Embracing Anxiety: How to Access the Genius of This Vital Emotion

by Karla McLaren

An in-depth guide for engaging with anxiety—not as an affliction, but as an essential source of foresight, intuition, and energy for completing your tasks and projects.

If you're facing anxiety, you've probably got one thing on your mind—how to make it go away. But what if this challenging emotion were actually trying to help?

"When we ignore or repress our anxiety,” teaches Karla McLaren, "it can overwhelm us. But when we learn to welcome it with skill, we can access its remarkable gifts."

Engaged with wisely, anxiety is your task completion ally—it helps you to focus, plan, take action, and fulfill your goals. With Embracing Anxiety, you'll join this acclaimed educator and researcher to explore:

• Principles and practices to befriend your anxiety at every level of intensity (before it overwhelms you)
• Strategies to engage with anxiety as a source of foresight, conscientiousness, and motivation
• Why fear, confusion, and panic are not the same as anxiety, and tools to work with each effectively
• How anxiety blends with anger, depression, and other emotions, and how to clarify these compounded states
• Using McLaren’s Conscious Questioning practice to engage with anxiety and garner its insights
• How to embrace procrastination and get things done

"When you identify, listen to, and act on anxiety skillfully, you support its purpose," teaches McLaren, "and allow it to recede naturally until it is needed again." With Embracing Anxiety, you'll learn how to get this powerful emotion on your side.

Genres: Nonfiction, Mental Health, Ebooks, Self Help, Psychology

248 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2020

About the author

Karla McLaren, M.Ed is an award-winning author, social science researcher, and pioneering educator whose empathic approach to emotions revalues even the most “negative” emotions and opens startling new pathways into the depths of the soul. She is the founder and CEO of Emotion Dynamics LLC.

Karla’s lifelong work has been focused on the creation of a grand unified theory of emotions, which she has developed through her work with survivors of dissociative trauma, through her own lifelong experience as a hyper-empath, and through extensive research into the social and biological sciences.

Reviews

[Cristie Underwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a different approach in dealing with anxiety. The author details how the reader can not only accept their anxiety, but utilize it to assist in performing tasks. The concept of Hidden Emotion Professionals was unique and something I had never heard of before reading this book. I suffer from anxiety and am going to try this approach.

[Alexandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Knihy o emocích a práci s nimi nejsou můj obvyklý šálek čaje. Když mi ale Noxi nabídlo knihu k recenzi, věděla jsem, že si musím přečíst zrovna tuto. Protože kdo z nás mršku úzkost někdy nepocítil. Pročíst se celou knihou bylo opravdu poučné.

Úzkost je emoce, které se většina z nás bojí a nesnaží se jí porozumět. Právě to Vás chce autorka v této knize naučit, jak s úzkostí fungovat a zkusit ji pochopit. Někteří z nás si úzkost pletou s panikou, ale potřebujeme ji třeba k dokončování úkolů. Tato emoce nás také připravuje na neznámé situace. Krásným sdělením je i to, že neexistují negativní či pozitivní emoce. Jen ty, se kterými neumíme pracovat. Jak řekla Hermiona "Strach ze jména jen posiluje strach z jeho nositele" a ono to tak opravdu je. Určitě to víte, ale emoce souvisejí s naším okolím, stravováním, zdravím i spánkem. Pokud toto není v pořádku, promítne se to na celé tělo. Naštěstí to lze řešit třeba kladením vhodných otázek. Tato kniha je milým návodem jak na to.

Pokud ale hledáte finty, které by mohly na Vaši úzkost fungovat, či se jí snažíte porozumět, toto je kniha, kterou by jste si opravdu měli přečíst.

[Izzy]

OMG SO GOOD. Thank you Karla for all the work you're doing around the language of emotions. So grateful to have a different relationship with and understanding of anxiety.

[Lorena · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Embracing Anxiety, Karla McLaren suggests that all of our emotions, including anxiety, are messengers with special gifts to support us. I found her unique perspective on how to identify and work with emotions very interesting. I don’t know that I agree with all of her ideas, but they have certainly given me a lot to think about and experiment with.

I really liked this book’s focus on the ways each of our emotions can help us, and I was fascinated by her concept of hidden emotion professionals (people whose work requires them to stay in one emotion). However, while I liked the ideas presented here, I struggled with the repetitious presentation. After my initial excitement wore off, I found reading the book a bit of a slog. It was worth sticking with it though, because I do think the author’s suggestions will help me develop a more positive relationship with my emotions.

The book includes an appendix on helping children embrace their anxiety, notes, and recommended resources.

I recommend this to anyone who is interested in understanding emotions.

I was provided an unproofed ARC through NetGalley that I volunteered to review.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is surprising good. I'm confident it won't work for everyone, but there are some unique approaches here that are bound to help lots of people. I'm lucky that I don't feel anxious very much, and didn't read the book for that reason. I thought it would be interesting, and it is, as well as being helpful. One of the most helpful aspects is identifying and clarifying anxiety and other emotions, which can be surprisingly subtle. This is not a quick read, and requires thought and self exploration. I think a lot readers will benefit from this one.

Thanks very much for the ARC for review!!

[Victor Movileanu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book. This is the first book I have read from Karla McLaren. It helped me learn more about my emotions and use them as a guide for action, instead of suppressing them. They are the key to so much wisdom, as I could have never imagined before. Definitely going to read other books from Karla Mclaren as well! There is still a lot to learn 🙁

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting read, well written and not hard to digest or comprehend. The author works through how we can learn to embrace anxiety, practice different coping skills and hold other emotions with our anxiety. Overall, a good read.

[ej · Rating 4 out of 5]

the concept of unvalencing emotions n listen to is the core of this book n it gets a great explanation n deep dive by mclaren, really enjoyed the concept of learning from n listening to your emotions who act as your “friends”

[Robyn Sullivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Falling in love with Karla McLaren's work. This one is no exception.