Afraid? Do it anyway! The 25 microskills in this little book will help you stand up to your fears, so you can live the life you really want.
To fear is to be human. But fear can also keep us stuck living lives that are stale, stagnant, or downright miserable. Fear leads us down paths that feel more safe, but that deep down we know are wrong for us. The good news is that you can stand up to your fears and change your life for the better. If you're ready to stop avoiding stuff and say yes to opportunity, the easy-to-implement strategies in this book will help you break the avoidance habits that have been keeping you in a rut.
Written by three psychologists, and drawing on evidence-based acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), this accessible guide offers 25 microskills to help you face your fears so you can live a truly courageous and meaningful life. With this book, you'll learn:
• Why you avoid stuff
• Tips to increase self-awareness in moments of fear
• Strategies for untangling from distressing thoughts
• How to hold the inevitable pain and discomfort of life lightly
• Ways to connect with your values and take action
We are hardwired to avoid, control, and escape the stuff that makes us uncomfortable. But if you're ready to stop living scared, the tips and tools in this little book will help you pivot back to what really matters to you.
To fear is to be human. But fear can also keep us stuck living lives that are stale, stagnant, or downright miserable. In Stop Avoiding Stuff, three psychologists offer 25 "microskills" to help readers identify how their fears are holding them back. Drawing on proven-effective acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), readers will learn how to get comfortable with discomfort, do the very things that scare them, and use values-based action to live their very best lives. Matthew S. Boone, LCSW, is a social worker, writer, and public speaker who specializes in translating mental health concepts for the general public. He is director of programming and outreach for the Student Wellness Program at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, and instructor in the department of psychiatry. He is editor of the book Mindfulness and Acceptance in Social Work, and an Association for Contextual Behavioral Science (ACBS) peer-reviewed trainer in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT).
Jennifer Gregg, PhD, is a full professor in the department of psychology at San Jose State University; and a clinical psychologist at the University of California, San Francisco, where she works with cancer patients and their families. She is an ACBS peer-reviewed ACT trainer, and has been delivering, conducting research studies, and training clinicians in ACT and other mindfulness-based approaches since 2007.
Lisa W. Coyne, PhD, is a practicing clinical psychologist, author, and researcher who has worked with young people, their parents, and adults with anxiety for over twenty years. In 2014, she founded the OCD Institute for Children and Adolescents at McLean Hospital. She is an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, and directs the New England Center for OCD and Anxiety in Cambridge, MA. Boone resides in Little Rock, AR; Gregg resides in Redwood City, CA (Greater San Francisco Bay Area); and Coyne resides in Melrose, MA (Greater Boston Metropolitan Area).
