Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind

Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind

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(11 customer reviews)

Original price was: $22.99.Current price is: $17.99.

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A step-by-step plan clinically proven to break the cycle of worry and fear that drives anxiety and addictive habits
We are living through one of the most anxious periods any of us can remember. Whether facing issues as public as a pandemic or as personal as having kids at home and fighting the urge to reach for the wine bottle every night, we are feeling overwhelmed and out of control. But in this timely book, Judson Brewer explains how to uproot anxiety at its source using brain-based techniques and small hacks accessible to anyone.

We think of anxiety as everything from mild unease to full-blown panic. But it’s also what drives the addictive behaviors and bad habits we use to cope (e.g. stress eating, procrastination, doom scrolling and social media). Plus, anxiety lives in a part of the brain that resists rational thought. So we get stuck in anxiety habit loops that we can’t think our way out of or use willpower to overcome. Dr. Brewer teaches us map our brains to discover our triggers, defuse them with the simple but powerful practice of curiosity, and to train our brains using mindfulness and other practices that his lab has proven can work.

Distilling more than 20 years of research and hands-on work with thousands of patients, including Olympic athletes and coaches, and leaders in government and business, Dr. Brewer has created a clear, solution-oriented program that anyone can use to feel better – no matter how anxious they feel.

11 reviews for Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind

  1. J. Taub –

    This is neither a self-help book, nor a heavy duty science manual. It is an eminently readable book that explains how “anxiety loops” are created by our minds and how to use a series of awareness and mindfulness tools to “break the loop” and reprogram the brain to observe and accept anxiety, then move on.

    The author, Dr. Jud Brewer, is an addiction psychiatrist and neuroscientist at Brown University. He also is the head of research of their world renowned “Brown University Mindfulness Center”. Unwinding Anxiety follows Dr. Brewer’s previous book, “The Carving Mind”, in which he discusses reprograming the mind to break habits (and addictions!) such as smoking or using cell phones.

    In Unwinding Anxiety, Dr. Brewer writes with a similar style – personal anecdotes, stories from his lab, easily understandable descriptions of complex brain mechanisms – to explain how anyone can decrease their anxiety creating habits. Although a significant part of this is using mindfulness and awareness, there is nothing esoteric about his research and methods, no religion involved, definitely no chanting, and no major time commitment. Dr. Brewer is an expert in how to apply mindfulness to improving one’s health – in this case mental health – and the techniques he offers require nothing other than your own brain, self introspection and some basic motivation.

    Dare I say this is a page turner? I am not not a scientist, not an expert in the brain, and yet, once I started reading this book, I couldn’t put it down. I will definitely apply several of the techniques offered by Dr. Brewer, and reading his book also made me curious about his app, of the same name (Unwinding Anxiety).

    Anxiety seems to be one of the greatest challenges of our society, certainly here in the US. Medication is usually the standard treatment, and SSRIs certainly have helped millions of people. Nonetheless, we have tools to deal with Anxiety within us, and they don’t require much other than our minds and a little effort and time. Whether this is to complement other treatments or a starting point, I believe that Unwinding Anxiety can change lives. It is a deeply humanistic book, one which will make you think about yourself, laugh from time to time, and who knows, it might have a long lasting impact on your mental health.

  2. Oscar Bennett –

    Helps so much. As a person with anxious and perfectionist tendencies this book is a great step by step guide about how to think about your habits and what to do in the moments when anxiety is threatening to consume you

  3. Ruby Collins –

    I’ve been working on my anxiety and stress for many years with little progress – this book helped me become almost anxiety-free within a month. It has changed everything in my life, because I now realize everything was affected by constant anxiety that I didn’t even know I had. This book is based on operant learning (AKA operant conditioning), on which I had already seen extensive research, so I had the luxury of already trusting the science when I started the book. It basically teaches you how to get free of anxiety by working with how your brain already subconsciously works, taking willpower (which is almost useless and fails constantly) out of the equation. By following the techniques in this book, my thought patterns changed automatically, which is so much easier (and way more reliable) than trying to create/change habits or stop behaviors or use willpower, etc. The companion app, Unwind, is excellent for helping you implement and remember the techniques, but it’s expensive, so I only used it until I got used to following the book’s principles. As soon as they became automatic, I cancelled the app. Anyway, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It fixed some other major mental health issues that I’ve made little progress on over the years, not just my anxiety. Really ground-breaking stuff, based on rock-solid psychological research and principles. If you only read one self-help book in your life, it needs to be this one.

  4. richard Vengroff –

    My wife and I both read the book and continue to talk about it and practice some of the recommendations and suggestions. Very happy with how many intuitive points are supported by sound empirical research. I strongly recommend it.

  5. CA Dreamin –

    Unwinding Anxiety offers the right amount of science, practical action steps and examples from real life. I have studied mindfulness for many years and, for the first time, Brewer lays out how mindfulness can help us to understand and change habits–even habits of mind, like anxiety. The news is good in that it does not involve long periods of sitting still in an uncomfortable position. His research found that when people practiced mindfulness in short moments many times, they could zero in on habit patterns AND their results. This was the secret sauce. I like the way the books identifies 3 steps and lots of practices. And there’s are many videos on his website bringing it all to life. I don’t expect this will be a quick fix but small steps over time can make a big difference.

  6. Tiffany –

    As someone with adhd, generalized anxiety disorder, and past trauma, I’m always trying to learn about my own brain and how to work smarter and not harder. I was in a rut for a while, feeling exhausted & stressed on the daily. This was the missing piece that really helped me understand how much anxiety I had in the first place! My habits and thinking were tripping me up in ways I didn’t even realize until I read this book.
    This is a must read for literally anybody. Not only does it give you immediate, applicable ways to feel better, but it also helps you truly understand how your brain works which is just such a powerful thing to understand. My new life goal is anxiety sobriety!!!

  7. MerLan –

    I’ve read quite a few books on this subject while searching for a way to quell performance-related anxiety. After hearing the author on Rich Roll’s podcast, I had to check out the book.

    Dr. Brewer’s explanation of anxiety as a habit was fascinating and makes so much sense. The book helps you take a step back from the anxious feelings themselves to get a handle on what anxiety really is and how it happens in your body. And THEN… he tells you how to short-circuit it with accessible strategies.

    It’s very easy to read and conversational, yet I found myself re-reading paragraphs because each one was literally full of can’t-miss stuff. I highly recommend this book, even if you think you’ve read all there is to read on this topic.

  8. Courtney Cox –

    I have now listened to this book three times on Audible. I have gifted both the physical book and the audio book to 6 of my loved ones. I don’t know how I made it so long not mapping out my habit loops. To say this book has changed my life is an understatement. This book has made some of my biggest battles almost melt away. I wish I had it years ago. I know two of my family members are blown away by it. I hope the others will take the time to read/listen to this book. The principles and evidence base learning is profound. Thank you Judson Brewer!

  9. Maja Grantham –

    In the book reader might find the answers for questions most of us have related to stress, worries, uncertanties.
    Easy to understand and apply to own case.

  10. D. Davies –

    I first listened to the audiobook twice and then decided it was worth buying the kindle book to read and study. I have completed the read, highlighting as I went, and have now typed up those highlights. I believe mindfulness and awareness are very beneficial in refining our habits. I think he under estimates willpower and grit. I bike and have run distance and know that quitting is a choice we ultimately make. Other than that, I love what he has taught.

  11. Henry Walker –

    It is a meaningful book with a lot of scientific evidence and real experiences from people who have tried and successfully broken out of habit loops that are destructive to their lives.

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Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind

Original price was: $22.99.Current price is: $17.99.