Anna Mathur Plife

'Gently challenging, deeply empowering, ' Julia Samuel, Sunday Times bestselling author of This Too Shall Pass

"Some people don't like me"

"Bad things will happen to people I love"

"I'm going to fail"

... these words underpinned my anxieties and nightmares. I bet they feature in yours too.

Our fears are anchored in the unavoidable truths of life; all things reach an end, bad things happen, and we lack the control we crave.

As an experienced psychotherapist, who's had years of therapy, I realised that ploughing endless energy into trying to control the uncontrollable is keeping us all tired, wired, and worried. Ignoring fears doesn't make them less true, it makes them more powerful. I decided to try a different tact and it changed my world.

Instead of doing everything I could to ease and avoid life's uncomfortable truths, I sought a deeper acceptance of them. Through using this approach, my clients and I discovered that fear began to loosen its grip. We were living more intentionally and peacefully.

So, face your fears one chapter at a time, and discover who you are without worry, doubt and people-pleasing holding you back.

Anna Mathur is a psychotherapist and bestselling author. She's passionate about taking therapy out of the consulting room, sharing her personal and professional experiences online. She offers supportive insights on Instagram (@annamathur), via online courses, in-person events, and through her incredibly popular podcast 'The Therapy Edit'. Anna's podcast has now released over 250 episodes and received over 3 million downloads, with guests including Fearne Cotton, Sophie Ellis Bextor, Anna Whitehouse, Holly Tucker, Giovanna Fletcher and Liz Earle.