It is only human to worry about problems in our lives - but for some, obsessing for weeks and months, avoiding social events and situations due to feelings of panic can become a regular part of our lives. If any of these describe you or a loved one, then you or they may be almost anxious. Those of us who are almost anxious may never address the issue because we don’t fully meet the diagnostic criteria for an anxiety disorder. In Almost Anxious, Luana Marques, Ph.D., describes the spectrum of almost anxiety symptoms, from normal situational anxiety on one end to a full-blown diagnosable anxiety disorder on the other. Drawing on case studies and the latest research, she gives you the tools to: Assess whether your or a loved one’s worry is a problem Gain insight on how to intervene with a loved one Discover proven strategies to change unhealthy feelings of distress Gage the physical, psychological, and social impact of your anxiety symptoms Determine when and how to get professional help when needed

Recognize obsessive thoughts that can cause worry and panic, and gain the skills to change unhealthy feelings of distress in everyday life. It is only human to worry about problems in our lives--but for some, obsessing for weeks and months, avoiding social events and situations due to feelings of panic can become a regular part of our lives. If any of these describe you or a loved one, then you or they may be almost anxious.Those of us who are almost anxious may never address the issue because we don't fully meet the diagnostic criteria for an anxiety disorder. In Almost Anxious, Luana Marques, PhD, describes the spectrum of almost anxiety symptoms, from normal situational anxiety on one end to a full-blown diagnosable anxiety disorder on the other. Drawing on case studies and the latest research, she gives you the tools to:Assess whether your or a loved one's worry is a problemGain insight on how to intervene with a loved oneDiscover proven strategies to change unhealthy feelings of distressGauge the physical, psychological, and social impact of your anxiety symptomsDetermine when and how to get professional help when needed.

Determine if your drinking is a problem, develop strategies for curbing your intake, and measure your progress with this practical, engaging guide to taking care of yourself. Every day, millions of people drink a beer or two while watching a game, shake a cocktail at a party with friends, or enjoy a glass of wine with a good meal. For more than 30 percent of these drinkers, alcohol has begun to have a negative impact on their everyday lives. Yet, only a small number are true alcoholics--people who have completely lost control over their drinking and who need alcohol to function. The great majority are what Dr. Doyle and Dr. Nowinski call "Almost Alcoholics," a growing number of people whose excessive drinking contributes to a variety of problems in their lives.In Almost Alcoholic, Dr. Doyle and Dr. Nowinski give the facts and guidance needed to address this often unrecognized and devastating condition. They provide the tools toidentify and assess your patterns of alcohol use;evaluate its impact on your relationships, work, and personal well-being;develop strategies and goals for changing the amount and frequency of alcohol use;measure the results of applying these strategies; andmake informed decisions about your next steps.

Fears, phobias, neuroses, and anxiety disorders from ancient times to the present. More people today report feeling anxious than ever before—even while living in relatively safe and prosperous modern societies. Almost one in five people experiences an anxiety disorder each year, and more than a quarter of the population admits to an anxiety condition at some point in their lives. Here Allan V. Horwitz, a sociologist of mental illness and mental health, narrates how this condition has been experienced, understood, and treated through the ages—from Hippocrates, through Freud, to today. Anxiety is rooted in an ancient part of the brain, and our ability to be anxious is inherited from species far more ancient than humans. Anxiety is often adaptive: it enables us to respond to threats. But when normal fear yields to what psychiatry categorizes as anxiety disorders, it becomes maladaptive. As Horwitz explores the history and multiple identities of anxiety—melancholia, nerves, neuroses, phobias, and so on—it becomes clear that every age has had its own anxieties and that culture plays a role in shaping how anxiety is expressed.

What to Do When You Worry Too Much guides children and parents through the cognitive-behavioral techniques most often used in the treatment of anxiety. Lively metaphors and humorous illustrations make the concepts and strategies easy to understand, while clear how-to steps and prompts to draw and write help children to master new skills related to reducing anxiety. This interactive self-help book is the complete resource for educating, motivating, and empowering kids to overcoming their overgrown worries. Engaging, encouraging, and easy to follow, this book educates, motivates, and empowers children to work towards change. Includes a note to parents by psychologist and author Dawn Huebner, PhD.

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.

“There's no writer alive like de Botton” (Chicago Tribune), and now this internationally heralded author turns his attention to the insatiable human quest for status—a quest that has less to do with material comfort than love. Anyone who’s ever lost sleep over an unreturned phone call or the neighbor’s Lexus had better read Alain de Botton’s irresistibly clear-headed new book, immediately. For in its pages, a master explicator of our civilization and its discontents explores the notion that our pursuit of status is actually a pursuit of love, ranging through Western history and thought from St. Augustine to Andrew Carnegie and Machiavelli to Anthony Robbins. Whether it’s assessing the class-consciousness of Christianity or the convulsions of consumer capitalism, dueling or home-furnishing, Status Anxiety is infallibly entertaining. And when it examines the virtues of informed misanthropy, art appreciation, or walking a lobster on a leash, it is not only wise but helpful.