The Road to Calm Workbook: Life-Changing Tools to Stop Runaway Emotions

by Carolyn Daitch Ph.D., Lissah Lorberbaum

Overview

A protocol of easy-to-use tools that can be applied when readers experience difficult-to-manage emotions.

Emotional flooding—being overwhelmed by feelings—happens in response to stress, anxiety, and life’s challenges. In this client-orientated accompaniment to Affect Regulation Toolbox, Carolyn Daitch and Lissah Lorberbaum present skills and tools on how to dial down reactivity, practice mindfulness, and focus positively on the future. Written to conquer a broad range of emotional challenges in easily accessibly language, this book is intended to help clients improve the quality of their everyday lives.

The workbook is split into two parts. Part I helps the reader understand when and why emotional flooding occurs. Using vivid stories and examples of others’ triggering situations helps the reader better understand their own triggers, and how to cope with them. Part II provides instructions for “daily stress inoculations,” a daily practice for relaxing and lowering baseline levels of emotional reactivity. The STOP Solution is introduced as a way of learning how to stop or lessen feeling emotionally overwhelmed. STOP stands for Scanning thoughts, feelings, and sensations, Taking a time-out, Overcoming Initial Flooding, and Putting tools into practice.

Throughout the workbook, readers will find guided imagery exercises, opportunities for journaling and reflection, mindfulness practices, and a weblink to matching audio exercises. A complimentary companion app also enhances readers’ ability to take these exercises on the go. The result of this gentle and reliable program is resilience, well-being, and freedom from the emotional patterns that create suffering and damage relationships.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393708424
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	04/25/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Carolyn Daitch, Ph.D., is the director of the Center for the Treatment of Anxiety Disorders in Farmington Hills, Michigan. A clinical psychologist, she is a certified and approved consultant and elected Fellow of the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis as well a Fellow of the Michigan Psychological Association. A frequent invited speaker around the world, she is internationally recognized for her practical and easy to implement interventions.

She has written four books, including the award winning Affect Regulation Toolbox: Practical and Effective Hypnotic Interventions for the Over-reactive Client, which has received international acclaim and was awarded best hypnosis book by the Society of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis in 2008. Her "Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Mindfulness, and Hypnosis as Treatment Methods for Generalized Anxiety Disorder," also won best article in 2019 by the American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis.

Lissah Lorberbaum, MA, holds a master's degree in clinical psychology with a specialization in somatic psychology and treats affect dysregulation across a wide range of clientele. She is also coauthor of Anxious in Love: How to Manage Your Anxiety, Reduce Conflict, and Reconnect with Your Partner. She lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.

Editorial Reviews

"There are two big strengths to the book. The first is the audio sessions which will give people a chance to experience and work with exercises while hearing Carol’s voice. . . . They can listen and experience a change in their symptoms and later do the exercises on their own. The second strength is the way the book helps readers make connections between their symptoms and behaviors in a way that is simultaneously non-threatening and empowering. . . . giving people hope and then showing them a way out of the pain."

Ryan Nagy

"[T]here is a wealth of information in this book . . . . [A] worthwhile manual of helpful techniques."

Metapsychology Online Reviews

"[A] clear, well structured, and organized guide . . . . The authors help clients to personalize the techniques by providing advice, charts, and surveys so that they can learn about their unique ways of expressing runaway emotions. . . . It is obvious that experienced clinicians have created this [STOP solution] method, which addresses the nuance of emotion associated with different problems. . . . We highly recommend this workbook, which offers clients tangible techniques to follow, while also indirectly utilizing suggestion and trance."

The Milton H. Erickson Foundation Newsletter

"The user-friendly Road to Calm Workbook is written so anyone reading it can understand it. . . . Goals don’t seem so out of reach when working with the book, which emphasizes that 28 days makes a habit. This is about you. Reclaim you. Love you. This book could help."

Energy Times

"Of all the poignant scenes of human interactions, one of the most universal challenges is emotional flooding and the relational damage it causes. Since few of us are exempt, we all need a guide—and The Road to Calm Workbook is just that. With elegant and detailed exercises, this manual will help you STOP emotional flooding. And if you are a clinician, your clients can use it too. We recommend it to everyone as an essential tool to keep handy. You never know when you will be triggered!"

Harville Hendrix

"What if there was a way you could inoculate against the daily stresses of life? Carolyn Daitch and Lissah Lorberbaum have just given us the next best thing. In The Road to Calm Workbook, they help you understand when and why emotional overwhelm occurs and give instructions for concrete, practical, easy-to-use practices that anyone can use to relax and lower their baseline levels of emotional reactivity. Whether you are a therapist looking for powerful tools that your patients can use between sessions, or an individual working to manage your own stresses and emotions, this book is an essential resource."

Ruth Buczynski

"[A] wonderful resource . . . . The workbook has lots of space for writing so you can deeply and thoughtfully put these tools into action. . . . The audio tracks are very well done. Daitch talks you through each step while relaxing music plays. . . . [E]xtremely well-thought-out and structured . . . [A]n excellent resource for anyone dealing with anxiety and all that goes with distress."

PsychCentral

05/01/2016
Psychologist Daitch (expert in anxiety disorders) and coauthor Lorberbaum (Anxiety in Love) have put together a workbook for finding relief from emotional overload. Included are guided imagery exercises, quizzes, mindfulness practices, opportunities for journaling and reflection, and matching audio activities on the accompanying CD. The authors thoughtfully teach readers to first understand where feelings of craziness come from and then present paths to sanity. They provide particular detail on aspects of "emotional flooding" and the road to self-regulation. VERDICT An excellent choice for those who are beset by stress and fear.

Library Journal