Jan E. Fleming - The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Social Anxiety and Shyness: Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to Free Yourself from Fear and Reclaim Your Life

Think of this book as a great skating instructor. Shyness and social anxiety push us to stay at the edge of the social skating rink, grasping tightly to a safety bar. Vitality and involvement cannot happen there. This book takes you by the hand and teaches you how to maintain your balance and choose your direction while in the open rink of full social participation. Are you fed up with living at the anxious edge of life? Release your grip on the safety bar and grab this book insteadits time to go for it.

Steven C. Hayes, PhD, foundation professor of psychology at the University of Nevada, Reno and author of Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life

This well-written, accessible workbook describes a new approach for coping with social anxiety and shyness based on rigorous research by the authors and others. This book is an excellent resource for anyone who experiences anxiety in social and performance situations. I strongly recommend it!

Martin M. Antony, PhD, ABPP, professor of psychology at Ryerson University and author of The Shyness and Social Anxiety Workbook

This beautifully written book will benefit anyone suffering from shyness and social anxiety. The authors have a deep understanding and compassion for these difficulties, and their book is full of interesting and helpful exercises, all clearly explained and organized.

Ruth Baer, PhD, professor of psychology at the University of Kentucky, and editor of Mindfulness-Based Treatment Approaches and Assessing Mindfulness and Acceptance Processes in Clients

Jan Fleming and Nancy Kocovski have created a highly accessible guide to support the journey from anxiety to calm, from worry to clarity, for those who experience stress in the face of social engagements and new situations. Built upon carefully studied clinical applications and the rigorous science of focusing the mind in an open and peaceful way, this practical handbook offers health-creating relief for anyone with an anxious dispositionespecially those with social anxiety and shynessso that they can find the inner peace and interpersonal confidence needed to live their lives with more ease and well-being. Congratulations to the authors for bringing the research-proven benefits of mindfulness to the lives of so many who are sure to benefit from their empirically-proven and practical suggestions!

Daniel J. Siegel, MD, executive director at the Mindsight Institute, clinical professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and author of Mindsight, The Pocket Guide to Interpersonal Neurobiology, and The Mindful Brain

This book captures the most cutting-edge approaches for managing one of the most common, chronic, and debilitating psychological problems. Instead of trying to manage or get rid of social anxiety, the authors offer a shift in thinking toward how anxiety is transformed with an open, receptive attitude, and how a person can make progress toward meaningful life pursuits despite the presence of doubt and social fears. Many people will be helped by the insights in this workbook.

Todd B. Kashdan, PhD, associate professor of psychology at George Mason University and author of Curious? Discover the Missing Ingredient to a Fulfilling Life

The authors bring their expertise and caring approach to each of the well-thought-out steps that lead to reducing anxiety over a wide range of situations. The specific therapeutic techniques of acceptance and commitment therapy and mindfulness are translated very skillfully into exercises that lead the reader gradually, step by step, to being able to look at their own anxiety in new ways.

Richard P. Swinson, MD, FRCPC, professor emeritus at Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, and author of The Shyness and Social Anxiety Workbook

Publishers Note

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering psychological, financial, legal, or other professional services. If expert assistance or counseling is needed, the services of a competent professional should be sought.

Fusion and Defusion illustrations used by permission of Joseph Ciarrochi.

The Observing Mountain adapted from the book WHEREVER YOU GO, THERE YOU ARE by Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D. Copyright 1994 Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D. Used by permission of Hyperion. All rights reserved.

Body Scan and Mindful Stretching from FULL CATASTROPHE LIVING by Jon Kabat-Zinn, copyright 1990 by Jon Kabat-Zinn. Used by permission of Dell Publishing, a division of Random House, Inc. Any third party use of this material, outside of this publication, is prohibited. Interested parties must apply directly to Random House, Inc. for permission.

Distributed in Canada by Raincoast Books

Copyright 2013 by Jan E. Fleming and Nancy L. Kocovski

New Harbinger Publications, Inc.

5674 Shattuck Avenue Oakland, CA 94609

www.newharbinger.com

Cover design by Amy Shoup; Acquired by Catharine Meyers; Edited by Nelda Street

All Rights Reserved

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Fleming, Jan E.

The mindfulness and acceptance workbook for social anxiety and shyness : using acceptance and commitment therapy to free yourself from fear and reclaim your life / Jan E. Fleming, MD and Nancy L. Kocovski, PhD.

pages cm

Summary: Two leading social anxiety researchers present The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Social Anxiety and Shyness, an acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)-based workbook filled with assessments and exercises designed to help those with social anxiety or shyness. The book includes a companion CD with guided mindfulness exercises and worksheets-- Provided by publisher.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 978-1-60882-080-1 (pbk.) -- ISBN 978-1-60882-081-8 (pdf e-book) (print) -- ISBN 978-1-60882-082-5 (epub) 1. Social phobia--Treatment. 2. Bashfulness. 3. Acceptance and commitment therapy. I. Kocovski, Nancy L. II. Title.

RC552.S62F54 2013

616.85225--dc23

2013009843

For my husband, Mitch, for your love, your support, and your faith in me.

J. E. F.

For my husband, Jim.

N. L. K.

Dear Reader,

Welcome to New Harbinger Publications. New Harbinger is dedicated to publishing books based on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and its application to specific areas. New Harbinger has a long-standing reputation as a publisher of quality, well-researched books for general and professional audiences.

As part of New Harbingers commitment to publishing books based on sound, scientific, clinical research, we oversee all prospective books for the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Series. Serving as series editors, we comment on proposals and offer guidance as needed, and use a gentle hand in making suggestions regarding the content, depth, and scope of each book.

Books in the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Series:

• Have an adequate database, appropriate to the strength of the claims being made.