Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

You are stronger than your anxiety--you are mighty . In this empowering guide, you'll find practical tools to help you shed the shackles of worry and fear and embrace a more vibrant life.

In a culture where women are still paid less for doing the same jobs, expected to juggle family and career effortlessly, and faced with the harsh realities of misogyny and sexism daily, it's no wonder you're also twice as likely to experience issues related to anxiety and trauma. But there are real tools you can use now to build personal resilience in a difficult world, move past anxious thoughts, and conquer your worries and fears. This book will help guide the way.

Be Mighty leads you on a bold quest to gain a deeper understanding of your anxiety by exploring your own "origin story"--how your early experiences led to thoughts and behaviors that may have offered comfort and protection at one time, but are now keeping you from living your best life. Using practical tools and experiential exercises based in mindfulness and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), you'll learn to respond to present-day triggers in a new way, making choices from a more conscious, values-driven place.

So, drop that outdated armor and dive headlong into this book. You'll emerge fresh and fierce, with the confidence to stand up for the life you want to live and the power to face life's complexities as your best, most authentic self. It's time to be who you truly want to be. It's time for you to be mighty!

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Introduction (p. 1)
• 1 Amplifying Your Anxiety Acumen (p. 15)
• 2 Shedding the Shackles of Anxious Avoidance (p. 27)
• 3 Cultivating Might Through Mindfulness (p. 43)
• 4 Wielding the Weapon of Willingness (p. 55)
• 5 Declaring Victory Through Values (p. 69)
• 6 Understanding Your Suit of Armor (p. 89)
• 7 Casting Off Your Suit of Armor (p. 109)
• 8 Finding Force in a Fresh Self (p. 125)
• 9 Charging Toward Your Best You (p. 143)
• 10 Living Fierce: The Finale (p. 159)
• Acknowledgments (p. 177)
• Resources (p. 179)
• References (p. 181)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

Psychologist Stoddard (The Big Book of ACT Metaphors) presents a clear, step-by-step walkthrough of the acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) model for changing one's approach to dealing with anxiety. She lays out the philosophy of the ACT model--to improve psychological flexibility by engaging with the present moment and then choosing actions "in line with deeply held personal values"--and then breaks this down into workable components: understanding anxiety, trading anxious avoidance for mindfulness, cultivating willingness to accept internal experiences that are unpleasant, consciously choosing personal values, and coupling actions to values rather than to thoughts and beliefs. Each concept is integrated with journaling exercises and thought experiments designed to create opportunities for experiential learning. While Stoddard focuses on women, her useful information applies to all. She also lists reasons women experience more stress, including societal pressure to choose cultural rather than personal values. Stoddard is authoritative, but also warm and conversational. Readers willing to work through the experiential exercises and self-reflection questions will be won over by Stoddard's practical framework for accepting anxiety as part of the human condition. (Jan.)

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Jill A. Stoddard, PhD, is founder and director of The Center for Stress and Anxiety Management in San Diego, CA. She specializes, in evidence-based treatments for anxiety and related disorders, and is coauthor of The Big Book of ACT Metaphors.