50 Ways to Worry Less Now: Reject Negative Thinking to Find Peace, Clarity, and Connection

Langer speaks from hard-won experience in her valuable, heartfelt manual on curbing excessive worrying. After having readers evaluate their own anxiety levels, the author offers four basic steps: getting honest about one’s worry; claiming power over it with the help of God or another “positive power”; consciously reframing worry as opportunity in one’s mind; and using 50 “growth practices,” including meditation, to keep calm. Langer calls the root of many worries “whispered lies”—undermining thoughts like “I’ll never have enough money” or “relationships just don’t work for me.” She challenges readers to replace them with “truth phrases,” by writing down negative thoughts, analyzing them, and reframing the negative self-talk as something positive. Langer advocates forgiveness of others, no matter how hard this may be, as well as taking personal responsibility for one’s own attitude and behaviors. Lest anyone think that the author is preaching from a distance, Langer doesn’t hold back on sharing painful examples from her own life, such as a confrontation with her husband over his alcoholism. Langer’s frank and empathetic tone will comfort readers, as will the practical steps she teaches in this tome. [em](BookLife) [/em]