What do you think?
Rate this book
Anxiety : Overcome It and Live without Fear
Do you know the difference between anxiety and stress? What can you do when you have a panic attack? How do you know when it's time to get help?
Anxiety is a mental health crisis that has gripped over three crore Indians. In Anxiety: Overcome It and Live without Fear, clinical psychologist Sonali Gupta delves into the condition, using case studies to identify how anxiety can be triggered at work, in relationships, and by social media.
Gupta shares a unique glimpse into this mental health condition in India, especially among Gen Z and millennials. Recommending strategies and techniques for anxiety-prone readers, this book will help you confront your fears and take control of your life.
Anxiety is a mental health crisis that has gripped over three crore Indians. In Anxiety: Overcome It and Live without Fear, clinical psychologist Sonali Gupta delves into the condition, using case studies to identify how anxiety can be triggered at work, in relationships, and by social media.
Gupta shares a unique glimpse into this mental health condition in India, especially among Gen Z and millennials. Recommending strategies and techniques for anxiety-prone readers, this book will help you confront your fears and take control of your life.
256 pages, Paperback
Published July 20, 2020
36 people are currently reading
315 people want to read
About the author
Sonali Gupta
26 books14 followersMumbai based Sonali Gupta is one of India’s leading clinical psychotherapists with twenty years of work experience.
She works at the intersection of relationships, grief, anxiety, intimacy and compassion. She works as a consultant with Spotify India on Project Pause which focusses on mental health.
Sonali was awarded the Elle Mental Health Expert Award for 2023.
She won the Cosmopolitan Mental Health Advocate for the year 2023-2024.
Sonali writes a fortnightly column for the national daily Hindustan times called Adulting sucks and for Mint Lounge called ‘Heart of the Matter’
Her first book 'Anxiety: Overcome It and Live without Fear” was released May 2020 on by the prestigious HarperCollins. Her second book, 'You will be alright :A guide to navigating Grief published by Penguin Random House, releases on 14th October 2024
With over 1 lakh subscribers, her YouTube channel “Mental Health with Sonali’ is one of, if not the, largest for a mental health professional in India. Sonali’s work and expertise has been recognised by mainstream media. She is also deeply loved and respected within the mental health community.
She works at the intersection of relationships, grief, anxiety, intimacy and compassion. She works as a consultant with Spotify India on Project Pause which focusses on mental health.
Sonali was awarded the Elle Mental Health Expert Award for 2023.
She won the Cosmopolitan Mental Health Advocate for the year 2023-2024.
Sonali writes a fortnightly column for the national daily Hindustan times called Adulting sucks and for Mint Lounge called ‘Heart of the Matter’
Her first book 'Anxiety: Overcome It and Live without Fear” was released May 2020 on by the prestigious HarperCollins. Her second book, 'You will be alright :A guide to navigating Grief published by Penguin Random House, releases on 14th October 2024
With over 1 lakh subscribers, her YouTube channel “Mental Health with Sonali’ is one of, if not the, largest for a mental health professional in India. Sonali’s work and expertise has been recognised by mainstream media. She is also deeply loved and respected within the mental health community.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
October 22, 2020
An important book. A timely book. Confirmed a number of fears and reassured me to not overthink some. Was a bit taken aback at the kind of issues that bother people enough to reach out to a therapist (blue-tick anxiety, for example) but I was able to acknowledge that these issues exist, and there are ways to counter them in an informed, methodical manner. Read it and recommend it to people who'd benefit from it. Especially millenials.
April 15, 2021
Definitely loved reading this book. This is the first book in which I've made highlights and have folded corners of pages that I thought were important. I'm sure I'll be using this as a handbook for years to come!
June 16, 2020
The books offers several insights into anxiety in the context of work, in our social life, in today's world with social media, and of love and dating in these digital times. The author discusses approaches mentioned in various other self-help books or books by mental health professionals that you can refer to for further reading. She even draws on some fiction in one of her chapters. It's a must-read book for the times we live in.
