/2016
Edition description:	Second Edition, Revised
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	293,574
Product dimensions:	7.90(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

John P. Forsyth, PhD, is an internationally renowned author and speaker in the fields of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), mindfulness practices, and self-development and growth. For over twenty years, his writings, teachings, and research have focused on developing ACT and mindfulness practices to alleviate human suffering, awaken the human spirit, and nurture psychological health and vitality. His personal journey and experience, balanced with practical insights grounded in scientific evidence, offers hope to those wishing to find a path out of suffering and into wholeness.

He has coauthored several popular ACT books, including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Anxiety Disorders for mental health professionals, and three self-help books for the public: The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Anxiety, ACT on Life Not on Anger, and Your Life on Purpose.

Forsyth holds a doctorate in clinical psychology, and is professor of psychology and director of the Anxiety Disorders Research Program at the University at Albany, SUNY, in Upstate New York. He is a licensed clinical psychologist in New York, with expertise in the use and application of ACT for several forms of psychological and emotional suffering. He is also a widely sought-after ACT trainer and consultant, and serves as a senior editor of the ACT book series with New Harbinger Publications.

Forsyth regularly gives inspirational talks and practical workshops to the public and professionals in the United States and abroad, and offers ACT trainings at the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies in Rhinebeck, NY, where he serves as a member of the teaching faculty. He is known to infuse his teaching and trainings with energy, humility, and compassion, and his down-to-earth workshops are consistently praised for their clarity, depth, and utility. Collectively, Forsyth’s work has helped foster growing interest in acceptance and mindfulness in psychology, mental health, medicine, and society.

Georg H. Eifert, PhD, is an internationally recognized author, scientist, speaker, and trainer in the use of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), an integrative approach balancing mindful acceptance, change, and compassion to foster psychological health and wellness. He is also professor emeritus of psychology at Chapman University in Orange County, CA, where he was previously department chair and associate dean of health sciences. He has won numerous awards for his research, teaching, and writing contributions. He is also a licensed clinical psychologist.

As an active developer, researcher, and practitioner of ACT and transcendental meditation (TM), Eifert is coauthor of several popular books, including the highly praised practitioner's treatment guide, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Anxiety Disorders, as well as several ACT books for the public: ACT on Life Not on Anger, Your Life on Purpose, and The Anorexia Workbook. He has also authored and coauthored several books in German.

Eifert regularly gives workshops and talks around the world, teaching ACT to both the public and professionals to help people end psychological suffering and lead more fulfilling lives. His workshops have been praised as inspiring, humorous, and empowering, and are renowned for their authenticity, clarity, and practical usefulness.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii

Prologue-Does This Workbook Really Work? xi

Introduction 1

Part 1 Preparing the Way for Something New

1 Choose a New Approach to Get a Different Outcome 15

2 You Are Not Alone: Understanding Anxiety and Its Disorders 33

3 Confronting the Core Problem: Living to Avoid Fear and Anxiety Is No Way to Live 61

4 Myths About Anxiety and Its Disorders 69

5 Letting Go of Old Myths Opens Up New Opportunities 79

Part 2 Starting a New Journey

6 Facing the Costs to Take Charge of Your Life 97

7 What Matters More to You: Managing Anxiety or Living a Good Life? 113

8 Ending Your Struggle with Anxiety Is the Solution 127

9 You Control Your Choices, Actions, and Destiny 145

10 Getting Into Your Life with Mindful Acceptance 161

11 Taking the Observer Perspective: You Are Much More than Your Problems 177

Part 3 Reclaiming Your Life And Living It

12 Taking Control of Your Life 199

13 Finding Your Values 213

14 Breaking Free from Anxiety with Mindful Acceptance 233

15 Bringing Compassion to Your Anxiety 249

16 Developing Comfort in Your Own Skin 261

17 Developing Comfort with Your Judgmental Mind 277

18 Making Peace with a Difficult Past 293

19 Moving Toward a Valued Life 309

20 Staying the Course and Living Your Values 323

Further Readings and Internet Resources 335

References 339

What People are Saying About This

David H. Barlow

...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))

Zindel Segal

...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))

Interviews

Forsyth resides in Schenectady, NY; Eifert resides in Port Angeles, WA.

