Worry: Hope and Help for a Common Condition

I picked up Dr. Hallowell's book about three years ago. I was in a horrible job with a demanding and verbally abusive boss and thought I had died and gone to Hell. On more than one occasion I seriously considered driving my car into a tree just to avoid having to go to work another miserable day. I was in counseling with a psychologist at the time who, though quite a funny guy, was of no help to me. I worried about a lot of things. I worried about everything: how to survive in a rotten job; how to regain joy in my life with my wife and newborn son; how to stop self-destructive behaviors; how to get back my lost sense of humor. I was, needless to say, desperate! Then, while browsing through the "Self-help Section" of the bookstore, I was grabbed by the title of Dr. Hallowell's book: "Worry". I bought the book and read case studies all about myself. People who suffered exactly like I did. I learned that I wasn't a failure. I wasn't crazy. I wasn't destined to live out the rest of my life as a miserably unhappy man. I talked about the book with my wife and told her I thought I was depressed and really needed help. I went to a psychiatrist who said I was suffering from Major Depression. He prescribed medication and long term therapy. The change in me was dramatic. I felt better, mentally and physically, enjoyed my family, regained my sense of humor, and, best of all, I quit my job. Of course I found another job and I'm still in therapy. I'm no longer depressed. This book literally saved my life.

I was very happy that I bought this book. As a person who suffers from worry/anxiety (learned from the best of them....my mother) I turned to this book to help me understand the reasons behind worry and what can be done to help the person suffering from it. Dr. Hallowell does an incredible job discussing the different forms of worry (including the differences between good and bad worry), the possibility of genetic reasons, how worry fits in with other mental illness (depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder), etc. He then talks about the different ways that worry can be dealt with. I was pleasantly surprised to see that he is not an advocate of just giving medication. He discusses a well-rounded approach of therapy, medication (if necessary), and things a person can do on their own. He discusses the various types of medication and how they work with different types of mental illness. The last part of the book talks about various things a person can do to help themselves deal with worry. Overall I think this is a wonderful book. It is definitely a great starting point for those who know they have a problem but are unsure of how to start dealing with it. I completely disagree with the reviewer who said this book would not be good for learning how to deal with worry. Its as if they were reading a completely different book than I did.

I found this book extremely practical and helpful. Dr. Hallowell describes different types of worry and explains the various approaches for working to curb worry. Dr. Hallowell is honest in that worry cannot be cured -- only managed. Dr. Hallowell comes up with a variety of approaches for worry including medical and non-medical. I am sending a copy of this book to all the worriers in my own family!

I appreciated the case studies in Dr. Hallowell's book because they made me realize that "I am not alone." Indeed, some very accomplished people struggle with the same "worry weight" that I do. Enough ideas are presented for attacking worry to give the reader a good start. No book solves a person's problems. But Dr. Hallowell's book can give you the tools to start whittling away at worry's effects in your life.

I got a LOT from this book. Yes, it is very simply written and there is repetition in his recommendations. However, people who worry are used to repetition, as that is what worry is all about! It is a definite starting point for anyone who has nagging worries, but doesn't need to see a therapist right away. In certain sections, there were passages that leapt off the page and demanded my attention,either personally or for others in my life who struggle with worry,paranoia, etc. in a variety of settings. I don't know what the expectation was by those who rated this book lower than 4 stars, but I definitely disagree with them!