From my Bookshelf: Beyond Anxiety

A Book That Freakin' Works (Apparently!)

Spoiler alert: This book might just trick you into feeling better.

I’ll be honest—I opened Beyond Anxiety with the same enthusiasm I usually reserve for dentist appointments and assembling IKEA furniture. Anxiety books tend to go one of two ways:

1. Boringly scientific (“Studies show that cortisol does... zzz”)
2. A little too ‘woo-woo’ (“Just manifest a stress-free life!” Oh, sure. I’ll just think my mortgage away.)

But Martha Beck? She’s different. She’s like that wise, funny, slightly eccentric friend who tells you exactly what you need to hear, but in a way that makes you laugh rather than cry into your coffee.

The Big Idea: Stop Fighting, Start Creating

Beck’s main argument? Anxiety isn’t a life sentence—it’s creative energy gone rogue. The more we try to control or suppress it, the worse it gets. It’s like a toddler in a supermarket—ignore it, and it will absolutely throw a meltdown in the frozen food aisle.

Instead of obsessing over our stress, Beck encourages us to harness it creatively. She suggests that the same brain that generates panic spirals is also capable of coming up with brilliant ideas, artistic masterpieces, or at the very least, an incredibly organised spice rack.

Science, But Make It Fun

This book isn’t just feel-good advice. Beck weaves in brain science, sociology, and some seriously weird-yet-genius exercises (ever tried “sense drenching”? It’s like mindfulness but with extra drama). The best part? She makes all this research digestible. No jargon. No guilt trips. Just useful, practical tools wrapped in humour and humanity.

Does It Work?

Well, Glennon Doyle claims, “I opened this book hopeful but certain it wouldn’t work. It worked. It freaking worked.” And honestly? I get it. I tried Beck’s approach, and instead of doom-scrolling Twitter at 3 AM, I found myself journaling, drawing, and—brace yourself—even relaxing. (Who knew?)

Final Verdict: Read This, Laugh, Feel Better

If you’re looking for a book that will magically erase all anxiety, this isn’t it. (Spoiler: That book doesn’t exist.) But if you want a genuinely funny, insightful, and weirdly practical way to manage stress, this one’s a winner.

Read it. Try the exercises. And if nothing else, at least you’ll have something more interesting to talk about at dinner parties than the weather.

Dannielle Haig

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