The Anxiety Survival Guide for Teens: CBT Skills to Overcome Fear, Worry, and Panic

by Jennifer Shannon, Doug Shannon (Illustrator)

Overview

Do you have problems with anxiety? The Anxiety Survival Guide for Teens is a much-needed, go-to guide to help you finally break free from the worry and ruminations that can get in the way of reaching your goals.

If you have anxiety, your fears and worries can keep you from feeling confident and independent. Teen milestones such as making friends, dating, getting good grades, or taking on more mature responsibilities, may seem much more difficult. And if you're like countless other anxious teens, you may even avoid situations that cause you anxiety altogether—leaving you stuck in a cycle of worry and avoidance. So, how can you take control of your anxiety before it takes control of you?

Based in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), this book helps you identify your "monkey mind"—the primitive part of the brain where anxious thoughts arise. You’ll also be able to determine if you suffer from generalized anxiety, phobias, social anxiety, panic and agoraphobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), or separation anxiety. Full of powerful yet simple cartoon illustrations, this book will teach you practical strategies for handling even the toughest situations that previously caused you to feel anxious or worried.

If you’re ready to feel more independent, more confident, and be your best, this unique book will show you how.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781626252431
Publisher:	New Harbinger Publications
Publication date:	09/01/2015
Series:	Instant Help Solutions Series
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	650,008
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

Jennifer Shannon, LMFT, is a psychotherapist, and author of Don’t Feed the Monkey Mind, The Anxiety Survival Guide for Teens, and A Teen’s Guide to Getting Stuff Done. She is a diplomate of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy.


Doug Shannon is a freelance cartoonist.

Table of Contents

Introduction: You Are Not Alone and You Are Not to Blame 3

Part 1

1 The Monkey Mind: Staying Alive 11

2 Monkey Logic: Understanding the Avoidance Cycle 17

3 Spot the Monkey: Identifying Anxious Thoughts 27

4 Rule the Monkey: Take Back Control of Your Life 49

5 Thank You, Monkey! How Acceptance Sets You Free 59

Part 2

6 Shyness and Social Anxiety: Why Is Everyone Looking at Me? 71

7 Panic and Agoraphobia: Am I Dying or Going Crazy? 95

8 Specific Phobias: Insects, Vomit, and Needles-Yikes! 121

9 Generalized Anxiety: Worrywarts 147

10 Separation Anxiety: Stand by Me 171

11 Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Don't Step on That Crack! 191

12 Other Issues: Insomnia and Depression 219

Appendix: Getting Extra Help: Therapy and Medication 229

Interviews

Shannon resides in Santa Rosa, CA.

Editorial Reviews

09/07/2015
This straightforward self-help book uses cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques to help readers grapple with different forms of anxiety. Rather than reduce anxiety to a list of symptoms or disorders, Shannon spends the first few chapters discussing its biological origins; describing the instinct to worry as "the monkey mind," governed by a fight-or-flight response, she covers the thought processes that can perpetuate anxious rumination. Practical activities for acknowledging and reducing such thoughts appear throughout, along with links to online materials, as Shannon explores various types of anxiety in greater detail, including social anxiety, panic attacks, agoraphobia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Supportive, specific, and well-articulated advice may ease the minds of readers who seek to better understand their own habits and behavior: "When you respond to monkey chatter by worrying, you are saying, You are right, monkey. This is something I need to worry about. You are giving your monkey a banana—training it to view the imagined threat as a real one." This resource has the potential to both enlighten and empower. Ages 13–up. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

This easy-to-read volume helps readers recognize when the 'monkey mind,' or the primitive, instinctual part of the brain, is doing the thinking and offers advice in overcoming those thoughts. The author’s strategies are practical and designed to help teens facing all kinds of anxiety-inducing scenarios.”
—School Library Journal


“We know how to win over fearful worry. The skills take effort, but they are surprisingly simple. Now Jennifer Shannon places these tools directly into your hands. If you will act on her clever guidance, you can do more than survive, you can thrive.”
—Reid Wilson, PhD, coauthor of Anxious Kids, Anxious Parents and Playing with Anxiety: Casey’s Guide for Teens and Kids


