Synopses & Reviews
Anxiety doesn’t only affect the person who has it, but everyone who interacts with him and her—and in a relationship, its effects can be even more damaging and profound. No matter how supportive the partner, anxiety disorders can wreak havoc on a relationship, increasing conflicts, misunderstanding, and tension. Anxious in Love is a relationship guide for partners who have an anxiety disorder that offers readers proven skills for calming their anxieties and communicating with their partners. First, readers learn to self-soothe when their anxiety is triggered so that they can calm and center themselves when faced with their worries and fears. Second, readers learn to understand their anxiety from their partner’s perspective and develop new skills for handling anxiety-related conflicts that may arise. This section will be especially helpful for readers whose anxiety is triggered by disagreements in the relationship. Lastly, readers practice self-sufficiency and work on not relying on their partners to ease their worries or calm their anxieties. This can create an unfair burden on the partner that can lead to tension and conflict. This section emphasizes that it is the reader’s responsibility to take care of himself or herself in order to maintain a healthy relationship. The strategies in this book can help reduce conflict in any relationship that is affected by anxiety and increase communication and understanding between partners.
Review
Anxiety is, without doubt, the greatest enemy faced by couples, and its regulation is the most challenging and important achievement in marital happiness. The authors describe this crucial dilemma with deep and profound clarity and its resolution in clear instructions and exercises. Every couple who follows this path will end up in the kingdom of marital bliss. As the authors say, practice leads to permanence. I recommend this book not only to all couples, but also to all couples therapists. It will make their work with couples less anxious!”
Harville Hendrix, PhD, author of Getting the Love You Want and coauthor of Receiving Love with Helen LaKelly Hunt, PhD
Review
Anxious in Love brings help for anxiety disorders into new territory, revealing how it can affect both partners in a relationship and endanger the well-being of their connection. In a compassionate, step-by-step strategy, the anxiety disorder is first managed, and then mastered using both behavioral and psychological tools. Ultimately these practices are woven into an effective program for couples to useone that empowers both partners to calm the inner and outer effects of anxiety on their relationship and maintain a quality connection. Anxious in Love is an invaluable resource and guide for anyone suffering from an anxiety disorder or anyone in a relationship with someone who suffers from anxiety.”
Eleanor Payson, LMSW, author of The Wizard of Oz and Other Narcissists
Review
Anxiety, phobias, compulsions, and social avoidance can erode and even destroy relationships. Anxious in Love gives you the tools to decrease, manage, and even eliminate your excessive anxiety (or to understand your anxious partner). After reading the simple but powerful methods in the book, I am confident you'll be anxious to try them and will feel better right away.”
Bill O'Hanlon, author of The Change Your Life Book and Rewriting Love Stories
Review
Above all, therapists should not overlook the great advantage of prescribing Anxious in Love as a workbook for patients to use in tandem with ongoing psychotherapy. Its use will help patients get more out of their therapy by promoting self-awareness and self-reliance, as well as expanding self-care for stabilization, boundary development, and affect management.”
Claire Frederick, MD, coauthor of Inner Strengths and Healing the Divided Self
Review
This book is written primarily for people suffering from anxiety, but also for their partners. . . . There is a wide range of specific exercises for readers to try, so they can find what works best to reduce the overall anxiety level, recognize emotional and physical triggering experiences so the anxious reaction can be prevented, and perhaps most importantly, to learn to be calm, not merely avoiding the anxiety. . . . The authors bring multiple human examples from their decades of clinical experience, simple assessments, and many practical exercises. They create a light and reassuring mood with a genuine concern to assist healing. . . . Anyone suffering from the potentially crippling fallout from any of the potentially crippling experiences of anxiety is likely to have significant benefit from actively engaging with this book.”
Robert B. McNeilly, MBBS, CET, director of the Milton H. Erickson Institute of Tasmania
Review
"This book unlocks the door on home design, giving you the keys to creating a home that lifts your spirits and agrees with your lifestyle."