October 10, 2020
Nice book to have an understanding of what is anxiety , how to identify it and steps to manage anxiety.
July 28, 2020
Being a mental health practitioner and a dedicated reader of self-improvement books, I have often been on the look out for books that facilitate understanding on 'mental wellness' that is, a 'life above and beyond zero'.
Though there were quite a few impressive and competent books by Clinical Psychologists and mental health professionals around the world like the 'Overcoming Series' I have talked about previously. Yet, I think a part of me always looked for books written by Indian professionals with scenarios and experiences within that context. Because the experiences may be universal, however, the context within which they occur and the 'triggers' can be uniquely diverse.
At last, came up Anxiety (Overcome it And Live Without Fear). The book deftly does the job of advancing mental health awareness especially in times of unparalleled, never-seen-before stressors (hint: pandemic). It is probably what we need to understand anxiety holistically, to be able to differentiate between helpful routine stressors to what could be 'unadaptive constant rumination' where one just cannot get 'that thought out of the mind'.
The book is easy to read, has a lot of insights through the client experiences that adds to the jargon-free, reader friendly vibe of the book. It is a tool for mass psycho-education of very common, yet widely ignored mental health concerns that hold the power to render so much of our life as incapacitated. As a young professional myself, I would encourage anyone wanting to understand anxiety, or their mental health, to pick up this book; with as much ease as they might pull up a book on nutrition or diet, or healthy habit formation.
Because as it is said by Clinical Psychologist Sonali Gupta, "..we can only learn to manage anxiety. It's not going to go away completely." And, I believe awareness is the first step towards acknowledging and managing a challenge.
Thank You Harper Collins India, for being so kind and sending in a review copy!
Though there were quite a few impressive and competent books by Clinical Psychologists and mental health professionals around the world like the 'Overcoming Series' I have talked about previously. Yet, I think a part of me always looked for books written by Indian professionals with scenarios and experiences within that context. Because the experiences may be universal, however, the context within which they occur and the 'triggers' can be uniquely diverse.
At last, came up Anxiety (Overcome it And Live Without Fear). The book deftly does the job of advancing mental health awareness especially in times of unparalleled, never-seen-before stressors (hint: pandemic). It is probably what we need to understand anxiety holistically, to be able to differentiate between helpful routine stressors to what could be 'unadaptive constant rumination' where one just cannot get 'that thought out of the mind'.
The book is easy to read, has a lot of insights through the client experiences that adds to the jargon-free, reader friendly vibe of the book. It is a tool for mass psycho-education of very common, yet widely ignored mental health concerns that hold the power to render so much of our life as incapacitated. As a young professional myself, I would encourage anyone wanting to understand anxiety, or their mental health, to pick up this book; with as much ease as they might pull up a book on nutrition or diet, or healthy habit formation.
Because as it is said by Clinical Psychologist Sonali Gupta, "..we can only learn to manage anxiety. It's not going to go away completely." And, I believe awareness is the first step towards acknowledging and managing a challenge.
Thank You Harper Collins India, for being so kind and sending in a review copy!
July 29, 2021
This book is a pretty well-written guide on understanding and taking care of your Anxiety. What I liked about it most was how simplistic it was in its language and flow which made it feel like someone was explaining the situation to me instead of reading a book meant for studying a certain topic.
This book does cover a lot of content but in a brief manner and offers quite a lot of advice through relatable examples and attempts to break down the mechanics of why we might feel anxious in order to enable us to understand our own anxiety just a little bit better.
Despite the smooth read, I could feel a little anxious while reading this book primarily because it talks about anxiety. Talk about anxietyception. XD
There are a few typos in this book here and there but nothing which breaks the content within and while it might have required a little more editorial effort before publishing, it still is a pretty good book nonetheless. For example, at one point, the author talks about how there are 198 chapters in this 240 page book. The foreword by Jerry Pinto, however, has quite the different tone.
