Which books have you found helpful?

[Spigstar]

Hiya,

I'm looking for a good self help book- preferably in the workbook format to complement therapy. Any suggestions?

xx

 

[autumn_82]

I've read a bunch of Social Phobia books, and they've all been interesting and helpful. I know "The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook" by Edmund J. Bourne was a good one (I think my therapist even had a copy of it).

Triumph Over Fear by Jerilyn Ross
Dying of Embarrassment: Help For Social Anxiety by Barbara G. Markway
Beyond Shyness: How to Conquer Social Anxieties by Jonathan Berent
Social Phobia: From Shynes to Stage Fright by John Marshall
Diagonally Parked in a Parallel Universe
Fear Is No Longer My Reality by Jamie Blyth (he was a contestant on The Bachelorette)--I really liked this one, was a close-up of the life of an SA-sufferer.

Those are just some of the titles I've read. I found them all useful in their own ways. Just go to Amazon.com and type in "social phobia" in the search bar, and lots of titles will come up.

 

[sabbath92002]

Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life: The New Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (Paperback) by Steven C. Hayes (Author)

Act on Life Not on Anger: The New Acceptance & Commitment Therapy Guide to Problem Anger (Paperback) by Georg H. Eifert (Author), Matthew McKay (Author), John P. Forsyth (Author)

The Worry Trap: How to Free Yourself from Worry & Anxiety using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (Paperback) by Chad Lejeune, Ph.D. (Author)

Finding Life Beyond Trauma: Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to Heal from Post-Traumatic Stress and Trauma-Related Problems (New Harbinger Self-Help Workbook) (Paperback) by Victoria M. Follette (Author), Jacqueline Pistorello, Ph.D. (Author)

The Happiness Trap: How to Stop Struggling and Start Living (Paperback) by Russ Harris (Author)

Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Physician Harris challenges some basic assumptions about the all-American tradition of the pursuit of happiness, drawing heavily on the acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) work of University of Nevada professor Steven Hayes, which argues that happiness is not a normal state of being; pain is inevitable and what matters is how it is dealt with. The ACT prescription is to be mindful of negative thoughts and emotions, reconnect with core values, act in accordance with values and with the psychological flexibility to adapt to any situation. ACT techniques include diffusion—decreasing the impact of self-defeating thoughts (without making them go away), turning off the struggle switch, practicing expansion to make room for self-observation and connecting with the present moment. While these concepts might sound like typical self-help fare, Harris makes key distinctions: ACT is not a form of meditation or a path to enlightenment—to reap the benefits, action is imperative. More of an ACT primer than anything else, there's enough interesting content here to keep the reader, um, happy. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review
"Carefully and creatively presents techniques that anyone can use to undermine struggle, avoidance, and loss of the moment. Harris systematically explores how we get into the 'happiness trap' and then shines a powerful beacon showing us another way forward."—Steven Hayes, PhD, author of Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life

"Eminently practical and readable. This book reveals that when calibrating one's life according to acceptance and valued action, happiness is a pleasant sideshow in the larger carnival of an engaged and purposeful existence."—Zindel Segal, PhD, author of The Mindful Way through Depression

"An exciting alternative to the usual approach of so many self-help books. Harris explains how we can work with ourselves as we are, rather than aggressively trying to alter ourselves. I'm impressed by the simple and effective methods of ACT."—David Richo, PhD, author of The Five Things We Cannot Change