Description
Do you ever wonder what is happening inside your brain when you feel anxious, panicked, and worried? In Rewire Your Anxious Brain, psychologist Catherine Pittman and author Elizabeth Karle offer a unique, evidence-based solution to overcoming anxiety based in cutting-edge neuroscience and research.
In the book, you will learn how the amygdala and cortex (both important parts of the brain) are essential players in the neuropsychology of anxiety. The amygdala acts as a primal response, and oftentimes, when this part of the brain processes fear, you may not even understand why you are afraid. By comparison, the cortex is the center of “worry.” That is, obsessing, ruminating, and dwelling on things that may or may not happen. In the book, Pittman and Karle make it simple by offering specific examples of how to manage fear by tapping into both of these pathways in the brain.
As you read, you’ll gain a greater understanding how anxiety is created in the brain, and as a result, you will feel empowered and motivated to overcome it. The brain is a powerful tool, and the more you work to change the way you respond to fear, the more resilient you will become. Using the practical self-assessments and proven-effective techniques in this book, you will learn to literally “rewire” the brain processes that lie at the root of your fears.
Rachael (verified owner) –
If you are looking for a book that is just going to provide strategies for how to overcome anxiety, this is probably not the book for you. However, if you are interested in both the neuroscience behind stress and anxiety and learning techniques to cope with those responses, then this is an excellent volume to read. Personally, I agree with the authors that it is often easier to overcome stress when you actually know and understand what is happening to your brain, and how it can manifest itself in physical ways. And while this book is very detailed, I think the authors did a good job of keeping everything easy to understand.
Numerous types of stress are discussed in this book, including the reasons that these types of stress occur and what parts of the brain are responsible for your response. If you’re anything like me, you are constantly trying to make logical sense out of your worry, but I learned from this book that there may not always be a logical reason behind your anxiety. In fact, you may not ever really know why you certain situations, thoughts, sounds, smells, etc., can trigger an episode of panic. The good news is that you don’t have to know. The authors go into great detail to describe techniques that you can use to essentially “rewire” your brain to avoid having stress responses. The book mainly discusses the two different parts of the brain that deal with fear and stress, the amygdala and the cortex. The amygdala is basically your body’s natural fear response system. Your amygdala often works without your ever knowing it, such as when you are driving and instinctively swerve out of the way to avoid hitting another car. The cortex, on the other hand, deals with worry and obsessive thoughts. For example, your cortex is to blame when you are constantly worrying about a possible outcome that will likely not occur. You may have one or both of these types of stress, and the authors provide useful “exercises” that can be used to deal with both of these types of stress.
If you’re reading this review, I’m guessing that you probably don’t care about all of these details though, right? What you really want to know is if the methods in this book really work. I think they could certainly help many individuals who suffer from stress and anxiety. These authors give insightful strategies to help with different types of stress responses, all of which are based on years of research. Your stress isn’t going to go away overnight having read this book, but it certainly may help you learn to cope with your anxiety when it does occur.
Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book through Netgalley.
carb101 (verified owner) –
My daughter has a great deal of trouble with anxiety, and I found this book to be extremely helpful. It gave us a new language for talking about her anxiety (e.g. “That’s just your amygdala talking”) and explained why techniques that her counselor encourages her to use (e.g. deep breathing) really work. I only gave the book 4 stars because the book definitely has a self-published feel to it, which a better co-author probably could have fixed, and it’s pretty repetitive. If every bit of the information is new to you, the repetition might be helpful, but I found myself thinking, “Got it. Already covered this” numerous times. Despite shortcomings, I definitely recommend this book for a person with anxiety and for caretakers.
Camber (verified owner) –
Though somewhat repetitive, this book is easy to read and clearly explains the basic neurobiology of fear, worry, anxiety, panic, and related conditions such as PTSD and OCD. Drawing on research by Joseph Ledoux and others, the book highlights the central role of the amygdala (the brain’s primitive and subconscious ‘fear center’), which receives surprisingly scant attention in many other books on this topic. In my opinion, understanding the underlying biology is very helpful, if not essential.
The book also provides helpful evidence-based guidance on techniques to prevent or reduce the intensity of anxiety and related conditions. The key techniques are:
– Get good sleep, aerobically exercise daily, and eat a healthy diet.
– Breathe from the diaphragm/belly, which apparently activates the parasympathetic nervous system and thus counters activation of the sympathetic nervous system resulting from fear.
