The Wisdom of Anxiety: How Worry and Intrusive Thoughts Are Gifts to Help You Heal

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, as many as 40 million adults in the US suffer from some kind of anxiety disorder—and it's a growing issue for kids as well. For anyone troubled by obsessive thoughts, insomnia, and other manifestations of anxiety, counselor Sheryl Paul offers a shelter in the storm. In The Wisdom of Anxiety, Paul reveals that anxiety, like any emotion, is a signal—a clear bodily invitation to heal and renew your trust in your choices, self-image, and core values.

Weaving together practical exercises, Jungian analysis, and lyrical personal stories, Paul offers drug-free approaches for accessing the gifts in different kinds of anxiety, including the existential anxiety around questions of the soul and spirit. The Wisdom of Anxiety also gives special attention to the anxiety summoned by life's transitions, from universal concerns like the change of the seasons to major events such as a career change, marriage, or pregnancy.