--Candice Olsen, one of North America's top designers and host of Divine Design on HGTV
Review
"Everyone wants to have their dream kitchen and home. Finally her is the guide on what to do and how to do it successfully. I wish I had had this book when I was redesigning my own!"
--Joanne Weir, chef, cookbook writer, and star of KQED's Weir Cooking in the City
Review
This book is a welcome addition to the anxiety disorders field. Comprehensive as well as clearly written, it provides a wealth of information on the use of meditation and mindfulness practice in recover from anxiety difficulties.
—Edmund J. Bourne, Ph.D., author of The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook and Coping with Anxiety
Review
"Dr. Brantley’s book is clear and warm. It takes the mystery out of meditation and explains how things that at first sight appear ‘ordinary’ are in fact very important. His extensive clinical experience and his empathy constantly shine through the book."
—Jonathan Davidson, MD, director of the Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Program at Duke University
Review
"I think the book is fantastic and believe it will fill an important niche in the treatment of anxiety disorders. The information on the physiology of anxiety and the stress response helps to demystify the symptoms for readers, making their problem seem more manageable. Beautifully guided meditations anticipate and address the questions that anxious new meditators will have. The instruction to stay present with the anxiety is powerful and healing. I know I will be recommending it to my patients and colleagues."
—Holly B. Rogers, MD, staff psychiatrist with Duke University Counseling and Psychological Services
Review
"As a psychotherapist and teacher of stress reduction, I find this book helpful to clients and clinicians, as well as to meditators wishing to deepen their own practice. Brantley gives practical and compassionate guidance to anyone seeking skillful ways to work with anxiety and panic."
—Allie Rudolph, LCSW, founder and codirector of the University of Virginia Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program
Review
“In spite of the breadth of evidence that emotional health can affect patient outcomes in heart disease, most cardiologists recognize neither the importance nor the treatable nature of emotional and behavior patterns that lead to worsening cardiac risk factors. This book compiles this information in a readable and practical way. The strength of this work is in the details—it is essentially a road map to emotional health, with specifics such as relaxation and anger management, with step-by-step techniques that can immediately benefit the patient.”
—Kim Allan Williams, MD, FACC, FCCP, FAHA, professor of medicine and radiology and director of nuclear cardiology at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine and president of the American Society for Nuclear Cardiology
Review
This is a long awaited book! Fruzzetti is a master clinician who does rigorous science in order to provide those of us doing treatment and those in need of it something that works. This is hope for all of us working with individuals, couples and families who suffer. Thank you, Alan, for this timely and important work.
—Suzanne Witterholt, MD, distinguished fellow of the American Psychiatric Associationand director of Ananda Services for Dialectical Behavior Therapy in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Minnesota
Review
Barton Goldsmith has provided couples with a step-by-step guide to a healthy relationship. All couples, reading the short chapters and doing the explicit and powerful exercises, save, deepen and transform their relationship. I recommend it for all couples.
—Harville Hendrix, Ph.D., author of Getting the Love You Want: A Guide for Couples and coauthor of Receiving Love
Review
… I found this book to contain a great deal of wisdom, which is made easily accessible to the reader. I have experienced fifty wonderful years of married life and so know the practical steps to emotional fitness for couples shared here are of great value.
—Bernie Siegel, MD, author of Prescriptions for Living and 365 Prescriptions for the Soul
Review
This book has some very good ideas on how couples can stop their anger at each other and live more successfully together.
—Albert Ellis, Ph.D., noted psychologist and author of A Guide to Rational Living
Review
Bull's-eye! Like a Zen archer, Barton Goldsmith releases an arrow into the very center of intimacy. And like a Zen monk he writes with a disarming charm and graceful elegance, creating a book that is fun, funny, yet penetratingly wise. My advice is simple - Read it.
—Shawn Christopher Shea, MD, author of Happiness Is and Psychiatric Interviewing: the Art of Understanding
Review
Goldsmith is the BEST natural born therapist I have ever met. I thoroughly enjoy working with him.
—David Viscott, MD, TV and radio talk show host and author of The Making of a Psychiatrist
Review
Goldsmith's articles and books on relationships are right on the mark.