“With clarity and fun, The Anxiety and Survival Guide for Teens offers effective cognitive behavioral strategies for teens to overcome their fear, worry, and panic. This book will not only help teens survive their anxiety, but will guide them out of the fear and worry that limits their lives. I highly recommend it.”
—Michael A. Tompkins, PhD, author of My Anxious Mind: A Teen’s Guide to Managing Anxiety and Panic and codirector of the San Francisco Bay Area Center for Cognitive Therapy


“This is a terrific book for teens, explaining all the best that cognitive behavioral therapy, ACT, and mindfulness have to offer in terms that are engaging, fun, and easy to understand. Teens can easily recognize themselves in this book and become empowered to overcome their anxiety.”
—Karen Lynn Cassiday, PhD, managing director at The Anxiety Treatment Center of Greater Chicago and clinical assistant professor at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science


“The Anxiety Survival Guide for Teens by Jennifer Shannon is a clear, concise, helpful guide with all the key tools to help you overcome your anxiety. Why suffer another day from anxiety when you can use these tools right now? Each chapter gives you powerful and easy-to-understand self-help tools to overcome the many difficulties that teens will face. I will recommend this to my colleagues and clients.”
—Robert L. Leahy, PhD, director of the American Institute for Cognitive Therapy in New York, NY, and author of The Worry Cure: Seven Steps to Stop Worry from Stopping You
 


“All parents want to lift the burden of stress from their teen’s shoulders, but many teens don’t want to talk about it. They do, however, desperately want to feel better. In a completely clear, accessible, and engaging way, Jennifer Shannon’s Anxiety Survival Guide for Teens tells teens exactly what they need to do to help themselves do just that. The simple exercises in this book teach teens how to break free from their anxiety and see themselves and their lives in a whole new light—a more realistic one. Every teen will benefit from the strategies Ms. Shannon provides. I highly recommend this wonderful book!”
—Tamar Chansky, PhD, author of Freeing Your Child from Anxiety and Freeing Yourself from Anxiety: 4 Simple Steps to Overcome Worry and Create the Life You Want

 


“Relief is on the way for anxious teens. The Anxiety Survival Guide for Teens teaches proven steps to uncover the causes and learn what to do to manage anxiety. Unlike many similar books, this guide addresses all types of anxiety with drawings and helpful stories about common situations faced by teens and young adults. Whether mildly or super anxious, complete the exercises in this book to get a grip on your anxiety.”
—Christine A. Padesky, PhD, psychologist and coauthor of Mind Over Mood
 

“This is the first self-help book I’ve ever read where the narrator doesn’t over-romanticize the possibilities to get better soon. What a relief! In a calm, orderly manner, author Jennifer Shannon characterizes and gives specific instructions for different kinds of anxiety: shyness and social anxiety, panic and agoraphobia, specific phobias, generalized anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The tone is just so warm and pleasant, and every teen who suffers from anxiety—but doesn’t know what kind yet—can easily recognize him or herself in the detailed and often funny examples, without being scared to death. It’s the best introduction to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) that I’ve ever seen, and it’s amazing that it’s written specifically for teens, because they need it so much. I wish it had existed for little teenage me.”

—Peter Henrichsen, editor at Youth Culture Denmark

From the Publisher

12/01/2015
Gr 7 Up—This installment of this series of health self-help guides for teens focuses on using cognitive-behavioral therapy to overcome anxiety. Everyone feels nervous or upset on occasion, says Shannon, but when anxiety negatively affects self-esteem and independence, additional support is needed. This easy-to-read volume helps readers recognize when the "monkey mind," or the primitive, instinctual part of the brain, is doing the thinking and offers advice in overcoming those thoughts. The author's strategies are practical and designed to help teens facing all kinds of anxiety-inducing scenarios. VERDICT While this book isn't necessarily one that teens would self-select from the library shelves, it's a good option as a desk copy for middle and high school counselors.—Elaine Baran Black, Georgia Public Library Service, Atlanta

School Library Journal