The 4 Best Books for Anxiety Picked by Renowned Psychologist

Novel Ideas 59

If you follow us on Instagram, you know my dear friend, Dr. Jaime Zuckerman (AKA Dr. Z). While we often tease each other about our treatment of books, she is a wonderful friend and an incredible therapist. Furthermore, she’s the author of one of the best books for anxiety.

Dr. Z rocked to success during the pandemic. Her no-nonsense, sarcastic approach to therapy, resonated when our country’s anxiety levels were soaring.

I’m usually seen chatting with Jaime at her kitchen counter over a cup of coffee. This year, however, I was not at all surprised to see her in Better Homes & Gardens, Psychology Today, and Vogue. She also made appearances on CBS and Fox, where she talked about anxiety disorder and other mental health issues.

When Dr. Z said she was about to become a published author, I begged her to write a guest post. While I am not her patient, she always gives me the best advice about managing stress and anxiety so I knew her book would be one of the best books for anxiety you could read.

In fact, I am thrilled to use her new anxiety workbook to help manage my own stress. We’ve got all the details on Dr. Z and her new book, Find Your Calm, below.

As an added bonus, Dr. Z has included some of the best books for anxiety, a list that she recommends to her own patients.

Now let’s meet, Dr. Z.

DrZ Headshot

Meet Dr. Jaime Zuckerman

I am a Philadelphia based licensed clinical psychologist, media contributor, podcast host and author. In my private practice,  I focus on the treatment of anxiety, depression, and everyday stress.

I also specialize in narcissistic relationships, offering consultations, educational workshops and speaking engagements on the topic. 

Why Are Anxiety Books so Important?

Many people are of the belief that anxiety is bad; that it is something to get rid of. When, in fact, anxiety is a basic, naturally occurring emotion that we need for survival. Anxiety keeps us safe. It gives us information about our environment and protects us from potential dangers. 

People’s efforts to get rid of and push away their worry and anxiety symptoms are often the very behaviors that make their anxiety worse. By avoiding our anxiety, we make it louder and stronger. Allowing ourselves to sit with our anxious thoughts and feelings, observe their presence, and let them pass is a far more effective strategy than constantly trying to avoid it. While people pleasing, social isolation, procrastination, and substance use may temporarily help us to feel better in the moment, these avoidant behaviors significantly increase our anxiety later. Anxiety books help us process these complex emotions.

About Find Your Calm

Find Your Calm is an interactive, engaging, and easy-to-use workbook to help you manage anxiety, worry, and everyday stress. Written for everyday use, this compilation of evidence-based strategies and techniques teaches readers how to be present-focused, become objective in their thoughts, and reduce anxiety. 

My hope is that readers will use this workbook as a guide to becoming more comfortable being uncomfortable, engaging in healthier behaviors, and living a more fulfilled life consistent with what they value most in life. I also hope that my book will become of the anxiety books you turn to for guidance.

What are the Best Books for Anxiety?

Find your calm

Find Your Calm: A Workbook to Manage Anxiety (Volume 1) by Jaime Zuckerman Psy. D.

This workbook can be used to help with several types of anxiety including social anxiety, generalized anxiety, panic and even just everyday stress and worry.

Find Your Calm takes behavioral strategies and presents them in a journaling type fashion. This allows the reader to remain fully engaged in the workbook and easily apply each strategy to their daily life. 

If you are looking for anxiety books for teens, our list has picks chosen by an expert.

get out of your mind

Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life: The New Acceptance and Commitment Therapy by Steven C. Hayes, Ph.D. with Spencer Smith.

This book is my favorite to recommend to my patients, and in my opinion, one of the best books for anxiety. Steven Hayes’ Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a researched based behavioral approach to the treatment of numerous psychological disorders including anxiety and depression.

This book takes you through the principles of ACT, with special attention to everyday life application. It is more than just a workbook of psychological strategies to improve mood. It offers readers a different approach to how they choose to live life. 

The happiness trap and more of the best books for anxiety

The Happiness Trap: How to Stop Struggling and Start Living: A Guide to ACT by Dr. Russ Harris

Based in the practice of ACT, this book uses easy-to-follow mindfulness exercises and playful metaphors to avoid what the author refers to as “the happiness trap.”

He explains that the ways in which we attempt to make ourselves happy can often lead to less happiness, anxiety, and depression. This book offers strategies to help us live more in the present moment, sit with uncomfortable thoughts and feelings, and live a more valued life. 

The Act Deck and more of the best books for anxiety

The ACT Deck: 55 Acceptance & Commitment Therapy Practices to Build Connection, Find Focus and Reduce Stress by Timothy Gordon and Jessica Borushok, Ph.D.

Based on ACT, this card deck offers extremely practical and applicable strategies to help with a range of difficulties including anxiety, relationship issues, depression, and chronic pain.

These cards can be used by anyone, anywhere including at home, work or in therapy. 

Isn’t Dr. Z amazing? Did any of her picks for best books about anxiety resonate with you?

For more fiction and non-fiction books about mental health and illness, head to this post.

Love Nonfiction? We do too! That’s why we created the Ultimate List of Nonfiction Books.

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