The Worry Trick: How Your Brain Tricks You Into Expecting the Worst and What You Can Do About It

by David A. Carbonell

Are you truly in danger or has your brain simply "tricked" you into thinking you are? In The Worry Trick , psychologist and anxiety expert David Carbonell shows how anxiety hijacks the brain and offers effective techniques to help you break the cycle of worry, once and for all. Anxiety is a powerful force. It makes us question ourselves and our decisions, causes us to worry about the future, and fills our days with dread and emotional turbulence. Based in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), this book is designed to help you break the cycle of worry. Worry convinces us there's danger, and then tricks us into getting into fight, flight, or freeze mode—even when there is no danger. The techniques in this book, rather than encouraging you to avoid or try to resist anxiety, shows you how to see the trick that underlies your anxious thoughts, and how avoidance can backfire and make anxiety worse. If you’re ready to start observing your anxious feelings with distance and clarity—rather than getting tricked once again—this book will show you how.

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction, Psychology, Mental Health, Health, Personal Development, Audiobook

232 pages, Paperback

First published February 2, 2016

About the author

David Carbonell, Ph.D. is a Clinical Psychologist who specializes in treating anxiety. He is the author of four self-help books: Panic Attacks Workbook, The Worry Trick, Fear of Flying Workbook, and Outsmart Your Anxious Brain. He is also the “coach” of the popular self-help site, anxietycoach, and his books are all available for purchase there. In his spare time, he is the founding member of The Therapy Players, an improvisational comedy troupe of professional psychotherapists in the Chicago area.

Reviews

[Audra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book because it really takes apart what worry IS and teaches you counterintuitive methods to address it. Instead of telling you to ignore the worries it shows you how to notice when the moment they enter your mind and teaches you to confront them rather than resist them.

I don't suffer from anxiety attacks, but as a Black woman in America I find myself worrying about myself, husband, and children, especially with the current state of race relations in this country. But this book shows the difference between THOUGHTS and EMOTIONS and that our emotions are responses to our thoughts. That was eye opening for me.

I feel much better equipped to handle my worry and have the tools I need to keep it from getting to chronic worry levels.

[Lynette Caulkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this because three people in my life deal with obsessive worry and/or panic attacks, so this review is by a person coming from a somewhat removed position. The 3 stars I might otherwise rate it with are upward-qualified for greater value contained within. And later bumped up, again, as the people I shared it with report its helpfulness.

Carbonell presents what are probably several really effective strategies of dealing with worrying. He gives a straightforward reasoning about what feeds worrying, why common behaviors and traditional approaches (even somewhat newer ones such as cognitive restructuring) just do not work. His approaches make a lot of sense to me, and seem like they would be highly effective - certainly worth trying. That right there makes this book well worth its cost.

To me, this book could be greatly improved if the prolonged repetition were edited. For example, it seems the first seven chapters could easily be pruned into only two. (Later insert: **But see my wondering about this in the next paragraph, as well as the first comment to this review.)

Saying that, though, remember that I am not a person who struggles with this issue. Having struggled terribly with depression in my past, I remember that a very helpful psychologist repeated certain key things over and over, and for me that was highly beneficial, because they finally sank in. Perhaps the repetition here is soothing and demonstrates understanding for readers who seek the help this book holds. I certainly would not refrain from buying this book because of that - just remember that if that whole first half seems unnecessarily repetitive to you while reading, the gems in the last part make it worthwhile to keep with it.

[SerialReader · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have to admit that I struggled with this book.
I am very curious about anxiety and how the brain keeps us "en garde" but I found it a bit heavy to digest. It's well written and very informative yet to me it doesn't get to the point.
Ok, my brain's a bitch that likes to trick me..now what??

Read more on The Serial Reader Blog

[Billie Cotterman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not very useful. A large portion of the book discusses worry in metaphors, and there is very little practical advice. The advice that was useful is information that I have read elsewhere in larger detail (breathing exercises, meditation, etc). This book seems to be for people who are otherwise mentally healthy but have chronic worry rather than someone who suffers from depression or bipolar disorder who also has chronic worry. His advice for those people is to see a trained therapist. Yeah, thanks.

