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Rewire Your Anxious Brain for Teens: Using CBT, Neuroscience, and Mindfulness to Help You End Anxiety, Panic, and Worry
It’s time to retrain your brain! In this go-to guide for teens, four anxiety experts offer tangible tips and tools you can use every day to rewire your anxious brain; manage fears, stress, and worry; and get back to living your life.
When you’re feeling anxious, it can seem like the whole world is crashing in around you. Your heart starts racing, your thoughts feel jumbled, and you may feel like something terrible is going to happen, or worse. You aren’t alone. In fact, millions of teens experience anxiety. The good news is that there are proven-effective tools you can use now to take control of your anxiety so you can focus on the stuff you love. This book will guide the way.
Drawing on powerful cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), neuroscience, mindfulness, and acceptance commitment therapy (ACT), this book will show you the ten most effective methods for “rewiring” your anxious brain. You’ll learn:
How to calmly observe your anxiety What feeds your anxiety, and how you can “starve” it instead Guided meditations for overcoming anxious thoughts Strategies to help you balance your emotions when fears and worries show up How to deal with uncertainty, perfectionism, and procrastinationMost importantly, you’ll learn that you are stronger than your anxiety, and you have the power to take control of your fears. Let’s face it—being a teen today is stressful and sometimes scary. But if you’re ready to put anxiety in its place and start focusing on the things that matter to you the most, this much-needed guide can help get you started.
192 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 1, 2020
83 people are currently reading
124 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
January 29, 2023
This book was my penance for falling asleep on a dreadful virtual conference on teenage mental health. I’d put it off until Christmas break, but when I made it my Boxing Day project…well, I just couldn’t hang. One presenter went on for eight minutes just listing her credentials (with a smile). Strange: I have no attention span for presentations, but I can read books all day long. In my head, I thought, “I’d read a thousand books on this topic before I have to sit through another of these.”
It's geared toward teens themselves: it begins nearly every chapter with a situation teenagers might face, and tells two different reactions to them. It might be prepping for a test or hearing gossip or procrastinating over a project. Does a very good job of that, focusing on what affects this age group most.
Then it provides solutions for each based on proven practice, backed by plainly told science. The techniques offered are very easy to understand, and instructions for how to employ them are very clear. The chapters aren’t very long, and even though there were “assignments” and tasks to complete on worksheets, I didn’t feel pressured to try them, nor did I think teens would think that as well. Some of them even seemed fun. I especially liked the mindfulness tasks, which was the reason I picked this up in the first place.
One negative: the use of the non-word, “themself.” I really, REALLY hate non-words. I wonder if my application to the Grammar Police Academy has been reviewed yet.
Also, sometimes I think about how to market this to teens, the intended audience, other than as an assignment. But on the other hand, any attempts to get too much on their level would surely be seen as lame. Coming from a dad, and I should know.
Students could use it, and counselors, teachers, therapists, and parents would like it. Good as a workbook or manual on the bookshelf. Worth it!
It's geared toward teens themselves: it begins nearly every chapter with a situation teenagers might face, and tells two different reactions to them. It might be prepping for a test or hearing gossip or procrastinating over a project. Does a very good job of that, focusing on what affects this age group most.
Then it provides solutions for each based on proven practice, backed by plainly told science. The techniques offered are very easy to understand, and instructions for how to employ them are very clear. The chapters aren’t very long, and even though there were “assignments” and tasks to complete on worksheets, I didn’t feel pressured to try them, nor did I think teens would think that as well. Some of them even seemed fun. I especially liked the mindfulness tasks, which was the reason I picked this up in the first place.
One negative: the use of the non-word, “themself.” I really, REALLY hate non-words. I wonder if my application to the Grammar Police Academy has been reviewed yet.
Also, sometimes I think about how to market this to teens, the intended audience, other than as an assignment. But on the other hand, any attempts to get too much on their level would surely be seen as lame. Coming from a dad, and I should know.
Students could use it, and counselors, teachers, therapists, and parents would like it. Good as a workbook or manual on the bookshelf. Worth it!
February 10, 2020
Where was this book 20 years ago when I was sick to my stomach each morning before heading off to school for reasons unbeknownst to me? Hello Anxiety!
I found this book mind blowing and an absolute power tool in coming to terms with, understanding, and managing everyday anxiety and occasional panic attacks.
Written in the style of sharing a story, assessing the situation, discussing what is both physically and mentally occurring, and then doing an exercise to help overcome similar situation in your own life.
Through online work pages, note taking, journaling and more this book leaves you with a plethora of tools to use in managing your everyday anxiety. By helping teens to understand what is physically happening inside during anxiety/panic attacks it empowers them to take back the control they feel slipping away.
At 35 this book was life changing for me, I only wish I had it in my teens. I would encourage parents and teens alike to dive deep into this power house novel and don’t forget your highlighter!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I found this book mind blowing and an absolute power tool in coming to terms with, understanding, and managing everyday anxiety and occasional panic attacks.
Written in the style of sharing a story, assessing the situation, discussing what is both physically and mentally occurring, and then doing an exercise to help overcome similar situation in your own life.
