Retraining the Brain: A 45-Day Plan to Conquer Stress and Anxiety

Great book highly recommend it.

this author is very knowledgeable and offers many accessible techniques for anyone to follow. I refer many of my patients to read this book as a good support tool to therapy.

I found this book exceptionally helpful. After suffering from anxiety and depression for over 25 years and unable to tolerate medication I felt I had reached a point where I had no hope. I have started to read a lot of books about mindfulness, positive thinking and the power of being in the now. All of these have also helped to change my perspective. However, Dr. Lawlor's book has some very practical ideas that you can implement immediately even while your reading. It has given me real hope for the first time in years. This is a very helpful book and I would definitely recommend it.

I just now bought this book and I will update this review after I read it but I just wanted to offer some of the reviewers on here an idea that you may find helpful if you are suffering from depression or anxiety. Please check into neurofeedback. I was very sick in 2009 with anxiety and depression. I was not functioning at all and was, well, it wasn't good. I was looking into biofeedback when I found something I had never heard of called neurofeedback. It was a total surprise how quickly it pulled me out of the pit. Please google neurofeedback and see if it might help you. After I read this book I will review it as an edit to this page. Thank you and good luck.

Two years ago, I went from being a high-functioning adult, to a person who cried all day long and could not focus, and was experiencing crippling stress. I didn't even know I was sick at first. I could not add two numbers together even with the help of Excel. I was a professional with a secure (but stressful, unpleasant-type)job. Eventually I had to resign and start my own business, one of a very different nature, and so I have had much improvement.During this time, I bought this book (here named "Retraining the Brain") then titled "The Stress Answer" by this author, and it offered a possible explanation for what I was experiencing, in a severe form. Basically, some of your brain waves in one of the frontal lobes of your brain start increasing, while the rest of the brain is keeping normal pace. This causes what he calls a "stress storm." The author suggests it is because we unknowingly create this pattern by our repeated responses to a particular situation. Before we know it, they have become automatic and once the brain waves get going, there's not much you can do. But you can train yourself to respond differently to the situations, and eventually train yourself/your brain to make the new response automatic. The old response is not gone, it just falls by the wayside, because the new response takes over.While I have not tried many of the exercises (because they take discipline & focus, which is part of what is lacking in me at present), they seemed to offer the only hope I had. No doctor has really offered an answer, except to say my sudden illness is probably anxiety. I did have several life-altering things happen prior to the onset of the problem. My doctor has me on medication that really helps, after trying several different things. But my goal is to get off of medication at some point. The book makes the possibility look very promising.Back to the book. I did try one of the techniques, playing songs that had the kind of rhythm the book suggests, that will affect the "speeded up" alpha waves that are causing the problem. This has been a successful technique. I would suggest the song, "Oh My Lord, What a Morning" by Mahalia Jackson. So far, that has been the best song of all for me.What upsets me about this new version of the old publication, is that it is exactly the same book, and if you blow the picture up closely, you will see at the bottom left in light gray, "previously published as The Stress answer."So I bought the same book twice. Shame on whoever allowed that to happen, especially because the people buying this book are in real need of help, not more stress. So whether it is the author or the publisher, I don't know. But I now wonder if I can trust a book that has been remarketed in such as way as to cause me to buy it twice. Its credibility factor plummeted for me.Other than that, it does look promising, but the author needs to include a CD of his special music he talks about in the book. There is a bit of hype here, and the device the author suggests you use (but does not insist)looks like a hocus-pocus cardboard box, and it is expensive. So you be the judge.But this is a definite Try It for those with severe ANXIETY, which actually is much different than stress or depression. I would just not put as much confidence and hope in its techniques as I once did.

I very much recommend this book. It was easy to read and was very enlightening.Lawlis breaks the book down to various kinds of "storms" that we may have in our brains. From the Depressive Storm to the OCD Storm. And, that word is very applicable - at times, it truly does feel like a "storm" in ones mind.I bought this book (for my Kindle) not really knowing much about it. However, it became one that I couldn't put down. Any free time I had, I picked it up and read more. That says a lot about a book to me.I enjoyed this book so much that I've just now ordered another one from the author. I suspect I'll enjoy it as well.

Dr Lawlis goes into some detailed explanations of why is it we live in anxiety, where that mind-set came from and encourages the reader that it can be reversed.The exercises are practical and not only provide long term healing but on the spot correction in times of crisis. I also purchased his anti anxiety series of mp3 s and started using them because I am determined not to continue living this way. I have not completed the course yet but I am very hopeful because I now fully understand the reasons behind my actions and that it is I who have to make the change.highly recommendedJoy

My psychologist suggested this book to me and I gained some good insights into my anxiety after reading it. There are some good suggestions in this book for conquering anxiety, however, this isn't an instant cure by any means. It takes time and practice to find peace of mind. The author also explains the process of how anxiety takes over the brain and stress occurs. It is definitely a good read with lots of good suggestions. Reading it was beneficial to me, yet still a work in progress.

nicht zu schweres Englisch, leicht lesbar, viele Tipps. teilweise sehr liebevoll und mit viel Verständnis geschrieben. Übungsteil/Programm am Ende des Buches!

Very informative and helpful.

I very much enjoyed this book. I found new learning in every chapter, about my own as well as other people's behavior. I believe we all experience different levels of the various "stress storms" Dr. Lawlis talks about and the chapter on "Gender Stress Storms" was especially interesting for me. I am a regular user of Posit Science Brain HQ and this book related very well to understanding that our brains do not age and we can keep our minds young by regular brain exercise and by changing our less desirable thinking patterns.

This was a most disappointing purchase for Kindle use. At frequent stages of the book sample activities are displayed;however, due to the small lettering of such samples they are illegible on the Kindle. This circumstance makes the overall purchase a useless waste as one cannot actually follow the complete process of instruction. Additionally, the editing in the book is poor with several obvious grammar errors & misspelt words failing to have been edited prior to going to final print. Overall a most unfortunate experience and waste of expenditure & time!

Haven't read this book yet - it is next. The first one I've read by this Dr is very helpful.