– Remind yourself that thoughts and images are not reality and may be mistaken.
– Disrupt problematic thoughts and images via distractions, play, music, and positive thoughts and images.
– Mindfully ‘defuse’ from problematic thoughts, images, and sensations, and instead just ‘be’ in the present moment, calmly observing all that is happening without any need to interpret or respond in any way.
– Meditate, including mindful meditation.
– Deliberately and repeatedly expose yourself to the situations which generate unwarranted fear, in order to rewire the amygdala to no longer subconsciously associate those situations with fear. This can be an uncomfortable experience, but accept the discomfort and know that it will pass, and absolutely do not flee from the situations, because doing so will strengthen the fear.
I highly recommend this book to anyone dealing with excessive worry, fear, anxiety, and related conditions.
patricia a. hilton (verified owner) –
Got it for my granddaughter who is 19. Hopes she likes it.
All Things Man (verified owner) –
I bought this for a family member dealing with anxiety. They stated that the book had many helpful exercises and would recommend it to others. Hope this helps.
Ouzola Customer (verified owner) –
Very interesting read. Informative and well written so that the layman can understand the information. Good ideas about working through daily struggles.
K. M. (verified owner) –
They book is easy to understand for the lay person, but also explains the current brain science well. Both educational and practical. Well written, lots of exercises, examples and good explanations. Recommended to me by a psychologist friend when I had a series of panic attacks. Definitely trying some of the things from the book.
tzr (verified owner) –
This book is well written and can easily be understood by people without an academic background. I found it to be a bit repetitive at times but overall I could look past that. It can be a bit heavy work for those suffering from anxiety and I’d recommend people to work through some of the heavier stuff with a therapist, just as the authors recommend. Overall it’s an excellent roadmap for making small changes that will generate long-term relief.
Nat (verified owner) –
Good book!
Isaak (verified owner) –
Well it was very interesting reading this book. I never thought this book will be the taking the science approach to explain how to cope with anxiety. It is very perfect for science students in a University.
Anand A. Kekre (verified owner) –
A nice book for those undergoing anxiety and to therapist who are treating this disorder. I see a lot of repeatition in the content making this a long book to read and hence giving a four star.
Possibly a chapter on how alternative therapies like Yoga and Acupressure work on anxiety will be useful.
Skoot (verified owner) –
Good information in layman’s terms about the brain’s workings and origins of panic, fear, and anxiety. However, no new ideas on resolving these issues, the usual deep breathing tecniques, meditaton, visualisation and mindfulness (not that I’m saying these things don’t work) just that I was hoping for more.
Loretta Fralin-Rapp (verified owner) –
The exercises were very helpful! If you follow the guidelines in this book your anxiety has no choice but to go down.
Brandy C (verified owner) –
Was ok
Manisha (verified owner) –
Simple techniques yet effective. The neuro anatomical n neuro physiological approach makes everything connected n easy to understand. Good work!
JL Populist (verified owner) –
What I liked about this book was that the authors wrote this book in way that a layman can comprehend the processes involved in anxiety and that anxiety is not the same for everyone.
Equally important are the tools for addressing anxiety and the stress that comes along with panic and anxiety.
The effects of exercise was especially helpful as well as the information about the two pathways of anxiety.
This book is beneficial and also has a workbook for exercises. When I finished the book I had learned a lot about anxiety rewiring the brain.
Rebecca M. (verified owner) –
After many unhelpful and useless time wasted from the bad therapists and counselors I’ve had, I finally found something helpful. This book teaches you and introduces you to helpful methods. If you actually take time every night to read a couple pages and seriously apply the advice to your life like I did, you will find that you will feel better and be able to treat yourself and manage your anxiety and emotions x10 better. This is by far the best self-help book that I’ve found. Please. PLEASE, please, if you or someone you know is struggling with anxiety or anxiety-related conditions, get this book and seriously apply it to your life.