I'm thankful that my girlfriend recommended it to me and the author wrote it as such. I would recommend everyone to read this, as given the current state of affairs, you might probably have anxiety and not realise it and if you know you have it, it might provide you with some form of closure to yourself.
This book does cover a lot of content but in a brief manner and offers quite a lot of advice through relatable examples and attempts to break down the mechanics of why we might feel anxious in order to enable us to understand our own anxiety just a little bit better.
Despite the smooth read, I could feel a little anxious while reading this book primarily because it talks about anxiety. Talk about anxietyception. XD
There are a few typos in this book here and there but nothing which breaks the content within and while it might have required a little more editorial effort before publishing, it still is a pretty good book nonetheless. For example, at one point, the author talks about how there are 198 chapters in this 240 page book. The foreword by Jerry Pinto, however, has quite the different tone.
I'm thankful that my girlfriend recommended it to me and the author wrote it as such. I would recommend everyone to read this, as given the current state of affairs, you might probably have anxiety and not realise it and if you know you have it, it might provide you with some form of closure to yourself.
June 22, 2020
Great to learn about anxiety, especially in an Indian context. Anxiety is ubiquitous the book has some good suggestions on tools to manage anxiety. Very helpful to know the right language and know the ways in which you might be make people anxious or feeling anxious yourself.
May 13, 2020
A wonderful, easily understandable guide to a complicated and confusing subject. It's a great read in the time of covid-19 and lockdowns as it puts into words and validates a lot of the confusing emotions we're feeling. It also provides actionable next steps for our feelings.
August 7, 2020
I think there couldn't have been a better time to read and talk about this book. I have been following Sonali Gupta since a long time now. And as soon as I got to know that she was coming up with a book I decided to read it. Incidentally, it came out right in these unprecedented times and I grabbed a Kindle copy.
This book is a very good source for understanding, acknowledging and managing our anxiety. There were innumerable times when I could relate to so much - to the various triggers, feelings she has described. Also, this book isn't a theoretical monologue. The writer has crafted activities to make it interactive wherein the reader is also expected to put in work and understand herself. She supplements it with plenty of examples of her clients. The book is engaging for sure, along with being immensely helpful.
Having studied and worked in Healthcare for over 6 years now, the biochemical changes lucidly explained leading to anxiety and depression are like an interesting refresher course and would be very informative for all of you who aren't from the field.
The best part of the book is that it normalises anxiety enough for you to want to talk about it, it is hopeful and makes you want to seek therapy and understand whether you need it in the first place.
I recommend each and everyone to read it.
This book is a very good source for understanding, acknowledging and managing our anxiety. There were innumerable times when I could relate to so much - to the various triggers, feelings she has described. Also, this book isn't a theoretical monologue. The writer has crafted activities to make it interactive wherein the reader is also expected to put in work and understand herself. She supplements it with plenty of examples of her clients. The book is engaging for sure, along with being immensely helpful.
Having studied and worked in Healthcare for over 6 years now, the biochemical changes lucidly explained leading to anxiety and depression are like an interesting refresher course and would be very informative for all of you who aren't from the field.
The best part of the book is that it normalises anxiety enough for you to want to talk about it, it is hopeful and makes you want to seek therapy and understand whether you need it in the first place.
I recommend each and everyone to read it.
August 22, 2021
Average read
Good book but lacks exercises to control anxiety. It does leave you with few examples but I don’t think they were enough.
Good book but lacks exercises to control anxiety. It does leave you with few examples but I don’t think they were enough.
October 1, 2021
Well, I found about this book in what is called the Google list of best self help books for Anxiety. Little did I know that the author and I share the same college. Without reading any reviews, I ordered the book first and then read the reviews.
While I was reading, I was like, Gosh, she gets me. Her thorough explanation on why we feel what we feel.
