Vinny Guadagnino - Control the Crazy: My Plan to Stop Stressing, Avoid Drama, and Maintain Inner Cool

This book is Vinnys story about how he personally manages his general anxiety disorder. It is not meant to dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for anxiety disorders or similar conditions. Each individual dealing with emotional health issues such as anxiety or depression may experience different symptoms and may benefit from potential treatment approaches such as lifestyle changes, talk therapy, and/or medication. We strongly recommend that you consult with your doctor about questions and concerns specific to your health. The authors and publisher expressly disclaim responsibility for any adverse effects that may result from the use or application of the information contained in this book.

Copyright 2012 by Vincent Guadagnino

All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Crown Archetype, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
www.crownpublishing.com

Crown Archetype with colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.

eISBN: 978-0-307-98725-9

Jacket design by Michael Nagin
Jacket photography Robert Trachtenberg

v3.1

To all my teachers who have inspired me,
and to friends and family whove helped me along.

Thank you for sharing this message with me.
I hope to do you proud.

Im best known as the peacekeeper, the voice of reason, and the most level-headed, drama-free guido on MTVs Jersey Shore, yet theres more to Vinny G than meets the eye.

What most people dont know about meincluding, until recently, not even my own motheris that my head is not often that level. The truth is, I suffer from chronic anxiety. I can work myself up into a fearful, paralyzing state of mind that can last for days, weeks, and even months where I feel mad scared, totally isolated and alone, overwhelmed, and completely out of control. Imagine being stuck in a bad dream you cant wake up from. This is how I often feelexcept its not a dream, but the relentless voice in my own head I cant shake.

There have been many times in my life when my anxious mind has spun so out of control that Ive simply had to bail. Packing my bags and walking off the set of Jersey Shore is one example. Leaving college is another. Im talking anxiety that causes night sweats, insomnia, extreme weight loss, headaches, and a mind that wont shut the eff up! For real, I can get low, and when Im in my low-down dark and scary place, I feel crazy.

It turns out that the real Vinny Guadagnino has a pretty serious conditiongeneralized anxiety disorder. I share my struggle with more than forty million people in the United States alone who are living with some sort of anxiety disorder. But what separates me from most adults and teens who suffer from anxiety, stress, and feeling overwhelmed with what life is throwing them is that Ive spent the past three years taking charge of my mental challenge by developing a step-by-step program that not only has helped me get a handle on my anxious mind but has also filled me with a sense of personal power and control that has rocked every area of my life, from building a dream team of friends and colleagues to meeting super cool girls, getting in the best physical shape Ive ever been in, and landing awesome career opportunities.

Sounds good, right? You want a piece of the action? If you can relate to the kind of crazy mind Im describing here, you picked up the right book. Or if youre someone who only occasionally feels low, what I offer in the pages ahead can help you, too.

Check it: the book you hold in your hands isnt just for people who struggle with a generalized anxiety disorder like I do. You dont have to have something serious or diagnosable to learn a few tricks from me. Having a mind that sometimes takes a run on you is more normal than you might think. The truth is that from time to time, most people let their thoughts get them down and allow their emotions to stand in their way. The program I developed is for anyone who gets generally stressed, nervous, frustrated, pissed off, sad, and occasionally feels knocked around by life. (I cant speak for you, but that about covers everyone I know.) Work pressure, family conflict, financial baggage, relationship drama, academic trouble, poor body image, and low self-esteemon any given day these challenges can get the best of us. Any and all of them can make us feel crazy.

When I was at my lowest point, I had a hard time finding the right book to help me control my crazy, one that spoke to me on my level. Much of the self-help mumbo jumbo on the shelves, books youd find in a doctors office with titles like Its Gonna Get Worse Before It Gets Better, left me feeling more messed up and confused than I had before I opened the cover. I felt the doctor, expert, professor, or whoever didnt understand my experience or really get where I was coming from.

Thats when I started reading a different type of booktitles that were more spiritual in nature (as in written by hard-core Buddhist monks, not psychologists); and Im not kiddingas soon as I started reading them, my life began to change. The more I learned about the mind-body-spirit triple-threat approach to mental health, the better I felt and the faster I regained control of my life. Then it hit me. What if I tried to fill the void? Since I hadnt easily found the right motivational message to guide me when I needed it most, others who were suffering might be coming up empty too. Maybe there was a way I could pass on what Id learned in one easy-to-read guidebook, one that kids and adults I knew could relate to and understand.

Control the Crazy is my no-bullshit program for doing just thatgetting a handle on the everyday challenges that mentally, physically, and spiritually trip us up. It includes my adaptation and translation of many key teachings and techniques by some of the most popular and influential spiritual teachers, philosophers, and masters in the field of personal growth today. To keep it interesting, Ive included my own stories, insights, and mental workouts for kicking anxietys ass and overcoming everyday high-stress situations.

My program is specifically designed so you can apply it to your own life, whoever you are. You see, Control the Crazy doesnt dwell so much on what stresses you out or what you struggle with. No matter. Weve all got something. Whats most important is that whatevers got you down, you have a set of simple, kick-ass tools that you can pull out of your back pocket and put to use right away.

Control the Crazy will specifically help you:

How does it work? When I went looking for the tools to beat back my anxiety and my low-down, dark and scary moods, I discovered that if I could simply master my mind, I could control my bad days rather than let them control me. Whether you realize it or not, its the critical and self-defeating voice in your own head that often spins a crappy situation to a whole new level of crazy. Said a different wayyouve got the power.