self-help books

I have been having a really good week anxiety-wise. I haven't been feeling "sick" much at all, not even when I go to class. I've had the opportunity to actually think about topics other than anxiety and recovery and relaxation, which is a nice change. What's strange about this is that I have to keep reminding myself it's not the right course of action. I should be practicing my recovery and relaxation techniques in both good and bad times. I don't know, I'm still feeling a little rebellious about it all right now, wanting to just throw myself back into the person I used to be, the one who never thought about any of this.

In other words, I haven't been putting much effort into lowering my anxiety this week. The one thing I have been doing is reading / working through this self-help workbook my therapist recommended: Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life by Steven C. Hayes. I am about halfway through but haven't been blown away by it yet. I can see how it would be helpful if you didn't know anything about mindfulness and acceptance, but I have already read extensively about both, and this book (so far) is only covering the basics. Plus it seems like most of the writing "exercises" are only there to prove some point that is being made by the author, and for the most part, they are obvious points that didn't need to be proven in the first place.

I like the Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Workbook for Dummies so much better. I think I've written about it before. It covers so many different CBT techniques, and you actually feel like you are accomplishing something with its exercises. I think I am going to go back to that book once I am done with this one, because there are still some chapters I haven't worked through.

The 'Get Out of Your Mind...' book implies that other anxiety-fighting techniques, like CBT, don't work and that clearly you already know they don't work, or else you wouldn't have felt the need to buy their book. This is another reason why the book is bugging me. First of all, what works for one person may not work for another and vice versa - everyone is so different. Second, it is usually the case that knowing several different techniques is what is most helpful. I feel like CBT has helped me so much, but I don't see that as meaning that mindfulness and acceptance won't also help me. Even though CBT and acceptance are pretty much complete opposites, one of them could be more helpful in a certain type of situation. Or just the process of going back and forth between them could be helpful. Choosing among all the different techniques. Using a different one for every anxiety situation that arises. I believe variety is essential.