Ouzola Customer (verified owner) –
In May of this year I began having panic attacks due to a traumatic event. At the time, I thought I was dying. I experienced these attacks over the next few weeks, and found out it was anxiety. A friend recommended this book and I began to devour it. A couple of weeks later I experienced the worst week of my life and was having panic attacks that would last multiple days in a row. Because of this book I was able to understand what was happening in my body, why it was happening and how to counteract it. Through practicing meditation, muscle relaxation and understanding that my thoughts were triggering the attacks, I am now feeling back to normal. I would not have known what to do if it wasn’t for this book.I didn’t realize anxiety could affect people to this level and this has given me an entirely new perspective on human suffering, as well as given me a great deal of compassion for people with anxiety disorders. If you are suffering with anxiety or having panic attacks, this book will help you tremendously (but be careful of triggers if you are sensitive to thinking about your anxiety). If you are really struggling and need help fast, I would skip to the last chapter because it lays out a step by step strategy with links back to the chapters.Most importantly: anxiety is treatable. You will get through this. This will pass. Let this be an opportunity for personal growth. Get therapy and don’t be ashamed. Also, know that there are emergency anxiety hotlines that you can call. I understand myself so much better and have a new sense of internal strength and confidence after having this experience and, honestly, I wouldn’t change anything about it, even though this has been the hardest time of my life.
rn65 (verified owner) –
I enjoyed the book immensely. It is written with enough clarity to take a medical topic and make it understandable and readable without a medical background. Enjoyed
Ouzola Customer (verified owner) –
I was diagnosed with Generalized anxiety disorder over 10 years ago and have been on medication since I was 21. I’ve been in and out of therapy for years. There is information in this book I was educated on in therapy, but nothing seemed to stick. I would learn something, feel better for a while, but then things would come back.With the help of this book, I now clearly understood from a biological perspective how and why they were teaching me what they were. I now have a clear path going forward. The why behind the what!!!This is an amazing down to earth read with scientific backings, like nothing I’ve read before. I wish I could go back 14 years and tell my 20 yr old self, there’s a reason behind all this, just read this and now go talk to the experts, but then most of the studies in this book wouldn’t have been performed yet. LOL
J. Zoghby (verified owner) –
As one who suffers from anxiety and tried many things to relieve it, this is the first book that explains at a neurological level . I came away feeling totally liberated having gained a much deeper understanding on this subject. Made a lot of sense to me!. I would recommend this book to all that suffer from anxiety in any form and manner. Easy to understand as it is not written from an academic text book format but for the average person. I would also recommend this to all coaches, mental health practitioners, counsellors and psychologists.
hooter (verified owner) –
info is quite valuable, but laid it on a little thick. easy to read, in small doses. should be helpful for over anxious people.
Cyn (verified owner) –
Great book for exhausted people who’ve been trying to beat/overcome crippling anxiety disorders alone! Especially with very few psychologists & fewer psychiatrists … try looking in a rural area or small city – ha! America’s HealthCare system is on it’s last legs. (RNC, BSN for 20 plus years in hospital). Big Pharma owns our leaders, our healthcare, hospitals and, yes, Us! They can take away our insulin – they can take away our lives, loved ones, homes & self-respect. Well, time to move to Denmark! Quality of life & health so much better … This helpful book reminds you that in order to be a whole functioning person … the mental – physical – spiritual parts of you must be healthy & balanced! Many health professionals forget this. Peace 🕊️ be unto you …
DLKascak (verified owner) –
This book has helped me with anxiety issues better than my counselling group! It simplifies how our brain works; why it reacts to stimulus the way it does; and gives me tools to use to control my anxiety. By registering my purchased book, I got access to an additional chapter online about prescription medication and also some worksheets to help me identify emotional “triggers” and how to cope with them.
Kate (verified owner) –
I loved the clear and practical tools the author offers to combat anxiety when it is not helpful. I find the underlying neuroscience fascinating and being able to understand how the amygdala works is very helpful. I am grateful she wrote the book and am better able to understand my anxiety when it appears.
That Dude (verified owner) –
Great helpful tips and resources. I have had anxiety for years because of emotional invalidation from my parents. Their answer was always ‘deal with it!’ when they didn’t have any help to give. Well, I starting the process of helping control my emotions through this book.
Eric (verified owner) –
Well researched and practical guide to understanding anxiety and rewiring your brain to overcome unneeded fear responses. I highly recommend!
Nick (verified owner) –
Amazing , informative , a must read for anyone dealing with anxiety. Best book have read on the topic .
Tracy (verified owner) –
This book is written in common language rather than using scientific language making it one of the easiest books I have read. It lets you know how things work which for me is important because if I know the why then I can start understanding how to fix it.
Terry Murphy (verified owner) –
The author’s words and recommendations are great tools. While many of the tools have been presented to me over my mental health journey, the presentation in this book helps me understand the ‘why’ and what I need my focus on for improvement.