I really admire the therapist-client privacy she has maintained throughout by citing case studies and not revealing everything.
Coming to the book, She has presented different scenarios where you will strongly relate to, and not only that; you will try to analyse why do you feel that way.
Let me tell you, this book is not 100% anxiety antidote.
She has clearly said this in beginning. And she really meant it throughout her work.
I found this book helpful to an extent, because I could see how people face such issues in a similar manner and how they cope up. In a way, the author also tries to tell that we are not alone. There are people out there with same issues. This battle inside the mind isn't ours alone.
This book will surely keep you engaged.
While I was reading, I was like, Gosh, she gets me. Her thorough explanation on why we feel what we feel.
I really admire the therapist-client privacy she has maintained throughout by citing case studies and not revealing everything.
Coming to the book, She has presented different scenarios where you will strongly relate to, and not only that; you will try to analyse why do you feel that way.
Let me tell you, this book is not 100% anxiety antidote.
She has clearly said this in beginning. And she really meant it throughout her work.
I found this book helpful to an extent, because I could see how people face such issues in a similar manner and how they cope up. In a way, the author also tries to tell that we are not alone. There are people out there with same issues. This battle inside the mind isn't ours alone.
This book will surely keep you engaged.
April 20, 2021
This book and the subject it discusses deserves a voice louder than reality. I wish this book to rise to be one of the best quick-toolkit for one of the most underrated, belittled, and neglected conditions in psychology, Anxiety.
Every discussion whilst knotting it with a case study gives the topic a greater comprehension to anyone who's in need.
Be it an individual trying to get a better understanding of the condition, a student of psychology, or a therapist, this work is precise, focused, and way too soothing to so to speak.
Every discussion whilst knotting it with a case study gives the topic a greater comprehension to anyone who's in need.
Be it an individual trying to get a better understanding of the condition, a student of psychology, or a therapist, this work is precise, focused, and way too soothing to so to speak.
Read
January 17, 2025Anxiety is a natural response to stress, causing worry and unease. It can impact daily life, requiring support. It often manifests as excessive worry, restlessness, and physical symptoms. Managing anxiety involves therapy, lifestyle changes, and, in some cases, medication to regain balance oral testosterone treatment can help alleviate anxiety by balancing hormones, improving mood, reducing stress, and enhancing overall well-being.
For more info visit here : https://www.rethinktestosterone.com/b...
For more info visit here : https://www.rethinktestosterone.com/b...
December 7, 2020
May be i think this is the book which actually helped me have insight of what i had and helped me realize that they are actual problems and not something in my head. Some of the lines were my actual concerns , my questions and i liked how it is described well with good references definetly a book worth reading for everyone in this age of stress and fast forward life .
December 31, 2020
Nicely articulated book on the issues of Anxiety and its aftermath consequences.
Read
April 3, 2021It's worth a read.
May 15, 2021
Easy, Understandable, relatable, helpful book for the complex term and emotion Anxiety
August 2, 2021
Relevant book, talks of an uncomfortable topic with ease. Written simply yet succinctly.
August 26, 2021
*Audiobook*
March 10, 2022
Love her book. It's so well researched and well written. Talks about anxiety. Essential for anyone who suffers from or who knows someone who battles with Anxiety
June 19, 2023
A cohesive guideline around Anxiety and how to work around it. I wish I had read this sooner.
August 10, 2024
Well written content.
But more for the very anxious sort... and especially good for our times of hyperconnectivity and social media / tech hooked.
But more for the very anxious sort... and especially good for our times of hyperconnectivity and social media / tech hooked.
April 17, 2021
A well written book which could help people to identify their triggers for anxiety and act as a toolkit to handle it. We often use the words, stress and anxiety interchangeably. This book beautifully explains the difference. It specifically talks about the struggle of millennials, anxiety triggered by social media use. How to build "pause" rituals in our routine is another favourite section from the book.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews