The Happiness Trap
Stop Struggling, Start Living
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- €3.49
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- €3.49
Publisher Description
THE MILLION COPY BESTSELLER
Do you ever feel worried, miserable or unfulfilled - yet put on a happy face and pretend everything's fine? You are not alone. Stress, anxiety, depression and low self-esteem are all around. Research suggests that many of us get caught in a psychological trap, a vicious circle in which the more we strive for happiness, the more it eludes us.
Fortunately, there is a way to escape from the 'Happiness Trap', a ground-breaking new approach based on mindfulness skills. Using the six principles of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Russ Harris can help you to:
· Reduce stress and worry
· Rise above fear, doubt and insecurity
· Handle painful thoughts and feelings more effectively
· Break self-defeating habits
· Improve performance and find fulfilment in your work
· Build more satisfying relationships
· Create a richer and more meaningful life
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Physician Harris challenges some basic assumptions about the all-American tradition of the pursuit of happiness, drawing heavily on the acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) work of University of Nevada professor Steven Hayes, which argues that happiness is not a normal state of being; pain is inevitable and what matters is how it is dealt with. The ACT prescription is to be mindful of negative thoughts and emotions, reconnect with core values, act in accordance with values and with the psychological flexibility to adapt to any situation. ACT techniques include diffusion "decreasing the impact of self-defeating thoughts (without making them go away), turning off the struggle switch, practicing expansion to make room for self-observation and connecting with the present moment. While these concepts might sound like typical self-help fare, Harris makes key distinctions: ACT is not a form of meditation or a path to enlightenment "to reap the benefits, action is imperative. More of an ACT primer than anything else, there's enough interesting content here to keep the reader, um, happy.