[Dew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chronic worry redirects much of your time, attention, and energy to worry rather than life. It leads you to spend more and more time “in your head,” in your internal world, trying to get your thoughts arranged the way you think they should be, always struggling and fussing with worry rather than getting out into your external world and living, doing whatever it takes to be the good parent, good friend, good employee, good neighbor, or good whoever you always wanted to be. It leads you to invest your time and energy in worry, and struggles with worry, rather than in being the person you wanted to be and living the life you hoped for.

I feel blessed that I got to read this book, because it opened my eyes to a new perspective of what I've been going through : I just worry too much!

The book was easy, funny when necessary, and full of advices and practical behaviours. I related to what it described and I was like : "what? Me too!!"

The examples were short but on point and they served the purpose of each chapter, and I really like that because I don't see the point of a book (like self help books) which mostly contains stories and experiences of other persons.

Thank you author for writing such an amazing book!!!

There’s something funny about worry. We can recognize it if we’re open to it, and it helps change our relationship with worry when we do.

[K.M. Weiland · Rating 4 out of 5]

I put this in my TBR pile when I was going through a period of extreme stress. Since then, I’ve done a lot of personal techniques to overcome anxiety, some of which are reflected in this book. Probably as much due to where I’m at right now as anything, this book didn’t blow my mind, but it did have a lot of good tips and advice and encouragement.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too repetitive. Has some interesting concepts but takes much too long to get to the "reveal"

[Nema Al-Araby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started reading this book when I finally decided it’s time I faced my fears head on. And I think I picked just about the right book to kick off my journey.
The book is brilliant and hugely quotable, not because the quotes are cool but because they are so very relatable.
It made me understand why CBT hasn’t worked for me, and it gave me ideas for other schools of therapy that could work better for my kind of thoughts and anxious mind.
The author is very humorous and he even addresses humor as a form of therapy and technique for dealing with chronic worry.

A lot of the reviews criticised how repetitive the book was. However, to me this was a plus, because when it comes to worry and anxiety, we do need these repetitions because our minds are never easily convinced, so we have to repeat the ideas and thoughts.

To say that this book has changed my life would be too much, but it certainly did show me new horizons when dealing with my own anxieties. And it gave me a push to be braver to read more about this topic, which a year ago would have been a huge trigger for me.

I absolutely recommend this book because it erased that fear I had from reading about my mental state. And because it ridicules worry, and this is exactly what we need to overcome our anxieties.

[Jolene · Rating 5 out of 5]

I struggle with anxiety. Some days it's well under control (with a daily dose of meds and some good ol' fashioned support system and positive self talk). Other days, I am so buried under worry I feel like I can't possibly get up.

It was on one of those days that I decided to pick this up off the shelf at the library. I'm not really one for self-help but it looked practical and vaguely funny.

It was exactly what I needed.

While it focuses on chronic worry, which anxiety and panic disorder don't perfectly fit under, the techniques and explanation fit just right. It made me look at the contents of my brain in a way I never had before. And many of the descriptions and depictions of worry processes were like looking in a mirror.

I will recommend this to anyone who's struggling with worry. It wasn't preachy. It didn't promise to be a miracle cure. It was just an honest and humorous way of reshaping how we look at our fears and learn to live with them.

[J & J · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm still waiting for a researcher to write about the connection between anxiety and/or depression as a symptom and not as an isolated "illness." These disorders stem from pathogens such as parasites (biggest culprit), bacterial infections affecting the brain (such as Bartonella), viruses as well as fungal infections (such as Candida). The idea that the majority of disorders such as anxiety or depression just appear in one's life with no change to the biochemistry of a person's body is ridiculous and as long as they are treated as such, with anti depressants and anti-anxieties, people will continue to be "sick" as well as addicted to mind altering pharmaceuticals. Let's get to the CAUSE, shall we, versus solely treating the symptoms.

[Emil Nuñez · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book spent WAY too much time giving examples of HOW people worry. My wife didn't even make it to the solutions part of the book (the final third) without getting anxiety.

Finally, the author gave concrete advice: basically don't keep your worry in. Let it out. Over-exaggerate what you're worried about. Sing a worry song. Repeat your worry 40 times to yourself in the mirror. Face your fear. Eventually, you get used to it. Your amygdala only responds to experiences, not what you tell it. Telling yourself to stop worrying about something counterintuitively makes you worry about it more. Just like running away from your dog in order to catch it (so it chases you), or fighting a fire by burning its potential fuel, the worry trick counterintuitively requires you to overthink about your worry.

