Anxiety disorders are very common psychological problems nowadays, and there are different types: phobias, panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, etc.

And although anxiety is a normal reaction of people to situations of stress and uncertainty, sometimes irrational thoughts can lead us to misinterpret some situations and, consequently, cause great discomfort.

Books to Overcome Anxiety

Since many individuals have difficulty controlling anxiety, I’ve prepared a list of books in this article that will help the reader better understand what’s going on with him or her and learn tools that will help him or her overcome, or at least accept, the situation he or she is experiencing. It is a selection of books to overcome anxiety .

1. Even if you are afraid, do it anyway (Susan Jeffers)

Anxiety causes us great discomfort, and that is why we stop doing many things when that feeling invades us; not only does it bother us, but it also prevents us from taking advantage of time and makes us have fewer opportunities. This book by Susan Jeffers aims to give the reader the tools necessary for this not to happen. It is a phenomenal work that can make your life easier when it comes to making decisions, leaving a toxic relationship or facing the future without fear of uncertainty.

  • If you are interested in this book, you can find out more about it here.

2. Feeling Good (David D. Burns)

Many people let their negative emotions dominate their life and come to dominate it completely. This book, written by psychiatrist Dr. David Burns, describes many ways of dealing with all negative emotions. In addition, the author discusses many other issues related not only to anxiety, but to other problems that affect people’s well-being. For example, how to deal with guilt, overcome the need for excessive approval of others, or how to manage techniques to build self-esteem.

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3. Anxiety and Phobias (Edmund Bourne)

There are many anxiety disorders and one of the most common is phobias , that is, irrational fears that can affect the daily lives of people who suffer from them. This book is a classic in the literature on this type of psychological problem, and has been recommended by many mental health professionals. Its contents include: the control of self-instruction, relaxation and breathing techniques, understanding erroneous beliefs, etc.

  • To read more about it, click here.

4. Mastering Anxiety Crises (Pedro Moreno and Julio César Martín)

Both authors are fully familiar with the most current treatments available for anxiety disorders , and their experience with patients over many years has led them to create this excellent text. It is a book with very clear and concise information, so that the reader suffering from anxiety crises can understand and master it. Useful for both patients and psychotherapists.

  • You can find more information at this link.

5. Treatment of depressive and anxiety disorders in children and adolescents (María Paz García Verda and Jesús Sanz)

María Paz García Verda and Jesús Sanz have created a brilliant work to help children and adolescents who suffer from anxiety and depression. It is a book that presents very useful advice so that these disorders can be overcome. It is essential for parents or psychology professionals who specialize in the treatment of these problems at this age.

  • On this page you will find more information about the book.

6. Anxiety for Dummies (Charles H. Elliott and Laura Smith)

For Dummies is a collection of books that aims to simplify some complex topics so that they can reach everyone without losing the quality of the content. This volume is ideal for those people who wish to overcome the conflict that causes them so much suffering. Different strategies and tools are presented so that the reader can achieve this.

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7. How to overcome anxiety (Enrique Rojas)

A great text that helps readers to overcome anxiety with content written clearly for the general public. A very up-to-date book , in which day-to-day problems that affect anxiety are presented, such as new technologies. It is a book to change the negative lifestyle and adopt much healthier habits on an emotional level.

  • If you are interested and want to know more about him, this will guide you.

8. Anxiety: Fear, Hope, and the Search for Inner Peace (Scott Stossel)

A real best-seller in the United States, and also available in Spanish. It is a book with an autobiographical background, as the author suffered from anxiety for many years and managed to overcome it. His experience serves as a motivation for those people who have gone through the situation he did, and in its 500 pages aims to help those who need it , so that they can leave aside their anxiety and live a full life.

  • Access this page to read more about this work.

9. The End of Anxiety (Gio Zararri)

Anxiety disorders do not occur from objective causes, but it is our interpretation of events that causes this pathology. That is why this book aims to provide tools to assess situations differently and make the necessary changes to be able to control anxiety .

  • More details about the book are available here.

10. The Mindfulness Way (John Teasdale, Mark Williams, Zindel Segal)

Mindfulness has become a very useful methodology for treating anxiety, and third generation therapies, in which this type of therapy is included, have become one of the most recent and effective paradigms for the way people live in the new modern societies.

