My Anxious Mind

November 1, 2009
Gr 8-10-Tompkins and Martinez directly address their readers: "If you have an anxious mind]," giving teens the sense of a caring adult speaking to them. While many self-help books can be read in any order, this one is progressive and should be read in sequence. Following the first chapters on definitions and how to seek help, there are several chapters with increasingly more complicated aids that teens can implement. Beginning with relaxing and moving through decoding "self-talk" to building a fear ladder, each step is slightly more complex and takes a more serious approach. The final chapters stress the importance of proper nutrition, exercise, and sleep, and the possible need for medication. Throughout the book, first-person vignettes describe specific anxieties or phobias and how they were dealt with using the strategies outlined in the middle chapters. It is not clear if these are real teens who have written these vignettes or if the examples given are composites of teens the authors have worked with. In either case, they serve the purpose, along with the appealing line drawings, of catching readers' interest and enlivening the text."Wendy Smith-D'Arezzo, Loyola College, Baltimore, MD"

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2009
Grades 7-12 According to the authors, one in 20 teens in the U.S. suffers from extreme anxiety. If you know one, you could do a lot worse than handing over this reassuring manual. Short enough to read in a couple sittings and embued with an optimistic tone that rarely talks down, the book lays out common kinds of anxiety and triggers, describes breathing and relaxation techniques to stave off and coast through nervous episodes, and offers up various logs to fill out as the sufferer begins to make progress. As is to be expected, some suggestions feel ingenious (the Time Machine method of de-catastrophizing an apparent disaster), while others feel overly complicated (tools with such acronyms as ABCDE and ICAANalthough its true that even the most convoluted of routines can be comforting). In a departure from similar adult titles, the authors stress the importance of finding a supportive helper, and the conversational language, including analogies to everything from LeBron James to MP3 playlists, creates an aura of familiarity. The cool cover doesnt hurt, either.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)