—Edward M. Hallowell, MD, author of Driven from Distraction, Dare to Forgive, and Delivered from Distraction
Review
I can HONESTLY say that Goldsmiths's book is outstanding-a really terrific combination of good bedside manner, useful and practical information, and common sense.
—Anne Sheffield, award winning author of Depression Fallout and How You Can Survive When They're Depressed
Review
At last a book that not only guides the reader when it comes to successful relationships but shows us the value of emotional fitness: communication, nurturance and constancy, in partnering. By subscribing to Goldsmith's theory and practice, couples will end up with a more satisfying connection and a better sense of each other's needs, as well as their own.
—Susan Shapiro Barash, author of The New Wife: The Evolving Role of the American Wife
Review
Love is all you need-but, you also need a well-written, easy-to-follow roadmap to the heartland. Renown relationship guru Barton Goldsmith has provided this map in Emotional Fitness. It is your guidebook to revitalizing your relationship.
—Jeffrey K. Zeig, Ph.D., director of the Milton Erickson Foundation and organizer of the Evolution of Psychotherapy Conference
Review
In Emotional Fitness for Couples, Goldsmith helps couples become proactive in their relationships by using easy to follow exercises and practical advice that allows them to enhance their interactions and their love.
—Gerald G. Jampolsky, MD, author of Love Is Letting Go of Fear
Synopsis
In Anxious in Love, an Imago therapist and a couples therapist present practical relationship tools for people struggling with any anxiety disorder that leaves them feeling disconnected and misunderstood by their partners. These strategies will help readers apply practical tools for healing their anxiety, communicating their needs, and improving their relationships.
Synopsis
Healthy relationships require trust, intimacy, effective communication, and understanding. However, if you suffer from chronic anxiety you may have trouble dealing with everyday conflicts and tensions that can arise in relationships. No matter how committed you are, anxiety can leave you feeling distanced from your partner. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to overcome the anxiety-fueled reactions that keep you from achieving true closeness in your relationship.
Written by two experts on anxiety disorders, Anxious in Love offers easy-to-use techniques for calming anxieties and strengthening communication in your relationship. With this book, you will learn to stay centered when faced with conflict, understand your partners perspective, and become more independent. By changing the way you react to triggers and stress, you will be able to focus on enjoying time with the one you love, without anxiety getting in the way.
Synopsis
Two home consultants lead the reader through the program they use with their own clients, designed to help create an emotionally, physically, and psychologically supportive living space through organizing, cleaning, decorating, and living tips.
Synopsis
What do you really want from your home? Your home is a reflection of you: Getting to know yourself is a great way to discover how your home should look and function—emotionally as was as practically. More than just a place to live, an emotionally designed home can nurture your spirit, calm your emotional roller coasters, and empower you to make needed changes in your life.
This book offers easy, step-by-step ways to find your own personal style, tame your house’s unruly hotspots, and create a beautiful, feeling, and functional home. Once you work through this book—whether it’s to create more love in the bedroom, more warmth in the family room, or simply a place for relaxation and renewal—your home will help you thrive personally and prepare you for the coming attractions in your life.
Synopsis
This is a major revision of the classic book using mindfulness to overcome anxiety. It includes information on the latest research into mindfulness, new step-by-step exercises, and new thoughts on taking daily mindfulness to deeper and more rewarding levels.
Synopsis
The Mindfulness Solution to Anxiety
Drawing on techniques and perspectives from two seemingly different traditions, this second edition of the self-help classic Calming Your Anxious Mind offers you a powerful and profound approach to overcoming anxiety, fear, and panic. From the evidence-based tradition of Western medicine, learn the role your thoughts and emotions play in anxiety. And, from the tradition of meditation and the inquiry into meaning and purpose, discover your own potential for presence and stillness, kindness and compassion-and the tremendous power these states give you to heal and transform your life.
