NEW HARBINGER Don't Believe Everything You Feel: A CBT Workbook to Identify Your Emotional Schemas and Find Freedom from Anxiety and Depression

I’m glad that I bought it and will recommend it to anyone who wants to improve their emotional wellbeing

★★★★★ A practical workbook that helps you challenge emotional thinking I’ve read a lot of books on anxiety and CBT, but this one stands out because it’s designed to be used, not just read. Robert Leahy does an excellent job explaining why our emotions can feel so convincing while reminding us that feelings aren’t always facts. The exercises encouraged me to identify emotional patterns and question long-held beliefs without feeling judged. I appreciated that the workbook is compassionate, evidence-based, and easy to follow, even when covering more complex psychological concepts. It takes time and honest self-reflection, but the effort is worthwhile. This isn’t a book that magically makes anxiety disappear overnight. It’s a practical tool that helps you build healthier ways of responding to difficult thoughts and emotions. If you’re willing to do the exercises consistently, you’ll likely get much more out of it than simply reading it. I would recommend this workbook to anyone dealing with anxiety, depression, perfectionism, or chronic self-criticism, especially alongside therapy or as a supplement to CBT. Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Wonderful book. Bring so much enlightenment into the mind, and how easily we get our thoughts driving our life’s, decisions and actions without thinking or discernment. Worth of reading and practicing!

I am one third of the way, reading and doing every exercise. This book is a clear, self-explanatory guide on how to deal with feelings people don't want, like fear, envy, anger, sadness, confusion, ambivalence and more. Leahy says you can have feelings about feelings : like being ashamed to feel fear, which can lead to low self-esteem, since every normal person feels fear. You can also have thoughts about your emotions, like being afraid to feel fear, which leads to avoidance, one of the precursors to depression. If had known all this book does before I bought it, I would have thought I would not be able to learn these skills. But doing the exercises in order is really empowering. It appeals to me because it addresses feelings in a totally logical, step-by-step, do it yourself without having to go to a therapist program. There may be some people that want to enhance their lives with therapy in addition to the book, but it may be hard to find one that uses Schema Therapy. However, this book can be used in addition to any therapy that your mental health professional may use. This is like having Leahy as your therapist 24 hour available, without having to travel to get improvements in your life. I am glad that an academic researcher would be willing to write this book for the layperson, since I have heard that academicians that write self-help are looked down on. I am getting relief from the pain of feeling that I haven't accomplished by now certain goals I am set on, while getting more healthy coping skills I can use towards those goals. I am being kinder to myself. For example, I did not know that it is ok, even healthy, to have conflicting feelings about people and events. I would ruminate and look down on myself because I thought ambivalent feelings are a sign of a personal flaw. I have read some good books about fear, as well as many ineffective books. But this book is full of new, useful skills.

In college a school counselor introduced me to Albert Ellis when I came to her because of performance anxiety for an audition for the campus jazz band. His ideas greatly helped me through life but seems a little dated & hard to read. I bought this book because of a friend whose thoughts seem to maneuver her to feeling badly again & again. Some of the concepts in this book are similar what I had learned from Albert Ellis but goes much deeper. I can only highly recommend! I haven't read but a chapter or two but it has moved me a lot so far!