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It's Not All in Your Head: How Worrying about Your Health Could Be Making You Sick--and What You Can Do about It (Paperback)

It's Not All in Your Head: How Worrying about Your Health Could Be Making You Sick--and What You Can Do about It Cover Image
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Description



Where do you go for help when no one believes you're really sick? The doctors can’t explain your symptoms, but you know there’s something wrong because you can sense it in your body. Living with the specter of an unresolved health issue isn't just painful, it's isolating. The preoccupation and stress it causes can disrupt your career or interfere with personal relationships. If you continually experience symptoms of illness, or worry a lot about disease, you may be suffering from health anxiety--a condition that can produce physical effects of its own, including muscle tension, nausea, and a quickened heart rate. In this compassionate and empowering book, noted psychologists Gordon J. G. Asmundson and Steven Taylor provide simple and accurate self-tests designed to help you understand health anxiety and the role it might be playing in how you feel. Concrete examples and helpful exercises show you how to change thought and behavior patterns that contribute to the aches, pains, and anxiety you're experiencing. The authors also explain how to involve friends and family--and when to seek professional help--as you learn to stay well without worry.



Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT) Self-Help Book of Merit

About the Author


Gordon J. G. Asmundson, PhD, is Professor and Canadian Institutes of Health Research Investigator in Psychology and Kinesiology and Health Studies at the University of Regina, Canada, and Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Saskatchewan. Dr. Asmundson is well known for his award-winning research in the areas of anxiety disorders, health anxiety, and acute and chronic pain.

Steven Taylor, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Taylor has also received several prestigious research awards. His work focuses on cognitive-behavioral treatments and anxiety disorders.

Together, Drs. Asmundson and Taylor are the authors of a related professional book, Treating Health Anxiety, also published by Guilford.

Praise For…


"As a long-term sufferer of health anxiety, I wish I could have read this book many years ago. I know that it would have saved me a lot of grief. It is full of helpful ideas and things to do, including easy-to-follow self-assessments, exercises, and worksheets. If you worry a lot about your health, I cannot recommend this book highly enough."--Paul, age 64

"It may sound hard to believe, but I've been to scores of doctors and none of them have ever explained the issues that this book demystifies in such a simple, commonsense way. I have a whole new lease on life now--maybe you will too."--Graham, age 52

"Since reading this book, my partner has become much more rational about his anxiety. He used to hide his fears from me (while still seeking reassurance), but now he can talk about them openly and deal with them more productively. I've learned ways I can be more helpful, too, and the stress has gone down for both of us."--Jennifer, age 28

"This is the most comprehensive and useful book available for people who worry a lot about their health. It is practical, easy to read, and packed with helpful exercises. Most importantly, the strategies described in this book are based on solid scientific research, with proven effectiveness. Anyone who worries about his or her health will likely benefit from reading this book, as will the people who care about them."--Martin M. Antony, PhD, coauthor of 10 Simple Solutions to Panic; Director, Anxiety Treatment and Research Centre, St. Joseph’s Healthcare, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

"Asmundson and Taylor, two very accomplished researchers, have turned their considerable clinical and writing skills to a much-neglected topic. Full of useful scientific information, engaging anecdotes, solid advice, and no small measure of humor, It's Not All in Your Head will help put many health anxiety sufferers on the road to wellness and peace of mind."--Murray B. Stein, MD, MPH, Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego

"In a clear, sympathetic style, these expert authors throw light on the confusing area of health anxiety. Until now, people suffering from hypochondriasis and related problems have lacked a readily accessible book to turn to for information and self-help strategies. For those who have been told their symptoms are 'all in their head,' there is finally relief here, where 'it's all in this book.'"--Richard P. Swinson, MD, Department of Psychiatry, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

"If you or someone you love worries too much about health concerns, help is finally at hand. Two internationally renowned experts share the latest information and offer helpful tools to help people feel healthier and worry less. Clear, helpful, and state-of-the-art."--Theo K. Bouman, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, The Netherlands; coauthor of Anxiety Disorders: A Practitioner's Guide


"This book is definitely worth buying as an adjunct to CBT treatment, or as a first line treatment for mild health anxiety in primary care."
— Journal of Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy

"The authors present the concept of healthy anxiety and the problems of hypochondriasis, disease phobia, and somatic delusions in a straightforward and respectful manner....The authors present health anxiety matter-of-factly as another health problem to be dealt with, for which, luckily, there is help. The authors' presentation of this information is a work of art and will be useful not only to the reader with health anxiety but to the health care professional as a model of how to explain health anxiety problems to a patient....It's Not All in Your Head is evidence based. It is clearly written. The information presented is neither oversimplified nor laden with jargon....may be written primarily for patients with health anxiety, but it is a useful tool for professionals as well."
— PsycCRITIQUES

Product Details
ISBN: 9781572309937
ISBN-10: 1572309938
Publisher: The Guilford Press
Publication Date: May 5th, 2005
Pages: 212
Language: English