Editorial Reviews

The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Anxiety is so much more than the sum of its title. It’s a way to live, a way of being, and a way of bringing kindness and compassion to our lives and to the lives of those around us. In short, this is one of the most beautiful guidebooks toward life, and living a more heart-centered, kind, and compassion way, that I’ve ever seen. Take your time going through it, and do the homework, and see yourself shine! We all have magic inside, just waiting beneath our worries and concerns. This workbook helps you move those aside—or technically befriend them, which is pretty amazing—to unlock the magic and help you shine bright. Much more than a workbook, this is a kind and compassionate guide to life! I cannot recommend this book enough. It’s a life-changer!”
—Michael Sandler, host of the Inspire Nation Show, and author of Barefoot Running


“You have in your hands a wise and healing workbook that is based on a radical premise: fighting or resisting anxiety adds fuel to the fire; learning how to relate to it with mindful presence and compassion leads to true well-being. Filled with accessible, well-researched exercises and practices, this guide can free you to live from your full aliveness, heart, and potential.”
—Tara Brach, PhD, author of Radical Acceptance and True Refuge


“The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Anxiety combines the accumulated wisdom of the ages with up-to-date, cutting-edge developments in scientific psychology. In an easy-to-read and fun format, those suffering from anxiety in all of its guises will find the keys to breaking loose from its shackles. By emphasizing acceptance of toxic emotions (and illustrating ways to accomplish this) rather than struggling to overcome them, the person inside you may finally emerge to set your life on a new, productive, and valued course. Highly recommended for all those struggling with worry, anxiety, and fear.”
—David H. Barlow, PhD, founder and director emeritus of the Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders, professor of psychology and psychiatry at Boston University, and author of Anxiety and Its Disorders



“This book presents a tried-and-true approach to turning your life in a new direction. If you want to stop running, hiding, struggling, or just waiting for your life to start, this book will help show you how to start living, now. Clear guidance, beautifully presented. Highly recommended.”
—Steven C. Hayes, codeveloper of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and author of Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life



“Ably surfing the dual currents of traditional exposure and acceptance-based treatments for anxiety, the authors of this resourceful workbook illustrate the synergies to be found in their combination. Carefully structured exercises and charts support the core message that taking action to face one’s fears is most effective if acceptance informs our starting point, and values determine our destination. This book is a ‘must-read’ for anyone encountering anxiety as a barrier to leading a fuller life.”
—Zindel Segal, PhD, distinguished professor of psychology in mood disorders at the University of Toronto, Canada, and coauthor of The Mindful Way Workbook



“Go into any large bookstore and you will find numerous self-help books, promising much. This one delivers. With a combination of sound theory, new research, deep professional involvement, clear values, and a joyful communicative style, this second edition of Forsyth and Eifert’s highly acclaimed workbook is inspiring. Through principles of mindful self-reflection, acceptance, and compassion, the reader learns that the opposite of anxiety is not simply the absence of anxiety, but the experience of a more fulfilling life and a richer progression toward one’s personal goals. At a time of much uncertainty, distress, and horror in today’s world, this book offers a message to everyone, not simply those for whom fear is a specific barrier to personal happiness.”
—Ian M. Evans, professor emeritus of the school of psychology at Massey University, New Zealand, and author of How and Why Thoughts Change


“If anxiety and fear is a major problem in your life, this book is for you. In this well-written and thoroughly researched workbook, John Forsyth and Georg Eifert will take you on a journey to regain your life. Using concrete exercises and examples, you will learn new skills to develop a different kind of relationship with your anxiety and fear. As a result, you will learn how to become more accepting and compassionate with yourself, and to eventually release the demons that have kept you from living a life worth living. Life is beautiful. Start this journey now.”
—Stefan G. Hofmann, PhD, professor of psychology at Boston University, and author of Emotion in Therapy



“In this fully updated and expanded edition of their best-selling workbook, Forsyth and Eifert show how giving up your attempts to control anxiety and fear will help you to leave your anxiety problems behind and get on with your life. In the years since the first edition, a number of studies have demonstrated the benefits of the approach described in this practical and clearly written book. I recommend this new edition for anyone who struggles with anxiety.”
—Martin M. Antony, PhD, ABPP, professor of psychology at Ryerson University, Canada, and coauthor of The Shyness and Social Anxiety Workbook

From the Publisher