Things Might Go Terribly, Horribly Wrong: A Guide to Life Liberated from Anxiety

Description

Whether it manifests itself as worry, fear, rumination, obsession, compulsion, or shyness, anxiety is everywhere, and it causes no end of trouble for just about all of us. But at its core, anxiety serves an important purpose: to neutralize uncomfortable ambiguities. This book begins with a whirlwind tour of anxiety: what causes it, what we think about it, and what it might look like. Then the book looks at some of the approaches to treating anxiety and poses an intriguing question: What if you don't need to get rid of anxiety in order to live a terrific life? Things Might Go Terribly, Horribly Wrong approaches this breakaway hypothesis through the mechanisms of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and presents a series of thinking points and short games readers can do to easily and effectively begin to incorporate ACT techniques into their lives. This book is not a full-scale self-help approach for someone with serious anxiety problems, but an easy way for readers who have wrestled with worry, fear, and shyness to put those feelings into perspective and focus instead on what they want to do in life. This book will help readers foster the flexibility they need to keep from succumbing to the avoidant forces of anxiety and open themselves to the often uncomfortable complexities and possibilities of life.

Kelly G. Wilson, Ph.D., is associate professor of psychology at the University of Mississippi. He is a central figure in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and was one of the authors of the landmark Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (Guilford Press, first edition 1999, second edition 2009). Wilson is among the most sought-after ACT trainers. His popular experiential workshops touch thousands of clinicians and students each year. www.onelifellc.com Troy DuFrene is a writer specializing in psychology. He is coauthor of Coping with OCD and Mindfulness for Two. He lives and works in Oakland, CA. Visit him at www.troydufrene.com.