Thrive, by Rob Kelley, is a well written, engaging and educational CBT workbook that explains personality types, unhelpful thinking styles, use of language and how they combine to cause anxiety by producing limiting thoughts leading to restrictive actions that 'prove' to us that our anxiety is justified, perpetuating a negative and unhealthy cognitive/behavioral cycle.
Kelley explains how we can spot limiting thoughts, examine and reject them if they serve no positive function, actually replace the negative spin we apply to our own lives with an increasingly positive one.
I found the workbook format effective as I could easily compare and learn by my own responses to questions and, as the author says at the beginning, actually writing in the book is a positive step forward toward success more than just thinking about it.
I still run through the sections that seem currently relevent to me every few months and can gauge my own progress by previous responses.
There's an excellent tip in there - keeping a list of positive things that have happened daily, big and small.. someone smiling at me, a pleasant chat with the neighbour, a day out with the kids. You run through the top 10 a few times during the day, spending a few seconds remembering each one.. The list in the notebook on my phone goes back over a year, reminding me of many good moments I'd have forgotten by now.
I've found this book invaluable in my own life!
- Additional Links
- http://www.thriveprogramme.org/