This book is based on an 8-week program that has been tested in hundreds of studies and has proven to be very effective. Readers will learn how to deal with the events that occur in their day-to-day life more efficiently.

  • You can find more information about the book at this link.

11. Emotional Healing: Ending Stress, Anxiety and Depression Without Drugs or Psychoanalysis (David Servan-Schreiber)

A real guide for well-being and emotional balance, and is intended for all those people who want to improve their emotional intelligence to be happier. However, it focuses on two of the most frequent problems nowadays, anxiety and depression, always from the professional experience of the author, who is an expert in cognitive neurosciences and neurobiology of emotions.

12. How to overcome anxiety and depression (Joseph Luciani)

Overcoming anxiety is the greatest desire of many people who suffer great discomfort from this disorder. For this reason, works like this one deserve to be mentioned, because are intended to improve people’s mental health and, therefore, their happiness. It is a book full of useful information, with tips and tools to improve well-being.

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13. The 10 best-ever Anxiety management techniques (Margaret Wehrenberg)

Although this book is in English, it deserves to be on this list because of its great content. Throughout its pages it presents 10 really useful techniques for the treatment of anxiety, techniques that have scientific backing and have been proven for more than 10 years. It is a practical book for both patients and psychologists.

14. Panic Out: Natural technique that will help to quickly stop your panic attacks and general anxiety (Barry McDonagh)

Panic attacks are a type of acute anxiety that causes people to experience a crisis at a certain time and place, as they feel high levels of anxiety and distress with intense, terrifying thoughts that something serious may happen. For example, that they will run out of air, and therefore, die.

Although the person may feel blocked at that moment, there are effective techniques to overcome it. This book is a comprehensive guide to cope with these situations and be aware that these thoughts are totally irrational.

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15. How to control anxiety before it controls you (Albert Ellis)

Anxiety disorders can control the lives of people who suffer from them, which is why the famous psychologist Albert Ellis, creator of a type of cognitive therapy called “rational emotional therapy”, wrote this book, which aims to help those people in this situation who want to improve their quality of life and end their anxiety. This book contemplates the ideas of his theory , so widely used in psychotherapeutic circuits for its effectiveness.

  • To read more about this work, click here.

16. Overcoming Anxiety and Panic (Linda Manassee Buell)

Panic attacks are different from other disorders, such as generalized anxiety disorders, but they also have things in common. That is why this book aims, more generally, to help people overcome the different anxiety disorders that may be in their lives.

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17. Learning from Anxiety: The Wisdom of Emotions (Pedro Moreno)

Wrong beliefs, education and also misinformation can cause anxiety disorders. That is why Pedro Moreno decided to write his book “Learning from Anxiety: The Wisdom of Emotions”, a work that aims to educate people so that they can better understand what happens to them and can detect their irrational beliefs in order to be able to modify them. A book centred on Mindfulness.

18. Anxiety: practical strategies for handling it step by step (Marta Rapado)

A simple but content-rich text that provides many practical strategies for learning to master anxiety and not letting it dominate us. All the strategies presented in this work have been scientifically tested and have therefore proven their effectiveness.

  • On this page you will find more details about this work.

19. How to cure phobias and fears: dealing with everything from agoraphobia to social phobias (Paul White)

Handling fear is possible, and with this book you will learn first-hand about a whole series of activities to put into practice that will help you overcome your phobia (if you find yourself in this situation). It is a text full of useful tools and strategies to deal with all kinds of phobias, whether specific or complex (as in the case of agoraphobia or social phobia).

20. How to Suppress Worries and Enjoy Life (Dale Carnegie)

People with anxiety disorders, especially in the case of generalized anxiety disorder, are prone to worry about anything, sometimes things that are totally irrational and out of context.

And although sometimes these situations may seem rational to us , the individual cannot stop suffering from this discomfort. This book, aimed at people who suffer from this problem, contains examples and illustrations to facilitate the understanding of these disorders.

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21. Ansiedad, somebody help me! (Sara Burillo)

A real best-seller in Spain. This book by Sara Burillo, an expert in psychological help in anxiety disorders, aims to help people in this situation to deal with anxiety and to carry out more adaptive strategies that help them to live better, far from suffering. It is a clear, enjoyable and very useful book.

  • Here you will find more information about the book.