So I have personally struggled with anxiety for about 4-6 years. This book made my life SO much easier. I got more work done, became more social, and even started going to church more. I’m not saying it will work for everyone but it definitely worked for me, and I tried a lot of stuff. It helps with more than just anxiety...it helps you learn that there is so much more to it. That you can beat it and don’t have to let it control you.

Nothing new, it may be of value to someone who has read little about anxiety but overall, I wasn't impressed.

I have been working with students experiencing mild to severe anxiety.for several years now and I will definitely recommend the read to the older ones. Written in an easy to understand manner, easily accessible read. Would recommend to anybody who ever struggled with worried and fears to people whose closest ones experience it. Full of strategies that can be used in every day to minimise symptoms of anxiety. Highly recommended.

A good read for someone who is starting to look into the causes behind their anxiety. This is an interesting and informative read. I suffer from anxiety and have read a lot about it. This book gave me very little new information. It did though provide some things to think about and put a new perspective on a few things. 

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

A friend recommended this book to me as this year I have really struggled with my anxiety.

One of the things I have struggled with this year is how much I feel my body isn't connected with my mind and the thoughts that i battle with. Some days I think I can go about and do a dozen things, but then the next day my body feels it and so on. This book explores a variety of ideas to link with anxiety from genetics to what we may have been exposed to, to create this anxiety. It does give a lot of food for thought and talking about that I liked the link between money and food to, see quote below:

'I also realized that money is in many respects strikingly similar to food, especially in the way that our behaviors tend to be tied much more to our emotions than to facts and figures.'

Another is social media, one that I have been trying so hard not to use everyday, but sometimes find so hard. I realised one day how much time I had been wasting when I could be reading a book or going for a walk and I didn't realise how much this was affecting me. I think sometimes we need a little prompt like this from ourselves to try see what are our triggers.

acronym ACT: • Accept your reactions and stay in the moment. • Choose a new direction that is consistent with your goals and values. • Take action—follow through with new behaviors more in line with reaching your goals.

This book is basically a very handy tool to have if you have anxiety and one that I think I might return to again for ideas and further research into dealing with my anxiety.


Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book.

4 stars.*

As a functioning high-anxiety person, I tend to scoff at books that purport to cure or answer this complex issue.

As the parent of a high-anxiety teen, I find myself seeking answers and methodology that might help me to help her.

Dr. Small's Guide to Anxiety breaks down the basic ins & outs of Anxiety (as an umbrella diagnosis) and then goes deeper into various sub-groups and issues often plaguing high-anxiety individuals.

I liked his no-nonsense tone-the book doesn't rely too heavily on medical jargon but goes deep enough to ease one's mind that it's not a book advocating magical thinking.  I particularly like that he doesn't shy away from discussing successful combinations of traditional medical treatments and non-medical treatment.

I'll be using this as a reference and will recommend it for sure.

*with thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for this honest review.

A good starting point if you want to explore anxiety. Mixture of information, snapshot stories as examples & suggestions for possible techniques to manage anxiety.

This is a handy little guide for those who really know little to nothing about anxiety. It covers all the basic information - the causes, the treatments, etc. - in a friendly, easy-to-understand manner. However, it really never goes beyond the basics. So, for a reader who has already read up on anxiety, been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, tried medication/therapy/alternative treatments, etc., it doesn't really provide any new information. In fact, basically all of the information in this book can be found in a combination of Wikipedia and WebMD articles.

I think anyone dealing with Anxiety deserves to be told and read books like this, Dr. Small does a good general discussion and bringing awareness to triggers and responses to people that deal with Anxiety daily.

3.5***

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publishers and the author for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

There were sections of this book that I found to be very helpful - the sections regarding practical steps to reducing anxiety: changes to diet, exercise and brain function, apps for meditation, etc. I personally found less helpful the large chunks of text as to why someone might be feeling anxious and recognizing anxious behaviour. The latter elements would be more useful to those diagnosing patients rather than those suffering from anxious thoughts. Indeed, one might feel more anxious reading the lists of things that make others anxious! 

I thought the sections regarding anxiety as a result of technology were really interesting and thought-provoking. Certainly thinking that a personal takeaway will be less time spent on devices.

