The Panic Attack Relief Workbook by Mayra Diaz lays out a seven-week plan for people to be able to better manage panic. It incorporates cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and exposure therapy. As the title indicates, it’s a workbook with exercises to fill out. The book begins with background information about …
Be Mighty by Jill A. Stoddard draws on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to help women free themselves from the anxiety, worry, and stress that are holding them back. The author observes that if you get attached to narratives about being damaged or broken, you’re “probably a frequent flier at the popular hot spot known …
How to Be Yourself: Quiet Your Inner Critic and Rise Above Social Anxiety by psychologist Ellen Hendriksen offers cognitive behavioural therapy-based strategies to help readers overcome social anxiety. The author herself has experienced social anxiety, and I always like when authors are willing to be vulnerable and add that personal touch. The book is aimed …
What Happened to Make You Anxious? by Jaime Castillo aims to help readers uncover and process the unresolved past little-t traumas that are fuelling their anxiety. It incorporates concepts from several therapeutic approaches, including internal family systems therapy (IFS) and the adaptive information processing model, which is the theoretical basis for eye movement desensitization and …
Overcoming Anticipatory Anxiety by Sally M. Winston and Martin N. Seif uses a cognitive behaviour therapy approach to help readers deal with chronic indecisiveness, avoidance, and catastrophic thinking. The book begins by explaining what anticipatory anxiety is—the expectation of distress and the push towards avoidance that occurs before you encounter the situation you fear in …
Freedom From Health Anxiety by Karen Lynn Cassiday uses a primarily cognitive behavioural therapy approach to support people dealing with illness anxiety disorder (formerly known as hypochondriasis) and other forms of health anxiety. The book begins with a checklist to assess the negative impact of health anxiety in the areas of negative reactions of others, …
Super Simple CBT by Matthew McKay, Martha Davis, and Patrick Fanning provides a quick and easy introduction to cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). While it addresses depression and anxiety, it’s not diagnosis-specific; rather, it provides strategies that are useful for dealing with difficult thoughts and emotions in general. The book consists of six chapters, one devoted …
Relationship OCD by Sheva Rajaee is written from the perspective of a therapist who herself has dealt with relationship OCD (ROCD). What a perfect combination! I love that more and more mental health professionals are willing to talk about their own mental health challenges. Throughout the book, the author emphasizes the importance of learning to …
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms. This week’s term is selective mutism. Selective mutism is a rare disorder that begins in childhood and is characterized by an inability to speak in select social contexts (hence the “selective” part of the name). It used to be called elective …
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms. This week’s term is avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder. Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) is a type of eating disorder that involves restricting food intake, not with the aim of weight loss, but more along the lines of picky eating twisted to …
What Is… Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) Read More »