[Joshua Soto · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve struggled with anxiety and worry for the past few years. It’s to the point of it affecting my relationships and my personal joy. This book provided really interesting insights as to why that is as well as what I can begin trying. I did the audiobook version which features a great meditation segment as well.

[The Lion's Share · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is sooo basic, I couldn't take anything new from this that isn't common sense. It lacks intelligence towards the listener/reader.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

The biggest takeaway was that I finally felt seen. Like someone actually gets it...

The author looks at treating worry with some ways I hadn't heard of. This book also focuses more on responding to worry in the moment rather than prevention, which I appreciated. We all know the typical methods to prevent anxiety and worry, so it was nice to hear something different. More tools for the toolbox, if you will. He does mention meditation and breathing, but also gives some different advice like writing your worries into limericks and haikus, or singing funny rhyme songs about it.

Overall, as a chronic worrier, I appreciated the additional tips.

[Heidi Knighton · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a chronic worrier, this book was very eye opening. Enjoyed it a lot, it's a fast, easy read, and gives you a lot to think about.

Will see if his technique helps.

[Maaz Talha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened to the audio book which added more character. Quite informative and some good tips to deal with worrying thoughts. Focused on allowing yourself to worry rather than trying to escape the thoughts and seeing how much of it is actually irrational.

[Sumit · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book breaking down the psychological mechanisms behind chronic worrying, and great tips on how to separate actionable worries from chronic worries.

[Christa Schönmann Abbühl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this funny and helpful. It was an easy read and I plan to follow some of the advice.

[Kasandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book, full of truly helpful recommendations for dealing with chronic anxiety in a counter-intuitive way (that actually works). If you struggle with anxiety much of the time, or just go through periods where it seems to hijack your thinking, as I do, this book will be helpful. Some readers have commented that Carbonell is too long-winded and/or boring, but I really enjoyed this and will refer to it again later, I'm sure. Within days of trying some of his exercises, my most recent bout of anxiety completely disappeared and has stayed gone. Highly recommended.

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have really struggled writing a review for this book. It just did not resonate with me. David A Carbonell personifies worry, in doing so, he allows the reader to take a different perspective on worrying. The remedies seem to be somewhat counter intuitive: instead of fighting and resisting your worries, acknowledge them. The book feels quite drawn out at times and anyone expecting earth shattering new approaches will be disappointed. I found the writing to be somewhat repetitive and slow to get to the point.

[Abby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible book. PLEASE READ! Honestly some of the tips changed my life.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a worrier, and I have been for most of my life. As a teenager, my mom always used to tell me 'not to make mountains out of mole hills' because my worries were often over insignificant things.

Now, as a woman in my early 30's, I still find I worry about insignificant things. But I also have a lot of fear and anxiety about things that likely will never actually happen.

2020 really didn't help me deal well with my worry, so I kicked off 2021 with this personal development book, and I learned a lot!

I appreciated how this book started with chapters explaining what worry is and what causes it. There are actually different types of worry, which I had no idea about! The author includes case studies from individuals he has worked with too during his days as a clinical psychologist. I felt understood reading this book, and like I'm not the only 'chronic worrier' out there! In later chapters, the author goes into explaining techniques and methods that you can try to help handle your worry. He explains that not every method is going to work for every individual but that you can only help yourself by giving each method a try.

I can say that after reading this book, I have taken away a more insightful approach to my worry and why it happens, and I have started to use techniques that are helping me handle it so that it doesn't consume me. And also that I am having less of the same worrisome thoughts over and over.

This book taught me that the most important thing to do with worry is to break the cycle. And the best approach to take is a counter-intuitive one, which is why many people continue to struggle with worry. The way to solve it is not how you would think! Carbonell helps the reader learn these less-obvious approaches.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who considers themselves a worrier, and would like to do something about it. He has a second book, Outsmart Your Anxious Brain, that I might pick up later this year. I think it'll be a good one to read down the road to 'check in' with myself about how I'm handling my worry after working through this book this month.

[Montana · Rating 3 out of 5]

You can find this book review and others at my blog https://montanasmusings.wordpress.com

"If you avoid the object of your worries, you will become more afraid of them."

If you're like me, you've had periods in your life where your anxiety is through. the. roof. You will look for anything, even a book, that will acknowledge and validate what you're feeling, even if you're embarrassed to admit the chronic worries you've had.