Great book with a ton of useful information. Definitely a play on words, as there is nothing small about how this book can help with anxiety. If you or someone you know has anxiety this would be for you. Understanding the ins and outs will help so much.

I received an advanced reader copy in exchange for a fair review.

I found this book really helpful. As sufferer of social anxiety I found it easy to use. I refer to this book a lot.
Thank you to both NetGalley and Humanix Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my open,honest unbiased review

Very helpful and insightful book. Many very good tips and methods to help with anxiety, which I feel will be very helpful to many people. I enjoyed reading it. Highly recommended.

<b>4 stars</b>

*Thank you to the author and NetGalley for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

This was a very informative little book on a few of the most common mental health conditions people are faced with, covering anxiety, depression, phobias, and OCD. An abundance of useful information is provided for each of them, such as what it is, the different levels/forms and the symptoms to look out for, why it can occur and the different methods of treatment that are available, including herbal supplements, medications, self-help activities, lifestyle changes, professional support services, and alternative therapies. I think it could be beneficial for some.

This "small" guide packs an awful lot of information in! As someone affected by GAD (generalised anxiety disorder) and SAD (social anxiety disorder) I found this a really informative read, and it helped me learn more about why my brain works the way it does. It gives an easy-to-understand overview of what anxiety is, strategies for reducing it, and information on treatments and therapies. It then goes into more specific detail about GAD, panic disorder, social anxiety, phobias and OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) - meaning you can pick and choose which sections to read, depending on what's relevant to you. It's a well-written, informative book, and although it seems to be very USA-centric, I think the content would be helpful to readers of various nationalities (I'm from the UK).

Anyone who struggles with a phobia, anxiety or depression will find this book helpful in finding relief.  The authors examine GAD (General Anxiety Disorder), and other manifestations including panic attacks, agoraphobia, etc.  
Just identifying specific triggers and responses will help someone with anxiety deal with their issues- highly recommended!

As a mental health therapist, I found this book to be very informative and helpful for working with my clients. I would recommend this as a resource for my clients that have and are experiencing anxiety.

This is a little book with a lot of content. It covers what anxiety is and how to recognise it, how to seek help, the many different types of help both scientific and alternative plus information on whether they are proven in success. It really is quite comprehensive. I've suffered from anxiety for many years and keep it under control with some of the treatments mentioned but even I found new information here. 

It's also quite easy to understand, there's a refreshing lack of psychobabble. And at no point does it tell you that one way is the best way; the authors leave it open for the reader to decide along with recommending seeking help with a professional. 

My only bugbear is a common theme with self help books. It's written by an American, full of America stats and helplines but published internationally. These things are no good for any other country although you can I suppose gain an idea of what to google for where you live. It's not just this book that does it but it is annoying.

That aside though a really interesting book and highly recommended

Anxiety does not mean you are crazy or a non-functioning person.

This book is a great guide to help anyone who wants to know about their own anxiety spectrum issues or to help them understand a loved one, and to find ways of coping.

I have Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Major Depression and some OCD.  I'm always looking for ways to help me manage things and this book actually addresses all of these and more.  I found this book to be exactly what it says it is - a guide, and an excellent one for someone wanting to learn the differences between the most commonly diagnosed mental illnesses and the most common ways to treat them.

While it didn't go into depth about what having any of these illnesses was like, it did give a decent overview and then proceeded to talk about both conventional and alternative methods of coping.  It gave good ideas that could then be followed out to find more in-depth things - I personally did more research into some apps for my phone, but others could look further into therapy with CBT or ACT, etc if they had not already.

I was most happy to see that it did not insist that medication was the ONLY way. Medication is most definitely needed in some cases, but there are many folks that can get along without, or with just using it for acute phases and then removing it and relying on alternatives, etc.   In today's over-medicated world, it is a very valuable message.   Mental illness does not necessarily mean a lifetime of simply which pill to take to numb your brain.

Dr. Gary Small is a professor at UCLA Semel Institute for neuroscience and human behavior in psychiatry in aging.He also invented the first brain scan to allow doctors to see evidence of Aging and Alzheimer's disease in people that are living. Dr. Gary Small has written several best-selling books.
The Small Guide to Aniexty is a easy to read book that discusses causes and goes over treatments and therapies. If you or a loved one have anxiety you should read this book. It offers very useful information and new things that have recently been discovered.