Rewire Your Anxious Brain for Teens: Using Cbt, Neuroscience, and Mindfulness to Help You End Anxiety, Panic, and Worry

It’s time to retrain your brain! In this go-to guide for teens, four anxiety experts offer tangible tips and tools you can use every day to rewire your anxious brain; manage fears, stress, and worry; and get back to living your life.

When you’re feeling anxious, it can seem like the whole world is crashing in around you. Your heart starts racing, your thoughts feel jumbled, and you may feel like something terrible is going to happen, or worse. You aren’t alone. In fact, millions of teens experience anxiety. The good news is that there are proven-effective tools you can use now to take control of your anxiety so you can focus on the stuff you love. This book will guide the way.

Drawing on powerful cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), neuroscience, mindfulness, and acceptance commitment therapy (ACT), this book will show you the ten most effective methods for “rewiring” your anxious brain. You’ll learn:

• How to calmly observe your anxiety
• What feeds your anxiety, and how you can “starve” it instead
• Guided meditations for overcoming anxious thoughts
• Strategies to help you balance your emotions when fears and worries show up
• How to deal with uncertainty, perfectionism, and procrastination

Most importantly, you’ll learn that you are stronger than your anxiety, and you have the power to take control of your fears. Let’s face it—being a teen today is stressful and sometimes scary. But if you’re ready to put anxiety in its place and start focusing on the things that matter to you the most, this much-needed guide can help get you started.

Debra Kissen, PhD, is CEO of Light on Anxiety CBT Treatment Center. Kissen specializes in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for anxiety disorders, and has a special interest in the principles of mindfulness and their application for anxiety disorders. She is coauthor of The Panic Workbook for Teens, and is an active contributor to HuffPost, where she regularly shares information on the empirically supported treatment for anxiety and related disorders. Kissen is cochair of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) Public Education Committee. She often serves as a media psychologist, and is available for press inquiries.

Ashley D. Kendall, PhD, is a clinical psychologist who conducts NIH-funded research on mental health treatment for teens, and specializes in treating anxiety- and stress-related disorders in teens and adults. She received her PhD in clinical science from Northwestern University. Kendall is particularly interested in combining CBT with mindfulness-based techniques to help people overcome anxiety, stress, anger, and depression.

Michelle Lozano, LMFT, is a marriage and family therapist at Lutheran Social Services of Illinois, with placement at John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital at Cook County in Chicago, IL. Lozano belongs to the ADAA, and the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy. She has guest lectured at Loyola University Chicago, as well as The Graduate School at Northwestern University, on working with the patient’s family system in therapy. Lozano provides family and group therapy to children and adolescents with chronic medical conditions in an effort to improve their emotional well-being and overall health. She is particularly interested in providing patients with the education and tools to become their own mental health coach to live more fulfilling lives.

Micah Ioffe, PhD, is a clinical psychologist who specializes in the treatment of youth anxiety disorders. She earned her PhD in clinical psychology from Northern Illinois University, with an emphasis on child and adolescent development. Ioffe utilizes both CBT and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) in her work with teens to help them move through anxious moments feeling empowered, fulfilled, and brave.