Taming Your Amygdala: Brain-Based Strategies to Quiet the Anxious Mind

by Catherine M. Pittman

A chronic sense of unease. Nagging what-ifs.
Worry about what other people think.
Paralyzing phobias. Full-blown panic attacks.

Anxiety shows up in a lot of different ways and can permeate every aspect of your life. The good news is that although it can feel confusing and overwhelming―as if things will never get better―it is possible to retrain your brain and put yourself back in the driver’s seat.

In Taming Your Amygdala, clinical psychologist Dr. Catherine Pittman offers scientific insight, clear explanations, and simple brain-based strategies to help you overcome excessive worry, anxiety, and fear. Based on the principles of neuroscience and cognitive behavioral therapy, the tools in this workbook will teach you the “language of the amygdala” so you

Understand how and why your brain gets “hijacked” by anxiety and fearIdentify and cope with anxiety triggers and stuck pointsDevelop new, adaptive coping skills to prevent and reduce anxious thoughts and feelingsLive your life to the fullest, breaking free of the limits of chronic anxiety, paralyzing worry, or debilitating panic

Genres: Nonfiction, Psychology, Self Help, Neuroscience

170 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 1, 2022

Reviews

[Kkaaccyy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly useful and easy to understand

[Bonni · Rating 5 out of 5]

If anxiety interferes significantly with your everyday life, or you have a loved one who often seems stuck watching "The Anxiety Channel" (as referenced in the book), I recommend the second half of the book. If you're not sure if anxiety is the culprit, I recommend starting with the first half of the book. It begins with an overview of how the brain works and common ways in which the amygdala, specifically, can cause unnecessary and unhelpful feelings of anxiety. The second half addresses thought patterns that contribute to anxiety. I listened to the audiobook but chose to purchase a hard copy to have on hand to review some of the questionnaires and self-report surveys that can help target problem areas and the degree to which these problem areas might be interfering with daily life.

[Stephanie]

While this workbook style book came recommended by a faith based counselor, it explains the role your amygdala contributes to anxiety in a very scientific way. I found the information on the relationship between the cortex and the amygdala interesting. Again, from a scientific perspective, it explains what is happening when anxiety is fueled by always trying to anticipate what could happen in a particular situation.

“Too many times we accept our thoughts as indicators of reality and forget that the cortex can be prone to misinterpretation or false conclusions.”

How important it is to take every thought captive!

[Lanà · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books on how does the anxiety work I ever read.
I must admit, this is not my first book on this topic and I have read many, each of which has something special. So many facts present in this book we're not quite new or something extraordinary for me. The reason why I think this book so good is that it contains almost all one could ever search for in order to start the own self-help. It's well written and easy to understand, not super easy, but also not super academic. I liked many questions of self-check and various methods proposed to go along in order to reduce the spontaneous activation of amygdala.

[Sarah Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️ the book isn’t intended for providers, so definitely reinforced things I knew and/or have been implementing for clients. I have some more language and tools to use now which is helpful! However, I can see where if I were not a provider, I would feel overwhelmed by some of the information and detail. Just know that it truly is a way to learn how your brain is wired and ways to rewire it and reduce anxiety!

[Michael Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

The exercises help you rate how much your inner critic/anxiety/high standards etc are classed as unhelpful thinking.

All these derail your life and cause misery!

Once you master to observe when these thoughts arise then you can address them via these suggested exercises.

I suggested reading the Power of Now as an accompanying book!

[Sidnee Sawyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary: your anxiety is a lying ass hoe and you are capable of difficult things🥰 great resource!!

[Omid Hosseinzadeh · Rating 5 out of 5]

مطالعه این کتاب در دنیایی که همه ما زیر فشار های و تنشهای روانی زیادی هستیم ضروری و نجات بخش است .کتاب بسیار ساده، همه فهم، کاربردی و به دور از اطلاعات روانشناسی زرد است .

[PottWab Regional Library]

O

[Lindsey]

The good stuff starts around chapter 4 and ends before the conclusion, if you're looking for scientific information.

I saw a therapist who recommended it. I've never been a fan of the "Take back your life!" approach to managing mental health issues or otherwise treating them as something that isn't normal. This book does that quite a bit in the introductory chapters and the conclusion is literally called Take Back Your Life. If I could roll my eyes, I would. It felt patronizing.

The actual content from chapter 4 to 13 is pretty good. It clearly lays out where anxiety comes from and what to do about in a straightforward, easy to understand way, without any of the self-help stuff that's always been my least favorite part of talking to therapists.

I got the Kindle book thinking it would be a good pocket reference to carry around on my phone, and I think it would be if you diligently marked the sections that teach you how to calm your anxiety down. I didn't, and if you've been in therapy for a while, you probably don't have to do that. For someone picking this up because it's the most accessible option to them for helping with anxiety, however, I think it would be invaluable.