Don t Let Your Anxiety Run Your Life

233 Pages·2020·5.27 MB·English

“Most experts agree that anxiety and the closely related emotion
of fear are fundamental to the human condition, and serve a valu-
able function by helping us avoid danger, adapt, and even plan for
the future. And yet in our society individuals spend billions of
dollars yearly to rid themselves of anxiety. The problem is that
these fundamental emotions so necessary for our survival become
excessive and pervasive in some individuals to the extent that
their lives become paralyzed. Fortunately, our understanding of
the nature of these emotions has advanced dramatically in the
past several decades. Now, two outstanding young clinicians and
scientists studying the nature and treatment of anxiety have dis-
tilled their cutting- edge knowledge to provide an integrative,
easy- to- read and apply program for excessive anxiety and fear.
Representing the latest and most effective techniques available,
every individual suffering from anxiety will benefit by becoming
acquainted with this program.”

— David H. Barlow PhD, ABPP, professor of psychology

and psychiatry Emeritus at Boston University, and
founder and director Emeritus of the Center for Anxiety
and Related Disorders

“In mental health treatment, there is an increasing appreciation of
the importance of emotion regulation— the skills that allow
people to effectively cope with painful feelings— and the fact that
people can learn more effective strategies for emotion regulation.
In Don’t Let Your Anxiety Run Your Life, David Klemanski and
Joshua Curtiss take the reader step by step through the emerging
science of emotion regulation, and illustrate how to apply that
knowledge to everyday life. I heartily recommend this book for
anyone who wants to master unwanted anxiety, and I anticipate
that a lot of readers are going to find it extremely helpful.”

— David F. Tolin, PhD, ABPP, author of Face Your Fears

Using the Science
of Emotion Regulation

& Mindfulness to
Overcome Fear & Worry

DAVID H. KLE MANSKI, PsyD

JOSHUA E. CURTISS, MA

New Harbinger Publications, Inc.

don’t let your
anx iety
r u n y o u r l i f e

Publisher’s Note

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to
the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not
engaged in rendering psychological, financial, legal, or other professional services. If expert
assistance or counseling is needed, the services of a competent professional should be
sought.

Distributed in Canada by Raincoast Books

Copyright © 2016 by David H. Klemanski and Joshua E. Curtiss

New Harbinger Publications, Inc.
5674 Shattuck Avenue
Oakland, CA 94609
www.newharbinger.com

Cover design by Sara Christian; Interior design by Michele Waters-Kermes;
Acquired by Melissa Valentine; Edited by Will DeRooy

All Rights Reserved

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Klemanski, David H., author. | Curtiss, Joshua E., author.
Title: Don't let your anxiety run your life : using the science of emotion regulation

and mindfulness to overcome fear and worry / David H. Klemanski, Joshua E
Curtiss ; foreword by Stefan G Hofmann.

Description: Oakland, CA : New Harbinger Publications, 2016. | Includes

bibliographical references.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016001939 (print) | LCCN 2016004497 (ebook) |

ISBN 9781626254169 (paperback) | ISBN 9781626254176 (pdf e-book) |
ISBN 9781626254183 (epub) | ISBN 9781626254176 (PDF e-book) |
ISBN 9781626254183 (ePub)

Subjects: LCSH: Anxiety. | Mindfulness (Psychology) | Mind and body. |

BISAC: SELF-HELP / Anxieties & Phobias. | PSYCHOLOGY / Emotions. |
BODY, MIND & SPIRIT / Meditation.

Classification: LCC BF575.A6 .K584 2016 (print) | LCC BF575.A6 (ebook) |

DDC 152.4/6--dc23

LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2016001939

18

17

16

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1 First Printing

Contents

Foreword
v

Introduction: Understanding Your Anxiety
1

1
Linking Anxiety, Emotion, and Mindfulness
17

2
Overcoming Attention Biases
43

3
Confronting Your Anxiety
69

4
Thinking Traps
97

5
Emotional Inflexibility
115

6
Information Overload
137

7
Feeling Bad Is Actually Good
153

8
Unhelpful Habits
171

9
Emotional Avoidance
181

10
Making a Habit of Mindfulness and
Emotion Regulation
197

Acknowledgments
207

References
209

Foreword

F

ear and anxiety are fundamental aspects of human
existence. Virtually every student of the human con-

dition, from the ancient Greek philosophers to Sigmund
Freud to contemporary theorists of psychology, has tried to
make sense of these experiences. Unlike other species,
humans spend a lot of time thinking about past failures and
worrying about possible future events. If we feel our future
is uncertain, we experience anxiety.

Anxiety is a future- oriented mood state associated with,

or even caused by, worrisome thought processes. When we
are anxious, our mind is focused on the future and on the
things that could go wrong. To some extent this can be adap-
tive, because it helps us prepare for the future and avoid
undesirable situations: it motivates us to buy insurance, plan
for our retirement, and save money for our children’s college
education. But this same ability to anticipate future events
comes at an emotional cost.

The same is true when we start ruminating about past

events. Learning from our past failures is adaptive, but rumi-
nating about the past is not.

vi
Don’t Let Anxiety Run Your Life

Worrying about the future and ruminating about the

past take us away from the present moment. Rumination
and worrying are characteristic features of debilitating
anxiety and depression. Anxiety disorders are some of the
most common psychiatric conditions, next to mood disor-
ders and substance use problems.

Although treatments for anxiety disorders are reason-

ably effective, there’s clearly still room for improvement.
Modern emotion research provides some concrete and novel
methods of enhancing treatment for anxiety and related
problems. In this elegant book, a highly accessible and infor-
mative text for anybody who struggles with anxiety, David
Klemanski and Joshua Curtiss discuss some of these con-
crete guidelines and encourage you to effectively deal with
fear and anxiety while experiencing life as it happens. The
authors clearly articulate specific strategies for overcoming
fear and anxiety, based on modern emotion research. These
strategies include identifying and targeting maladaptive
thought processes, enhancing adaptive emotion regulation
strategies, and changing maladaptive habits. Mindfulness-
based practices take center stage. Mindfulness is difficult to
define and measure but relatively easy to practice. These
strategies encourage you to pay attention to the present
moment without judging it. As a result, you will learn how to
live life in the present moment and let go of maladaptive
thoughts that are linked to fear and anxiety.

This superb text will guide you through some basic and

effective steps: pay attention to your anxiety, confront it,
avoid thinking traps, flexibly respond to your emotions,
accept your emotions, develop adaptive habits, and abandon
maladaptive habits. Embracing these strategies will give

Foreword
vii

you, the reader, the opportunity to distance yourself from
your anxiety and your immediate impulse to act on your
feelings. Applying these strategies will teach you how to be
reflective, rather than reactive, toward your anxiety. You
will learn how to exert control over your anxiety rather than
being controlled by it. As a result, you may find a way to live
your life in the here and now, rather than making other
plans.

Time is precious. You have only one life to live and you

can choose how you spend your time on this earth. You may
choose to continue your maladaptive habits, resulting in
anxiety and depression, or you may choose to take charge of
your life and begin to control your anxiety. The choice is
yours. If you choose the latter, continue reading this book
and implement the strategies that are discussed. You have
nothing to lose but your anxiety.

—Stefan G. Hofmann, PhD

Professor of Psychology
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences
Boston University
www.bostonanxiety.org
Author, Emotion in Therapy: From Science to Practice

(Guilford Press, 2016)