Stressilient: How to Beat Stress and Build Resilience

by Sam Akbar PhD

Overview

Stress. It’s everywhere these days: a cry for help, the answer to why illnesses pop up (or won’t go away), an issue for students and workers, and a culprit when it comes to everything from car accidents to weight gain. Stress is one of those problems most of us are left to figure out and solve by ourselves (a warm bath with scented candle only goes so far).

Akbar walks worried readers through how to calm themselves by:

-understanding how your brain is wired and why its natural genius at problem-solving doesn’t help when it comes to stress

-creating space between you and your thoughts

-repeating worrisome words to sap them of meaning

-defusing “thought bombs”

-learning to avoid the CAGE (Control, Avoid, Get rid of, Eliminate) when it comes to feelings and training yourself to stop trying to shut down real pain

-scanning and labelling feelings

-the power of urge surfing

-accessing your own wisdom

There are tried-and-true techniques here, but many more fresh ways to consider the problem of stress. And every one of them is real-world: this book acknowledges that we all have responsibilities, that our time likely isn’t our own, and that the goal is to reduce stress rather than eliminate it altogether.

Dr. Akbar’s wise and experienced voice in this short and calming book will make readers relax into her content.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250883421
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	08/01/2023
Pages:	192
Sales rank:	1,007,240
Product dimensions:	8.30(w) x 5.30(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

SAM AKBAR, Ph.D., is a London-based psychologist who specializes in patients who have survived serious trauma (war, torture, sexual violence). She also trains psychologists, who in turn have treated trauma victims around the world, including in trauma hot spots, such as refugee camps in Iraq. She’s an Oxford University graduate whose doctorate in Clinical Psychology is from University College London.

Editorial Reviews

05/08/2023

Readers can develop psychological flexibility by “turning toward, not away, from emotions” during moments of stress, psychologist Akbar proposes in her smart debut. The human brain is wired to protect itself from danger at all costs, which is “great when chased by tigers” and less helpful when handling modern threats or stresses, such as fears of public speaking or anxieties about a relationship crisis. But avoiding painful emotions is ultimately detrimental, according to Akbar, who draws a comparison to how forcing a beach ball underwater will cause it to shoot out again with astonishing force. Suggesting that readers can improve their relationship with their thoughts (“you can have a thought without buying into it”), Akbar offers strategies for “defusing” them, such as singing the thought aloud to strip away some of its power. Readers can also cultivate a clearer sense of perspective by distinguishing their “observing self” from thoughts themselves (“you can let thoughts and feelings be present and run through you, but you don’t need to get caught up in the battle”). Akbar draws usefully on her clinical experience, cogently outlines lessons without dumbing them down, and keeps her tone light and conversational. Those seeking friendly counsel on how to better manage their stress need look no further. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

08/01/2023

Clinical psychologist Akbar presents psychological strategies to help readers manage their stress response so they can live better in the modern world. This is a "how to" book for thinking, feeling, acting, and living in a meaningful way, even under stressful circumstances. It also includes practical exercises that help readers acknowledge who they are, how they think, and what they need to work on. Akbar makes readers feel like they are in a one-on-one session by making the narrative comfortable and relatable rather than clinical and constricted. Readers looking for new tools to manage their stress will find themselves revisiting the book over and over. The book also contains a dynamic reference list that includes videos, news articles, famous speeches, and other self-help materials that will entice readers to search for more information on the topic. VERDICT A great acquisition for libraries looking to expand mental health literacy in their patrons. This is an ideal book for people who read The Stress-Proof Brain: Master Your Emotional Response to Stress Using Mindfulness and Neuroplasticity by Melanie Greenberg.—Noelia Martinez

Library Journal