Through online work pages, note taking, journaling and more this book leaves you with a plethora of tools to use in managing your everyday anxiety. By helping teens to understand what is physically happening inside during anxiety/panic attacks it empowers them to take back the control they feel slipping away.
At 35 this book was life changing for me, I only wish I had it in my teens. I would encourage parents and teens alike to dive deep into this power house novel and don’t forget your highlighter!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
July 23, 2021
Practical strategies based on brain science. Looking forward to supporti.g students when they return for the 2021-2022 school year.
April 10, 2020
*I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
As a psychologist specialising in Neurosciences with experience on education, I strongly believe this book will be able to help many teenagers manage their anxiety levles.
From an educational point of view, it offers all possible serious approaches regarding the types of learners. It firstly shows the theory of every aspect of brain functions and areas involved in the process; basically the authors explain what happens inside the brain that makes you anxious and why it happens.
Then, it indicates the reader to open a journal in which they will analyse what happens within them, so they'll be able to identify the anxious features and beehaviours they may be having.
After that, the authors suggest exercises that would allow the teenager to realise how harmful a certain emotional response will be for their bodies.
The last feature I find effective from this book is that it shows examples of pieces of writing done by peers, which makes everything much more credible for them.
This book is a must for teenagers who feel they need to control their anxiety and for parents or other people close to one who might suffer from anxiety to recommend or offer as a gift.
As a psychologist specialising in Neurosciences with experience on education, I strongly believe this book will be able to help many teenagers manage their anxiety levles.
From an educational point of view, it offers all possible serious approaches regarding the types of learners. It firstly shows the theory of every aspect of brain functions and areas involved in the process; basically the authors explain what happens inside the brain that makes you anxious and why it happens.
Then, it indicates the reader to open a journal in which they will analyse what happens within them, so they'll be able to identify the anxious features and beehaviours they may be having.
After that, the authors suggest exercises that would allow the teenager to realise how harmful a certain emotional response will be for their bodies.
The last feature I find effective from this book is that it shows examples of pieces of writing done by peers, which makes everything much more credible for them.
This book is a must for teenagers who feel they need to control their anxiety and for parents or other people close to one who might suffer from anxiety to recommend or offer as a gift.
October 20, 2023
This didn’t rewire my brain, I might actually be worse now
October 16, 2020
This is an excellent resource for therapists working with teens. It is written in a way that is easy to understand, includes evidence-based CBT principles, and features downloadable worksheets to assist teens in completing the practice exercises. I especially appreciated the "how is this exercise rewiring your brain" sections throughout the book, since I find that explaining the rationale behind whatever I'm asking clients to do improves their motivation and willingness to challenge their anxiety. Overall, a great book! I would highly recommend this to teens, parents, and those working with anxious teens.
April 3, 2020
This is a great resource for teens, as they struggle so much now that gossip spreads faster thanks to social media. The author touched on the important issues that affect a teen's mental health and gave realistic tips that teens will actually utilize in order to deal with them. I work in a middle school and see firsthand how self-esteem and bullying affect teens, along with the other issues discussed in this book. I highly recommend this to anyone that works with teens or has one at home, as it gives helpful advice that can be passed on to a teen that doesn't want to read this.
May 26, 2020
As a therapist, I see a lot of children and teens with anxiety disorders. Our society is a perfect breeding ground for anxiety! While there seems to be a lot of resources for helping kids deal with their emotions, teens are often left out of this process. It's good to see a solid resource designed specifically for the adolescent brain. It's packed with great information to help teens process what their going through and offers concrete strategies and exercises to practice.
September 9, 2024
Although this had some helpful evidence based ideas, I found it way too complex for most teens, maybe even many adults. I came to it after reading the version of this book for parents. That was much more clear and better organized. I think this could be restructured and simplified to be a more useful tool for anyone. Moving on to another…
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November 19, 2020amazing book
September 19, 2023
This is really good! I’ve ordered a copy for one of my kids!
June 1, 2023
This is an excellent introduction to how the brain works and how to rewire neural pathways and responses. I liked that it wasn’t dumbed down for teens; it explained things clearly and helpfully, and could be used just as effectively by adults. I also liked how each principle came with an exercise to implement and practice.
February 18, 2021
Very practical book. Kind of like therapy without going to therapy. It has exercises in each chapter to help put into practice what you're learning. I'm not a therapist and really not someone who suffers from anxiety very often so I don't know how much power my opinion holds, but the principles ring true. I can see this being very helpful to a teen struggling with anxiety. Next step.... getting those teens to read it. 😉
May 2, 2024
Anxiety is a truly horrible disorder that influences many people's day to day life. This book not only equips you with the tools to fight it, but explains how it helps, and why you are doing what you are doing. It also gives you scenario's showing how different people reacted in different situations. I know that I will certainly use this book and get a lot out of it. It is also a fantastic read for people who have young family or friends suffering from anxiety, as it allows you to understand what exactly is happening inside their brain. I would absolutely recommend this self help book, as it expands your knowledge on the disorder while helping you to fight it!
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March 13, 2020Wow. This book helped so much. I never knew what to do whenever my anxiety hit me and nothing I read online helped either. I tried some of the methods listed in this book and it really, really helped.
October 6, 2021
Excellent
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews