Description
Book SynopsisConquering Trauma and Anxiety to Find Happiness offers trauma victims suffering from anxiety and other disorders freedom from continued emotional suffering. National mental health statistics state 60% of adults, approximately 150,000,000 people, report experiencing trauma. The National Institute of Mental health states 42,000,000 American adults live with an anxiety disorder often resulting from trauma. Through this book's focus on affect theory and affect labeling, these millions of traumatized and anxious individuals learn to stop living with chronic stress and their reactive, inflexible, and rigid responses to life.
This book offers affect theory as a biological explanation to the consequences of living as a trauma victim by understanding what happened to them and repairing the harm. Affect theory presents nine biologically-coded affects to explain emotion, motivation, behavior, and personality with two positive, one neutral, and six negative affects. Stimulus fro
Trade Review
“When FDR said, ‘We have nothing to fear but fear itself,’ he could’ve been referring to Ellen P. McShane’s book, Conquering Trauma and Anxiety to Find Happiness. Fear had been a recurring theme in my life until Dr. McShane showed me that my old negative brain connections could be broken up and rewired into something constructive. Affect theory has helped me become both more productive and happier.” —Linda Lane, Author, Laser Lady Meets the Light Junkies>
“In a herculean, successful attempt to integrate theory, research findings and applied strategies, Conquering Trauma and Anxiety to Find Happiness will empower its readers to understand themselves and get unstuck from the tyranny of their traumatic memories and fragmented sense of self. Ellen P. McShane’s unique approach to illustrate how affect theory and affect labeling account for her valiant, life-long journey to overcome child abuse and find happiness is a generous sharing act that reveals the loving teacher within Ellen. Conquering Trauma and Anxiety to Find Happiness may become an indispensable resource in the therapist’s toolbox.” —Antonio Cepeda-Benito, Professor of Psychological Sciences, University of Vermont
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments – Introduction – Understanding Trauma and Anxiety – Linking Trauma with Anxiety – Understanding the Brain on Trauma – Making the Mind, Brain, and Body Connection – How to Recover from Trauma and Anxiety – Genes Are Not Our Destiny – Therapy Moves Us Past Trauma and Anxiety – A Letter to My Therapist on Trauma – Understanding Affect Theory and Affect Labeling – Discovering Affect Theory – The Affect System Interfaces with Our Biology – The Role of Scripts in Affect Theory – Finding Affect Labeling – The Importance of Language and the Voice – A Letter to My Therapist on Affect Theory – Exploring the Nine Affects – Understanding the Nine Affects – Interest-Excitement – Enjoyment-Joy – Surprise-Startle – Distress-Anguish – Anger-Rage – Fear-Terror – Shame-Humiliation – Disgust and Dissmell – A Letter to My Therapist on Healing – Creating an Affect Management System – Foundations of an Affect Management System – The Power of Empathy and Compassion – Becoming a Flourishing Person – The Elements of an Affect Management System – Naming Your Affect through Affect Labeling – Building an Empathic Wall – Diet and Health – The Power of Exercise – Sleep and Health – Meditation and Mindfulness – Artistic Therapy – A Letter about Scholarly Personal Narrative – Living without Anxiety – Epilogue – Index.
