The Worry Trick: How Your Brain Tricks You into Expecting the Worst and What You Can Do About It

Product Information

The book is brilliant and hugely quotable, not because the quotes are cool but because they are so very relatable.

Try this experiment. Write out one of your worries, in its most detailed, terrifying form. Keep it at around 25 words. Set aside 25 of those Tic Tacs that you bought to count your worries. If you’re suffering from chronic worry, this may be a pretty stressful experience. Pay attention to how upsetting the worry is at the last repetition compared to the first. You will notice that it gets easier. The Power of Mindfulness: The book emphasizes the importance of mindfulness in managing worry and anxiety. Carbonell provides practical tips for cultivating mindfulness, such as focusing on the present moment, observing our thoughts without judgment, and engaging in physical activities that promote mindfulness.

The goal? You’ll no longer be in the bad habit of automatically ignoring or distracting yourself from your worries. When you’re not distracted, you can catch the “what if’s” and start seeing them for the game of “let’s pretend” that they really are. Take the time to humor your worries Types of Worry: Carbonell identifies two types of worry: “prophesying” and “torturing.” Prophesying worry involves predicting negative outcomes, while torturing worry involves dwelling on the potential negative outcomes. The book provides practical strategies for dealing with both types of worry.

That’s about as easy as being asked not to think about your first childhood pet. Even if you haven’t thought about Flopsy the bunny in decades, I bet he’s at the front of your mind now. Distraction doesn’t work either. I appreciated how this book started with chapters explaining what worry is and what causes it. There are actually different types of worry, which I had no idea about! The author includes case studies from individuals he has worked with too during his days as a clinical psychologist. I felt understood reading this book, and like I'm not the only 'chronic worrier' out there! In later chapters, the author goes into explaining techniques and methods that you can try to help handle your worry. He explains that not every method is going to work for every individual but that you can only help yourself by giving each method a try. The examples were short but on point and they served the purpose of each chapter, and I really like that because I don't see the point of a book (like self help books) which mostly contains stories and experiences of other persons.

How Your Brain Tricks You into Expecting the Worst and What You Can Do About It

The chain reaction continues. What if I lose my job? I’ve got that dentist appointment coming up, I can’t afford to lose my job now. Simon A. Rego, PsyD, ABPP, ACT, director of psychology training and the cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) training program at Montefiore Medical Center, and associate professor of clinical psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, NY Think about it. What do you do when you start to worry? When you have that first sneaking feeling of doubt? Because your brain interprets it as danger, your first reaction is to try to stop it. This ends up with you arguing with yourself, and when you argue with yourself you can never win. It’s chronic worry that’s the problem. This is where the worry is constant, unavoidable and crippling. This is what you need to examine, and ultimately change. If this sounds like you, there are likely two possible relationships you have with your worry.