Up to 40% of people consider themselves shy. You might say you're introverted or awkward, or that you're fine around friends but just can't speak up in a meeting or at a party. Maybe you're usually confident but have recently moved or started a new job, only to feel isolated and unsure. If you get nervous in social situations - meeting your partner's friends, public speaking, standing awkwardly in the elevator with your boss - you've probably been told, "Just be yourself!" But that's easier said than done - especially if you're prone to social anxiety.

The right idea, invoked at the right time, can change our lives. Drawing from her long studies of happiness, and also from the challenges she’s faced herself, writer Gretchen Rubin has discovered the “Secrets of Adulthood” that can help us manage the complexities of life. To convey her conclusions, she turned to the aphorism—the ancient literary discipline that demands that a writer convey a large truth in a few words.

In this essential guide, Dr. Julie teaches her millions of readers and clients how to navigate life’s toughest occurrences while they’re happening, rather than moments or years after the fact. What if we can learn to harness our emotions and stay present so we can process and choose how to respond to a situation? Picking up where Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? leaves off, Dr. Julie shares the research-backed concepts and powerful skills we can use to weather our most vulnerable moments.

Over years of developing and teaching their renowned Mindful Self-Compassion program, Kristin Neff and Christopher Germer have found MSC to be uniquely helpful for people struggling with the soul-draining depletion of burnout--from health care professionals, teachers, and caregivers, to tapped-out business owners and employees.

The Anxious Perfectionist shines a much-needed light on the hidden costs of "being the best," and offers essential skills based in acceptance and commitment therapy to help you cope with the anxiety that is driven by your perfectionism. You'll learn how your "need to be perfect" can actually hinder your productivity and keep you from reaching your goals. You'll also learn skills to help you gain distance from negative self-talk, let go of unhelpful and self-limiting labels, and give yourself permission to make mistakes while still honoring your aspirations.

Worried about purpose? Most people are. But no one has to be. Brené Brown meets Malcolm Gladwell in this ground-breaking self-improvement book that reveals how to make a mark and how to set goals in life without falling into the anxiety traps of conventional success principles books. The ultimate in purpose anxiety relief, and a map for anyone to find happiness.

For more than a decade, Brené Brown has found a special place in our hearts as a gifted mapmaker and a fellow traveler. She is both a social scientist and a kitchen table friend whom you can always count on to tell the truth, make you laugh, and, on occasion, cry with you. And what's now become a movement all started with The Gifts of Imperfection, which has sold more than two million copies in 35 different languages across the globe.

In Reset, Heath explores a framework for getting unstuck and making the changes that matter. The secret is to find “leverage points”: places where a little bit of effort can yield a disproportionate return. Then, we can thoughtfully rearrange our resources to push on those points.

Addressing the fundamental questions about how to live, Meditations for Mortals offers a powerful new way to take action on what counts: a guiding philosophy of life Oliver Burkeman calls “imperfectionism.” It helps us tackle challenges as they crop up in our daily lives: our finite time, the lure of distraction, the impossibility of doing anything perfectly.

If you suffer from unwanted, intrusive, frightening, or even disturbing thoughts, you might worry about what these thoughts mean about you. Thoughts can seem like messages - are they trying to tell you something? But the truth is that they are just thoughts, and don’t necessarily mean anything. Sane and good people have them. If you are someone who is plagued by thoughts you don’t want - thoughts that scare you, or thoughts you can’t tell anyone about - this book may change your life.

In Fluke, myth-shattering social scientist Brian Klaas takes a deep-dive into the phenomenon of random chance and the chaos it can sow, taking aim at most people’s neat and tidy version of reality. The book’s argument is that we willfully ignore a bewildering truth: but for a few small changes, our lives—and our societies—could be radically different.

The science of emotion is in the midst of a revolution on par with the discovery of relativity in physics and natural selection in biology. Leading the charge is psychologist and neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett, whose research overturns the long-standing belief that emotions are automatic, universal, and hardwired in different brain regions. Instead, Barrett shows, we construct each instance of emotion through a unique interplay of brain, body, and culture.

From subtle avoidance behaviors to the most nightmarish terrors, anticipatory anxiety is the engine that drives it all. Understanding how this hidden enemy tricks you, and, most importantly, how to overcome it, will liberate you to live a more flexible and joyful life. In Overcoming Anticipatory Anxiety, two anxiety experts team up to teach you how to manage your overactive imagination, limit future-based thinking, face your fears, make decisions, and live with more freedom and joy.

Whether it’s anxiety about going to the doctor, boiling rage when we’re stuck in traffic, or devastation after a painful break-up, our lives are filled with situations that send us spiraling. But as difficult as our emotions can be, they are also a superpower. Far from being “good” or “bad,” emotions are information. When they’re activated in the right ways and at the right time, they function like an immune system, alerting us to our surroundings, telling us how to react to a situation, and helping us make the right choices. But how do we make our emotions work for us rather than against us?

Are you ready to erase social anxiety, boost your self-esteem, and unleash your true potential? David Hamilton and Angelina Williams offer a no-nonsense guide filled with field-tested, science-backed techniques that promise quick and lasting results.

