The Mindful Freak-Out
A rescue manual for being at your best when life is at its worst
Published on 1. February 2024
Book
Paperback/Softback
240 pages
978-1-922539-36-6 (ISBN)
Description
The Mindful Freak-Out is written for people who are suffering during emotionally painful moments, such as when:
* You are facing anxiety or panic that seems to take over your life.
* The ferocity of anger that you are feeling threatens to damage relationships.
* Your life feels overwhelming, like you just can't take it anymore.
When life serves you up an intensely distressing moment (and life will find a way), you are in a competition with your inner 'threat system' for control over you. Your threat system will try to take over and make you react impulsively. When this happens, you not only suffer from the painful emotion, but are left with distressing consequences.
The Mindful Freak-Out presents strategies from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) to give you the evidence-based tools you need to face highly distressing moments. The goal of these strategies is to soothe your suffering while giving you the inner strength, wisdom, and commitment needed to face the emotional pain in a flexible way that you feel good about (rather than deeply regretting your words or actions later on).
Loaded with practical advice, exercises, and information, this book will help you harness the power of mindfulness and compassion to live your best life, even when intensely painful emotions show up.
* You are facing anxiety or panic that seems to take over your life.
* The ferocity of anger that you are feeling threatens to damage relationships.
* Your life feels overwhelming, like you just can't take it anymore.
When life serves you up an intensely distressing moment (and life will find a way), you are in a competition with your inner 'threat system' for control over you. Your threat system will try to take over and make you react impulsively. When this happens, you not only suffer from the painful emotion, but are left with distressing consequences.
The Mindful Freak-Out presents strategies from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) to give you the evidence-based tools you need to face highly distressing moments. The goal of these strategies is to soothe your suffering while giving you the inner strength, wisdom, and commitment needed to face the emotional pain in a flexible way that you feel good about (rather than deeply regretting your words or actions later on).
Loaded with practical advice, exercises, and information, this book will help you harness the power of mindfulness and compassion to live your best life, even when intensely painful emotions show up.
Reviews / Votes
"You don't often see the words 'mindful' and 'freak-out' in the same sentence, muchless think of them as behaviors that can work together. But ADAA member Eric
Goodman, PhD, in his latest book, postulates, rightfully so, that there will
always be times when we do or feel like we need to "freak out" and that we can
actually do so in a mindful way."
- Anxiety & Depression
Association of America For Goodman, the answer is with intention and compassion rather than reactivity.
"Other animals ... have to go along with whatever their nervous systems are
doing," he says. "But if humans can get mindful, if they can get off autopilot
and just be in the moment, unhooked from the stories that their mind's telling
them, then they can choose to respond to things that are based on who they want
to be - their value system rather than just their threat instincts."
- BezzyBC.com "Running on autopilot can make you behave in ways you will later regret, The Mindful Freak-Out by clinical psychologist Dr Eric
Goodman can help you maintain control. It's loaded with practical advice,
exercises and information to help you harness the power of mindfulness to live
your best life".
-
Better Homes and
Gardens Magazine "In this highly interesting conversation, Eric
Goodman, Ph.D lecturer at Calpol State University, will shed much light
on what anxiety really is and on why only two types of people never have
anxiety: psychopaths and dead people. In the end we hope you will agree
that demonizing anxiety cause more problems than it solves, and with
self-compassion coupled with exposure therapy we can minimize it and live
a normal life."
- Creating with Franz, podcast interview
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Auckland
New Zealand
Dimensions
Height: 227 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
454 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-922539-36-6 (9781922539366)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
01/2024
1st Edition
Exisle Publishing
from
€7.49
Available for download
Person
Eric Goodman, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist, author, and speaker who specializes in helping people face their social fears and anxiety disorders. His private practice is in San Luis Obispo, California and he is a lecturer at Cal Poly State University.
Content
Contents
How to use this book 1
Quick-start guide for responding to highly distressing moments 3
Introduction 9
PART 1:
Getting off emotional autopilot
(compassionate awareness)
1. When your emotions hijack you 23
2. Notice suffering and slowing down 27
3. Setting an intention to do what is helpful 31
4. Anchoring your attention in the present moment 39
PART 2:
Facing painful moments with compassion
(compassionate acceptance)
5. The problem with fighting your feelings 61
6. Engaging your compassionate mind 69
7. Compassionate mind training 95
8. Noticing and releasing struggle 115
9. Unhooking from unhelpful thoughts 123
PART 3:
Responding based on your Best Self
(compassionate action)
10. Noticing and naming urges 141
11. Choosing your Best Self response 149
12. Committing to taking action and noticing the outcome 173
13. Navigating common freak-outs 191
PART 4:
Overcoming challenges to acting with compassion
14. Fears, blocks and resistances to compassion 223
15. When things don't go well: compassionate self-correction
vs punishing self-criticism 233
Beyond freaking out
Appendix 1: The emotionally distressing moment rescue exercise 245
Appendix 2: Exercise record form 250
Appendix 3: Rescue strategy for being at your best when life is at its worst:
brief outline 255
Acknowledgements 257
Endnotes 259
Index 265
How to use this book 1
Quick-start guide for responding to highly distressing moments 3
Introduction 9
PART 1:
Getting off emotional autopilot
(compassionate awareness)
1. When your emotions hijack you 23
2. Notice suffering and slowing down 27
3. Setting an intention to do what is helpful 31
4. Anchoring your attention in the present moment 39
PART 2:
Facing painful moments with compassion
(compassionate acceptance)
5. The problem with fighting your feelings 61
6. Engaging your compassionate mind 69
7. Compassionate mind training 95
8. Noticing and releasing struggle 115
9. Unhooking from unhelpful thoughts 123
PART 3:
Responding based on your Best Self
(compassionate action)
10. Noticing and naming urges 141
11. Choosing your Best Self response 149
12. Committing to taking action and noticing the outcome 173
13. Navigating common freak-outs 191
PART 4:
Overcoming challenges to acting with compassion
14. Fears, blocks and resistances to compassion 223
15. When things don't go well: compassionate self-correction
vs punishing self-criticism 233
Beyond freaking out
Appendix 1: The emotionally distressing moment rescue exercise 245
Appendix 2: Exercise record form 250
Appendix 3: Rescue strategy for being at your best when life is at its worst:
brief outline 255
Acknowledgements 257
Endnotes 259
Index 265