Publisher's Synopsis
Are your worries and fears getting way too big? Is your anxiety getting in the way of doing the things you want? Do you feel hopeless to take control of your worries? If you do, you're not alone. Anxiety is a problem people have been facing since the age of cavemen! If you're looking for a way to understand what is going on in your body and mind so you can take charge of that worry, then you've come to the right place! A psychotherapist, and self-proclaimed anxiety sufferer, Alison Lester shares her personal and professional wisdom in It's Not a Saber Tooth: Understanding and Coping with Anxiety. Through metaphors, characters, and humor, she provides a child-friendly way to understand the science of anxiety and how we can work with our bodies and minds to create lasting change. In these pages you'll learn: How our natural survival instinct can contribute to anxiety What we can do to get better at tolerating the distress of anxiety How to create change in both our minds and bodies to reduce anxiety This workbook is a tool designed for children and parents to work together at changing their experience with anxiety. Alison combines various techniques including ideas based in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), two of the most widely used methods of treating anxiety in children and adolescents. The methods presented here are focused at doing more than just masking anxiety or treating symptoms; the goal is to create deep, internal, long-lasting change at the core of our children's lives. If you are looking for REAL change, this is the book for you! ___________________________________________ This book is a gem! Alison has written a book that is useful, well written and very user friendly. Truly a unique combination in the overcrowded world of self-help workbooks. Alison masterfully guides you through important information and practical exercises that make sense out of the often confusing and distressing experience of anxiety. Rather than portraying anxiety as something that is wrong, she assures you that what you are dealing with is a normal condition that makes you feel abnormal. Alison clearly outlines exactly what anxiety is and offers practical steps to calm down the "saber-tooth." Her style is amazingly inviting, reassuring and direct. Alison has been there and offers powerful insights and tools to help you recognize, accept and hold you exactly as you are. Now!!! Get a pencil and follow the journey Alison has laid out. You will be glad you did! --Thomas Roberts, LCSW, LMFT, author of The Mindfulness Workbook: A Beginner's Guide to Overcoming Fear and Embracing Compassion