Excerpt from Women Who Worry Too Much

Worry is a catch-22 for many women. It leaves them feeling wound up, on edge, and filled with self-doubt. But at the same time, a part of them secretly believes that they need their worry to manage their lives and ward off disaster. They feel stuck in a never-ending double bind, caught between a rock and a hard place. For this reason, many women find worry to be the less of two evils.

By guest blogger Duane Brown, Ph.D., author of Flying Without Fear.

Recent airline accidents may have made boarding an airplane more of a challenge for people who are afraid to fly and may have persuaded others that flying should be avoided altogether. The purpose of this note is to examine reports about these accidents and offer advice to fearful fliers.

excerpt from The Turbulent Twenties Survival Guide

“The major stress I experienced after college involved this feeling of, ‘Oh my God, now I’m actually supposed to do something with my life! What the hell do I want to do?’” says Ricardo, a twenty-six-year old from Los Angeles. “I continue to feel scared because of an overwhelming need to come up with some sort of plan for affecting the world. I enjoy my job, make a fair amount of money, and have a lot of friends in the city, but there’s a constant pressure that I should be doing more, doing a better job of living up to the promise of my college education. I feel I should be leading mass social movements, changing the world, or at least using my mind to push forward truth, beauty, and happiness. There’s a sense that a nine-to-five job is a bit of a disappointment. To whom? My parents? College? Myself, I guess. I think the major stress after college for the highly educated is that we feel like we’re suddenly done with the dress rehearsal. Now we’re supposed to use everything we’ve learned and do ‘amazing’ things. It’s often hard to figure out even how to begin.”

Excerpt from Peaceful Mind

Meditation starts with simply observing the mind and body without necessarily trying to change what is seen or the seer. Most people come to meditation with the hope of changing their sense of self, but the inherent framework of a meditation practice is actually not geared towards self-improvement. Rather, meditation is more radically geared towards accepting life as it is.

by guest blogger Lara Honos-Webb, Ph.D., author of Listening to Depression

If you have been depressed for a long time, you may encounter the obstacle that you forgot what it feels like to be not depressed. Paradoxically, healing from depression may be uncomfortable to you because it may represent new territory for you. In this way, depression becomes like a habit, and may be hard to break. One way to prepare for this obstacle is to remind yourself that you deserve to be free from this habit and that you would rather be afraid than depressed. As in the fear of losing control, even positive changes will bring with them fear and a sense of losing control. As you bring awareness to the threat of changing your life, the choice you would make between comfortable depression and the unknown will be obvious.