Everything Anxiety Ever Told You Is a Lie
Reviewed By Sally Bailes September 14, 2024
Author Dr Toni Lindsay
Distributor: Exile Publishing
ISBN: 9781922539991
Publisher: Exile Publishing
Release Date: 2024
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Dr Toni Lindsay’s ‘Everything Anxiety Ever Told You is a Lie (*Well, almost everything)’ is an easily digestible curiously enjoyable self-help book considering the somewhat undesirable topic.
You can certainly tell from the cover, the text and images contained in the book that it may be intended for a younger audience (12-15, early teens). That being said there is most definitely no sacrifice of substance despite catering to a younger age bracket and as a young adult I thoroughly enjoyed the read.
It is also rather refreshing to read a self-help book written by someone in the medical* field that doesn’t feel the compulsive need to get their point across by using nothing but drab medical/scientific jargon.
Dr Toni’s approach feels more personal and endearing and despite the authors more informal approach, she still manages to do a fabulous job at dissecting anxiety; but in a way that’s less logistical, more in the vein of understanding, acceptance and getting comfortable with your own personal “anxiety guy” (if you know, you know).
Sprinkled throughout the book were these practical yet thought-provoking activities (suitable for all ages!), each one expanding both my knowledge and appreciation of my own experiences with anxiety.
These activities helped affirm that even though I (and many others) live with anxiety it is nowhere near the ‘be all end all’ we think it is, and like many other things, with the use of specially tailored tools and accommodations, we can manage it, even in the really difficult times (especially then).
On top of these wonderful activities, Dr Toni also involves the use of playful images, diagrams and other things such as lists and relevant real life examples to further help with the reader’s examination of their own daily struggles with this, at (most) times, irritating mental illness.
I really appreciate Dr Toni’s nuanced way of navigating everyday anxious issues, and the authors ability to navigate difficult topics in a simpler way, that helps make it more penetrable for younger readers.
This book takes readers on a thrilling journey of self-discovery and assessment; reassurance infused within every page, by constantly reiterating that anxiety looks different for everyone. There are countless ways to get to know YOUR anxiety better, with tools to help manage those anxious moments when they pop up, however frequent or infrequent. There is no doubt that these skills take time (and a heck of a lot of effort), but this book has some fabulous, easy and accessible resources to test/try out to help mitigate the more anxious times in life. Definitely worth the read!
*clinical and health psychologist