This book started out slow. I saw myself in many of the examples the author gave of his past clients and their worries. The first half just didn't do it for me. While some of the strategies he listed may help others, I found most of what he was suggesting quite boring, having almost DNF'ed the book. But I pushed through and I was glad I did. By the time I read through the second half I had highlighted and noted so many passages I might as well have just made a huge note of the whole book. I couldn't put it down because everything he said described me so well and all of the suggestions he gave to counter the anxious thoughts and chronic worries I could see myself doing. Once I had finished I felt relieved that someone finally understood some of the toxic thought processes I was trapped in. 

The reason the book is 3 stars is because of how long it took me to get to the helpful parts of the book. The first half focused on explaining what chronic worry is and the second half focused more on how to combat the worries to lead a mentally healthy life. I only wanted the list of ways to combat my worries and was a bit annoyed I had to wait so long to get to the helpful bits.

[Krissy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book to be extremely helpful. The beginning explains worry in a way that I feel anyone could understand. For those of us who experience actual panic, I'd like to warn you that the beginning of this book IS hard to read. It will make you face a lot of stuff you don't really want to think about. It made me antsy but he also points that out and says HE KNOWS it's probably causing some anxiety. You have to face it. You can't keep running and that really helped me. I read this at about 2 chapters a day. Some days I skipped it so I could really reflect on what I'd read so far. The use of metaphors was EXTREMELY helpful to me. I never really looked at worrying and anxiety in a lot of the ways described here. It also really helped to know that I'm not alone in the slightest where anxiety is concerned. Every chapter I'd just laugh and be like "OMG is he talking about me?" Honestly, this was really great. It won't help everyone. I still have anxiety but I understand it better than ever and I'm better equipped to deal with it. I'll definitely be using some of the tips. I've actually been doing so since reading each one. I'm super happy I found this. I see myself picking it up from time to time in the future just to refresh.

[Eric Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in order to help understand the overwhelming psychosomatic illnesses a dear friend has struggled with for 20+ years. The book really helped me understand chronic worry and the anxiety that entails.

This book moves along and has humor and a light touch, it is far from being academic and boring. That helps! Also, the insights are deep, especially the approach to interact directly with the worry, rather than try to get over it or cure it.

My friend continues to suffer and has only skimmed the book, so far. I have no doubt that this book would make a big difference in their life and in the lives of others.

I would give it five stars, but it lacks an index, which is a no-no in a non-fiction book, in my opinion.

Recommended.

[Steve Hanley · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are a few useful nuggets here that may help some think about worry and anxiety in a new way. For example:

About the chronic worrier: “you experience doubt and treat it like danger.”

When feeling anxious asking yourself is this danger or discomfort?

“Worry usually has a very poor record for predicting what actually happens in the future because worry is based on ideas of what would be bad rather than what is likely. If worry was your stock broker, you’d fire him.”

These were early in the book and I found fewer helpful bits as the book went on, somewhat repetitively.

[JenniferForsyth · Rating 1 out of 5]

The worry trick is a trick our brain plays on us. I was hoping for tricks I can play back on my brain.

I'm halfway done and I'm DNFing. It has been years since I've done that.
The book did not contain any actionable suggestions. It did contain:
- Meandering Ineffective metaphors and anecdotes
- Made up internal thought worries to illustrate the problem. A lot of this.
- Worry is a leisure time activity? What?
- Repeating again and again I should do the opposite of my instinct, not listing any specific actions to take.

[wilms · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book genuinely is a life saver. i spent the last two months absolutely miserable, letting my anxiety control every aspect of my life. this book untied the giant knot of fear i was and slowly helped me untangle it. i'm still untangling, but this gave me so many wonderful tips and tricks to make it easier. the man who wrote this book is an absolute genius. also his meditation guide on the website for this book is also pretty good, i recommend!

[Ryan]

“Emotions change, frequently, and often without obvious reason. Facts don’t change in the absence of new evidence. If your thought varies in this way, if it changes with your mood, then it doesn’t really indicate a present problem in the external world.”

“Our emotions are reactions to the content of our thoughts, regardless of the reality”

[Elyse · Rating 1 out of 5]

Only made it through half the book. The authors writing felt quite dreadful as if it was just a stream of consciousness repeating things over and over.

I don’t even think I can finish it. From what I gather it’s just a book around ACT instead of CBT. So basically accept the thoughts of worry and don’t fight them because that only makes it worse. Got it.