Use this encouraging, step-by-step program to:
- Learn about the mechanism of anxiety and the body's fear system
- Develop a healing mindfulness practice-one breath at a time
- Start on the path to presence, stillness, compassion, and loving kindness
- Practice acceptance during mindfulness meditation
- Feel safe while opening up to fearful and anxious feelings
Synopsis
In this first of its kind book, an expert on the ways that emotions affect physical health presents the latest research on how anxiety, anger, and depression contribute to heart disease and what can be done to reduce the negative effects.
Synopsis
You’re concerned about your heart. You know to eat right and exercise regularly, but what you may not know is that there is an established correlation between your emotions and the health of your heart. Anger and anxiety, depression and stress can all make you more susceptible to heart disease. By learning to control these negative emotions, you can significantly reduce your risk of developing cardiac problems and increase your general well-being.
After offering an overview of how your emotions influence your heart, this book provides a comprehensive strategy for controlling negative emotions that put you at greater risk for heart problems. Use the book’s self-assessments to help you determine which negative emotions are the greatest dangers to your heart’s heath and then put its powerful set of emotional tools to work to help you manage them:
- Foster self-knowledge, expression, and acceptance
- Enhance positive experiences
- Counter negative thoughts and solve difficult problems
- Foster calm and clarity through relaxation
- Use visualization for stress management and goal achievement
- Build invaluable social support with interpersonal tools
- Encourage love, acceptance, and compassion through mindfulness practice
Synopsis
This is the first book to use dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) to help high-conflict couples regulate out-of-control emotions, tolerate distressing situations, and resolve problemsan approach proven to help even the most highly reactive couples build healthy relationships.
Synopsis
You hear and read a lot about ways to improve your relationship. But if you've tried these without much success, you're not alone. Many highly reactive couples—pairs that are quick to argue, anger, and blame—need more than just the run-of-the-mill relationship advice to solve their problems in love. When destructive emotions are at the heart of problems in your relationship, no amount of effective communication or intimacy building will fix what ails it. If you're part of a "high-conflict" couple, you need to get control of your emotions first, to stop making things worse, and only then work on building a better relationship.
The High-Conflict Couple adapts the powerful techniques of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) into skills you can use to tame out-of-control emotions that flare up in your relationship. Using mindfulness and distress tolerance techniques, you'll learn how to deescalate angry situations before they have a chance to explode into destructive fights. Other approaches will help you disclose your fears, longings, and other vulnerabilities to your partner and validate his or her experiences in return. You'll discover ways to manage problems with negotiation, not conflict, and to find true acceptance and closeness with the person you love the most.
Synopsis
A nationally recognized expert and radio personality offers a unique 10 minute a day program for helping couples exercise and tone their emotional skills, resolve problems, increase intimacy, have better sex, and cope honestly with anger and hurt.
Synopsis
The 10-Minute Relationship Workout
Peak athletic performance requires regular exercise, and a great relationship depends on regular emotional practice to stay in top form. Don't wait for a crisis to make you scramble to save your relationship. Start building emotional fitness today! Emotional Fitness for Couples is a collection of simple tips that will energize you and hone your relationship skills to championship levels-in just ten minutes a day.
Topics include: what the word 'love' really means; how to start fires in your sex life; how to date your mate; tricks for stopping an argument before it starts; and many other fun and practical ideas for getting emotionally fit.
About the Author
Jeffrey Brantley, MD, is a consulting associate in the department of psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University, and the founder and director of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program at Duke Integrative Medicine. He has done multiple radio, television, and print media interviews regarding the MBSR program at Duke. He is author of Calming Your Anxious Mind and coauthor of Daily Meditations for Calming Your Anxious Mind, Five Good Minutes, Five Good Minutes in the Evening, Five Good Minutes at Work, Five Good Minutes with the One You Love, and Five Good Minutes in Your Body.
Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD, is internationally known for his work as a scientist, writer, and meditation teacher engaged in bringing mindfulness into the mainstream of medicine and society. He is professor of medicine emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, and author of numerous books, including Full Catastrophe Living, Arriving at Your Own Door, and Coming to Our Senses.