Tina (verified owner) –
I wish I would have read this book years ago. I found the information easy to understand and very useful!
Smith (verified owner) –
honestly it’s a great book…I would highly recommend that everyone read this
beka (verified owner) –
i have been having very bad anxiety and panic attacks recently, but my therapist recommended this book because it helps looking at what’s really going on when you’re feeling so anxious. it’s been helping so much so far because 1. reading is helpful and 2. looking at the facts vs the fears of your anxiety can and will help you overcome this. you’re not alone! seriously buy this book
TonyAMG (verified owner) –
As a 38 yr old male who served in the military, anxiety was not much of an issue for most of my life, but that changed. As my anxiety took over it was hard for me to understand why it was happening and what to do. This book was amazing at revealing how our brains work and deal with anxiety. Recommend to anyone who deals with stress and anxiety no matter how minimal.
JH (verified owner) –
Anxiety comes in many forms, and this book has practical, easy-to-use strategies for handling them all. I was fascinated to learn about the different triggers for anxiety and why some strategies work well, and others don’t, depending on where in your brain the anxiety is coming from. It is full of research, yet written in a very approachable and easy-to-understand way. My copy is marked up with notes, and I’m buying extras to share with people I know. I highly recommend this book!
Marcella C (verified owner) –
This book is helping me
Understand where anxiety starts from and giving me tools to incorporate when I’m anxious. Thank you for writing this book!
Flygurl182 (verified owner) –
I like it
G Lobato (verified owner) –
Absolutely amazing book the the therapist to gain a deeper understanding and how to explain what is occurring neurologically for their clients! Also, I believe it’s a very easy and informative read for the person trying to find relief. There are so many practical methods that are easily explained for finding freedom from anxiety.
Vivek S Krishnani (verified owner) –
Teaches you what is really going on inside & why !!
Also teaches you how to change it !!
Great book !!
Ouzola Customer (verified owner) –
Well-written and thorough, this book was so helpful and eye-opening.
Review Guru (verified owner) –
If you feel like you would benefits from knowing the why and how behind your anxiety this is a must read! This book has been endlessly helpful in explaining why I have anxiety and WHY the things that I am told to do (meditate, breathe, etc) work to help reduce anxiety.
Richard Mathews (verified owner) –
This author made it easy for me to understand the complex sources of anxiety and how to rewire those patterns.
Q (verified owner) –
The authors do a great job explaining what contemporary neuroscience has taught us about crippling anxiety. It’s very comforting to learn that your brain is really just doing the job that it’s been trained to do through millions of years of evolution. About half the book consists of practical exercises that readers can do that will reduce anxiety. I don’t understand the reviews that say the book is short on advice. There is plenty of practical advice that readers can use to reduce anxiety–although medication, a counselor, and a doctor may be needed also. The only downside is that it doesn’t deal with depression, but that’s not the authors’ purpose in writing.
Linda Rey (verified owner) –
As someone with anxiety / panic disorder I LOVE this book! It’s so beneficial to know the science behind it! Thank YOU💗💗💗
Ouzola Customer (verified owner) –
Coming from someone who has struggled with anxiety for a majority of my life. This read was was Interesting and insightful.I have never been a person who sits down to read but if you truly struggle with anxiety, this is such a good read.
Jim McCool (verified owner) –
A great deal of useful information on how to cope with and overcome anxiety.
Lots of helpful techniques to get over, around, and through anxiety
Art (verified owner) –
Whether or not you are suffering from any of these conditions, this book is a great read for anyone. My wife gave me this as a gift and it was much needed information that I needed. This book is easy to read and understand with back-to-back exercises for a person to do when reading the book.
Melissa (verified owner) –
Somehow, understanding the neuroscience and biology behind all anxiety disorders is truly liberating. The insights in this book are real power to master your thinking and feeling, understanding mind-body connection and seeing more deeply into your consciousness and mechanisms of life. Wow is right!
The first half explains these principles, while the second half covers practical techniques and exercises to apply this knowledge in trigger situations and learn to re-wire, re-remember, augment and overcome traumatic experiences that linger in the body and psyche. Memory is felt all over the body.
I recommend this book to everybody I talk with about anxiety. The audio book can be listened to in about 6 hours. Money very well spent!
Joannschmitt (verified owner) –
I’ve been dealing with anxiety and panic attacks for months now and my councilor recommended this book. It has taught me how to change my thinking and stop focusing on bad