Up to 40% of people consider themselves shy. You might say you're introverted or awkward, or that you're fine around friends but just can't speak up in a meeting or at a party. Maybe you're usually confident but have recently moved or started a new job, only to feel isolated and unsure. If you get nervous in social situations - meeting your partner's friends, public speaking, standing awkwardly in the elevator with your boss - you've probably been told, "Just be yourself!" But that's easier said than done - especially if you're prone to social anxiety.

The Anxious Perfectionist shines a much-needed light on the hidden costs of "being the best," and offers essential skills based in acceptance and commitment therapy to help you cope with the anxiety that is driven by your perfectionism. You'll learn how your "need to be perfect" can actually hinder your productivity and keep you from reaching your goals. You'll also learn skills to help you gain distance from negative self-talk, let go of unhelpful and self-limiting labels, and give yourself permission to make mistakes while still honoring your aspirations.

We live in an epidemic of anxiety. Most of us assume that the key to overcoming it is to think our way out. And for a while it works. But there is always something that sends us back into the anxious spiral we’ve been trying to climb out of. In Beyond Anxiety, Dr. Martha Beck explains why anxiety is skyrocketing around you, and likely within you. She also tells you how to not only reduce your anxiety but use it to propel you into a life filled with peace, meaning, and joy.

Social anxiety is the perception that something is wrong with us or that we’re deficient in some way in a group setting. And unless we work hard to conceal that perceived flaw, it will be revealed, and people will judge or reject us for it.

Are you ready to erase social anxiety, boost your self-esteem, and unleash your true potential? David Hamilton and Angelina Williams offer a no-nonsense guide filled with field-tested, science-backed techniques that promise quick and lasting results.

After writing the runaway best seller Not Nice, Dr. Aziz returns to tackle the biggest killer of confidence: your own inner critic. That voice in your head tells you that you can’t achieve what you want or be loved for who you are, because you’re not enough. Unfortunately, most people don’t realize just how much that negative voice is running their lives, creating stress, anxiety, perfectionism, relentless business, and overwhelm.

Whether it’s anxiety about going to the doctor, boiling rage when we’re stuck in traffic, or devastation after a painful break-up, our lives are filled with situations that send us spiraling. But as difficult as our emotions can be, they are also a superpower. Far from being “good” or “bad,” emotions are information. When they’re activated in the right ways and at the right time, they function like an immune system, alerting us to our surroundings, telling us how to react to a situation, and helping us make the right choices. But how do we make our emotions work for us rather than against us?

A groundbreaking redefinition of what it means to be healthy that introduces the need for social health—the part of wellbeing that comes from feeling connected—to truly flourish. Exercise. Eat a balanced diet. Go to therapy. Most wellness advice is focused on achieving and maintaining good physical and mental health. But Harvard-trained social scientist and pioneering social health expert Kasley Killam reveals that this approach is missing a vital component: human connection.

Have you ever felt like you’re never good enough? Do you feel like everything is your fault? Answering yes to these questions displays the awful side effects of narcissistic abuse. It’s these side effects that hold us back in life, keeping us frozen and insecure. As a therapist and a survivor of abuse myself, I know how you feel. I see you. The good news is that you can overcome limiting and toxic beliefs that were instilled by narcissists.

We all spend a lot of energy trying to get people to listen to us, and despite our best efforts, we often fail. But what if the secret to influencing others was to demonstrate acceptance? Enter validation—communication where one accepts and sees the validity in another person’s experience. Research on validation shows that it has profound effects, from improving relationships and de-escalating conflicts to increasing one’s influence and self-compassion.

Gretchen Rubin has found that getting control of our stuff makes us feel more in control of our lives. By getting rid of things we don't use, don't need, or don't love, we free our minds (and our shelves) for what we truly value. With a sense of fun, and a clear idea of what's realistic for most people, Gretchen Rubin suggests dozens of manageable steps for creating a more serene, orderly environment - one that helps us to create the lives we want.

Have you been too nice for too long? Have you tried to speak up for yourself, have better boundaries, or take care of your own needs, only to feel anxious, stuck, or guilty? The unfortunate truth is people-pleasing and excessive niceness are debilitating patterns that most people never truly change. They remain in this “cage of niceness” until their final days, when they experience a strong sense of regret for living a life that wasn’t truly their own.

Dopamine, “the molecule of more,” makes it easy to get stuck in a cycle of never being truly satisfied. It promises happiness, but can never deliver. That part is up to us. A more fulfilling life begins with training your brain to overcome the dopamine chase—and it’s easier than you think.

Perfectionism is a naturally limiting mindset. For example, kids are taught to color inside the lines, and any color outside the lines is considered a mistake that must be corrected. Imperfectionism frees us to live outside the lines, where possibilities are infinite, mistakes are allowed, and self-judgment is minimal.

Through nine easy-to-follow strategies, Dr. David H. Rosmarin demonstrates how to harness the power of anxiety to learn about ourselves, deepen our relationships with others, and achieve our deepest goals and dreams.