The Aging Well Workbook

You don’t have to turn back the clock. This powerful workbook will help you redefine the aging process, think flexibly, improve your mental health, and live life to the fullest!

For even the fittest, healthiest, and most vibrant among us, the truth is there are inevitable challenges that come from growing older. Major life transitions such as retirement, the loss of family or a partner, changes in our bodies, and changing social roles in everyday life can lead to feelings of uncertainty, loss of control, and even anxiety and depression. But aging doesn’t have to be a negative thing. You can carve out your own path. This book will show you how to live with more vitality and joy—at any age!

The Aging Well Workbook for Anxiety and Depression offers proven-effective, evidence-based skills drawn from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to help you learn the art of flexible thinking and feel more empowered and engaged with life. You’ll discover strategies for managing anxiety and depression, as well as lifestyle tips to help reduce symptoms in the future. You’ll also learn how your brain changes as you age, and find a wealth of strategies for managing these changes and making the most of your life.

If the changes you face as you age leave you feeling anxious, sad, or stressed, let this handbook guide you to take charge of your own aging process—and your mental health. You are worth it!

Julie Erickson, PhD, is a clinical psychologist, and adjunct faculty member in the department of applied psychology and human development at the University of Toronto. Erickson’s research interests focus on optimizing evidence-based psychological treatment for older adults, and reducing barriers to treatment-seeking. She offers workshops, seminars, and clinical supervision on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) with older adults. She maintains an active clinical practice focusing on the treatment of adults across the lifespan. Erickson’s research has been published in journals such as Aging and Mental Health, Depression and Anxiety, Clinical Psychology Review, and Cognitive and Behavioral Practice.

Neil A. Rector, PhD, is a senior research scientist at the Sunnybrook Research Institute (SRI); director of the Mood and Anxiety Research and Treatment Program; and director of research for the Thompson Anxiety Disorder Centre in the department of psychiatry at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, ON, Canada. Rector’s research interests focus on the study of cognitive and behavioral mechanisms of vulnerability in the development and persistence of anxiety and mood disorders, and their treatment with CBT. In addition to having an active CBT practice, Rector trains and supervises psychology and psychiatry students, runs workshops nationally and internationally, and is founder and director of the Forest Hill Centre for CBT in Toronto. He has published more than 150 scientific publications and book chapters, and is author of seven books.

Foreword writer Robert L. Leahy, PhD, is author or editor of twenty-nine books, including If Only...: Finding Freedom from Regret, The Worry Cure, and The Jealousy Cure. He is director of the American Institute for Cognitive Therapy in New York, NY, and clinical professor of psychology at Weill Cornell Medical College.