The Little Book of Calm: Tame your anxieties, face your fears and live free

This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

Epub ISBN: 9781473552111

Version 1.0

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Rider, an imprint of Ebury Publishing,

20 Vauxhall Bridge Road,

London SW1V 2SA

Rider is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com

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Copyright © Aaron Balick 2018

Cover design: Two Associates

Aaron Balick has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this Work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

First published by Rider in 2018

www.eburypublishing.co.uk

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 9781846045547

Contents

Cover
About the Book
About the Author
Title Page
Introduction
What Is Anxiety?
Cortisol, Adrenaline, and Norepinephrine
Work Yourself up, or Work Yourself Down
Google Earth Yourself the Hell out of There
The Magic Formula
Bend It like Buffy
Ride the Roller - Coaster of Life
This Too Shall Pass
Write It Down
Be Here Now
Get up and Go
Turn the Coat Hook Upside Down
Nature, Naturally
Don’t Accept the Invitation
Feel Your Walk
The Bedside List
Trust
Nightcap
Go with the Flow
Save Bed for Bedtime
Money Secret: Get Secure
Step Aside
Exercise
Gigo (Garbage in, Garbage out) 1
Progressive Body Relaxation for Sleep
Walk It Back
Climb up a Wall (Literally)
Expand Your Comfort Zone
Avoidance (The Good Kind)
Avoidance (The Bad Kind)
Lean In
Have an Ally
Watch the Video
Me Time
Money Secret: When There’s Enough
Be Short - Sighted
Life’s like an Assault Course
Breathe
Let’s Do the Time Warp Again
Immunise Yourself Against Negative Emotional Contagion
Turn Your Velcro Suit Inside Out
Slow It Down
Just Notice
Charm in Your Pocket
Primitive Fears in Modern Life
Ask Yourself What You Need
My Way
Grateful
Your Little Toe
Catastrophising
Get Neat
Get Messy
Let It Be
Be Your Own Supportive Friend
Let It Go
Somebody Else’s Show
Secondary Feelings of Primary Emotions
Let’s Get Physical
Do Something Hard
Go Fly a Kite
Clean Dishes/Dirty Dishes
Don’t Paper over the Cracks
There Are 26.1 Miles Before the End of a Marathon
Put on Your Oxygen Mask First
Get Your Hands Dirty
Change It, Accept It, or Get out of the Way
Perish the Thought (Literally)
Gigo (Garbage in, Garbage out) 2
Saltwater Fish in Fresh Water
Pain Vs. Suffering
Wearing a Wet Nappy
The Puppy Under the Bed
Device Overwhelm
Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid
Descartes was Wrong
Zone of Control
Taste Your Food
Let the Sunshine In
All Change
Money Secret: Spend on Others, Spend on Experiences, Not Things
See the Sea
Walking Meditation
Love and Be Loved
Feel the Earth Beneath Your Feet
That Guilty Musical Pleasure
Come on in, the Water’s Cold
Screaming Baby on a Plane
Turn That Great Dane into a Toy Poodle
What Your Body Needs
Meditation
Night Swimming
Music
Top of the Hill
Don’t Fight the Now
Do Good

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr Aaron Balick is a clinical psychotherapist with twenty years of experience. He has taken the amazing insights from psychology out of the consulting room and made them accessible to the wider world. He has been an ‘agony uncle’ on CBBC and BBC Radio 1 as well as a mental health expert on television, online, and in print. He speaks internationally, offering a better understanding of the psychology of everyday life.

Aaron lives in London where he is the director of an innovative psychology hub, Stillpoint Spaces.

ABOUT THE BOOK

The Little Book of Calm has the magic formula for anxiety.

This definitive book, written by a trained psychotherapist, who regularly appears on CBBC and BBC Radio 1, offers techniques, advice and inspiration on the best and most effective ways to manage anxiety.

From exercises to help you put your worries into perspective, to relaxation methods for when anxiety attacks, Dr Aaron Balick shows you how to feel more at ease and sustain a sense of calm.

INTRODUCTION

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Sometimes life can be a struggle, and finding calm in the face of life’s challenges doesn’t always come naturally. Once we accept that these challenges are life, not something apart from it, we can meet them with equanimity.

As a psychotherapist with twenty years of experience, I’ve worked with hundreds of people to help them find this equanimity in relation to their life’s challenges. I have learned that there’s no magic bullet that works for everyone. The trick is to find strategies that work for you, and the rest is about acceptance.

I have also learned that most people underestimate their capacities to meet their life’s challenges. I never cease to be amazed by what people can accomplish when they let go of their imagined limits to face their possibilities with an open heart.