Anxiety is an emotion that everyone feels at some point in their lives, but some people deal with continual anxiety. According to the Anxiety & Depression Association of America, roughly 40 million US adults live with some type of anxiety disorder.
Reading about anxiety can be beneficial if you have anxiety yourself or are a parent with a child or teen with anxiety. “I truly believe knowledge is power — and reading about anxiety will demystify your experiences or dispel misinformation about them and give you a roadmap to navigate anxious moments,” says Peggy Loo, PhD, a licensed psychologist in NYC and Director at Manhattan Therapy Collective.
Plus, “reading and learning about anxiety can normalize the experience of anxiety in a way that makes us feel less alone,” says Nina Kaiser, PhD, a licensed psychologist and founder of Practice San Francisco. “[It] can change how we think and feel about our own experience — and give us new ideas and strategies to try.”
While traditional psychology books are great resources, Loo and Kaiser also recommended many workbooks. “Workbooks present information in smaller chunks, usually with an immediate exercise for processing or application, and often in an intentional sequence that builds on what you just learned,” says Loo. “[They’re] actually a perfect format for an anxious mind because the information is digestible, confidence building, and very important — actionable.”
Below, we rounded up the best books for managing anxiety, from therapy-backed self-help books to guided workbooks.
A workbook rooted in cognitive behavioral therapy
Amazon
“Retrain Your Brain: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in 7 Weeks” by Seth J. Gillihan, PhD, available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble, from $10.29
According to Loo, this workbook is “a great introduction to addressing anxiety and also has applications for depression using cognitive behavioral therapy” and is a great fit “for anyone who likes learning an approach to anxiety backed up by extensive research.”
Another benefit of this book? “It provides a timeline for progress,” Loo says. “This can be reassuring for anyone who is highly motivated to make changes and experience relief in a short time period.”
A self-help book centered on social anxiety
Amazon
“How to Be Yourself: Quiet Your Inner Critic and Rise Above Social Anxiety” by Ellen Hendriksen, PhD, available at Amazon and Bookshop, from $11.99
“For anyone who identifies with the line ‘ self-consciousness on steroids,’ ‘How to Be Yourself’ does a great job diving into the internal underpinnings that drive social anxiety,” Loo says. “From the too-loud inner critic who goes uncontested, our cycles of avoidance, and the impossible expectations we have of ourselves in social situations, the author weaves relatable anecdotes, actionable suggestions, and graphics (for all my visual learners out there) with sound psychological theory.”
A workbook for understanding both anxiety and depression
Amazon
“The Anxiety and Depression Workbook” by Michael A. Tompkins, PhD ABPP and Judith S. Beck, PhD (Foreword), available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble, from $19.89
“This book teaches basic cognitive-behavioral strategies that we know are effective in shifting the way in which anxiety makes us think and feel,” Kaiser says.
What makes this workbook so effective, according to Kaiser, is that “Dr. Tompkins provides concrete strategies that are firmly grounded in research” and does so “in a manner that is both comprehensive and accessible.”
A guide to working through intrusive thoughts
Amazon
“Overcoming Unwanted Intrusive Thoughts: A CBT-Based Guide to Getting Over Frightening, Obsessive, or Disturbing Thoughts” by Sally M. Winston, PsyD and Martin N. Seif, PhD, available at Amazon and Bookshop, from $9.99
This book is “one of the more validating reads” Loo has come across “for anyone who worries that the random thoughts that pop into their heads are too taboo, bizarre, or pathological that they may not ever share them out loud.”
“This book debunks common myths about intrusive thoughts and offers the facts,” Loo adds, “one of which is that basically everyone has intrusive thoughts, and this is normal.”
A workbook for managing phobias
Amazon
“The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook” by Edmund J. Bourne, PhD, available at Amazon and Bookshop, from $20.99
Loo says this workbook is “a well-known resource with a balanced overview ranging from the more common manifestations of anxiety, such as panic attacks and worry to specific phobias.”
According to Kaiser, “this is a practical and powerful book that many evidence-based therapist training programs use as a key part of their curriculum,” going beyond explanations and strategies to provide a more holistic understanding of anxiety.
Additionally, “I appreciated that instead of only focusing on strategies like relaxation and stress management, it also incorporates important topics like nutrition, exercise, and the role of medications,” Loo adds.
A book designed for perfectionists
Amazon
“The Anxious Perfectionist: How to Manage Perfectionism-Driven Anxiety Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy” by Clarissa W. Ong, PhD, Michael P. Twohig, PhD, and Randy O. Frost, PhD (Foreword), available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Bookshop, from $15.29
This book “is a great resource that speaks on the relationship between perfectionism and anxiety,” Loo says. “[It] encourages a brutally honest self-appraisal of how being perfectionistic affects your wellbeing and pushes you to identify the question of who you want to be, not who you should be.”
A workbook focused on OCD
Bookshop
“The Mindfulness Workbook for OCD” by Jon Hershfield, MFT, Tom Corboy, MFT, and James Claiborn, PhD ABPP (Foreword), available at Amazon and Bookshop, from $14.99
“When a lot of people hear ‘OCD,’ they immediately think of handwashing or ritualistic actions,” Loo says, but she sees more patients “with obsessive thinking or what I call ‘compulsive thinking’ without the outward behaviors.”
Loo recommends this book because it explains and defines obsessional thinking with plenty of examples and themes related to OCD. “The book also gives a helpful and practical introduction to mindfulness and explains how, counterintuitively, becoming mindful when you’re obsessing is a route to freedom from your obsessions.”
A book for parents with anxiety
Amazon
“You Are Not a Sh*tty Parent: How to Practice Self-Compassion and Give Yourself a Break” by Carla Naumburg, PhD, available at Amazon and Bookshop, from $15.80
Nearly every parent questions at some point if they’re a good parent or not. To help with feelings of doubt or inadequacy, this book provides practical advice and focuses on self-compassion. “Anxiety is often heavily rooted in comparison and self-criticism,” Kaiser says. “If we can learn how to have compassion for ourselves as parents, we can reduce our experience of anxiety.”
A book specifically for pregnant and postpartum moms dealing with anxiety
Amazon
“Good Moms Have Scary Thoughts: A Healing Guide to the Secret Fears of New Mothers” by Karen Kleiman, MSW and Molly McIntyre (Illustrator), available at Amazon and Bookshop, from $12.92
“[This] is a wonderfully candid, illustrated book that gives voice to all of the incredibly normal worries in pregnancy and motherhood that aren’t aired out in public because of supermom mythology,” Loo says. “It has bite-sized, practical exercises with a good dose of much-needed humor.”
A book made for parents of anxious teens
Amazon
“Freeing Your Child from Anxiety: Practical Strategies to Overcome Fears, Worries, and Phobias and Be Prepared for Life—from Toddlers to Teens” by Tamar Chansky, PhD, available at Amazon and Bookshop, from $15.73
“This is a resource I recommend to almost every parent of an anxious kid that comes in our door,” Kaiser says, because it “offers parents a clear understanding of child anxiety and how to work with your anxious child around building skills that we know work.”
According to Kaiser, this includes “the ability to identify and change anxious patterns of thinking and to use behavioral strategies to help cope with the experience of anxiety in the moment.”
A book to support kids or teens with anxiety
Amazon
“Breaking Free of Child Anxiety and OCD: A Scientifically Proven Program for Parents” by Eli R. Lebowitz, PhD, available at Amazon and Bookshop, from $16.16
“Part of parenting an anxious child or teen means supporting our kids in doing the things they are afraid of — and this can be really tricky because as parents, we are hard-wired to protect and support our kids,” Kaiser says. “This book offers a specific, concrete, and evidence-based road map for parents around how to support anxious kids in actually doing (and succeeding at!) the things that are scary for them.”
She adds this book has groundbreaking research from Yale University that parents can use ideas to implement at home.
A book to help teens understand their anxious thoughts
Amazon
“My Anxious Mind: A Teen’s Guide to Managing Anxiety and Panic” by Michael A. Tompkins, PhD and Katherine Martinez, PhD, available at Amazon and Bookshop, from $14.98
Designed specifically for younger audiences, “this book provides a teen-friendly introduction to the experience of anxiety and how teens can cope — and relies heavily on evidence-based frameworks and strategies that we know are effective,” Kaiser says.
An anxiety workbook for teens
Amazon
“The Shyness and Social Anxiety Workbook for Teens: CBT and ACT Skills to Help You Build Social Confidence” by Jennifer Shannon, LFMT, available at Amazon and Bookshop, from $15.89
Another book meant for teens, this one “taps into evidence-based cognitive behavioral therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy skills for teens,” Kaiser says. What makes it so accessible to younger readers is the “teen-friendly format with practical and effective practice exercises and strategies to try at home.”
