Dan Peters (who wrote Make Your Worrier a Warrior, a well-respected book for parents about anxiety), has now written From Worrier to Warrior: A Guide to Conquering Your Fears, aimed at kids 9-16 who suffer from anxiety. I picked it up from the library this morning, and read about half of it over lunch. Wow! This is exactly what my DD needs, and I expect to be buying a copy this month, although I'll let her confirm that before I do it.

He starts by explaining the fight-or-flight response, and how the physical symptoms of worry are useful as your body prepares itself to fight. Then he talks about the various kinds of thinking errors that feed anxiety, and finally talks about self-calming strategies and about practicing them. About the only thing I could ask for is that I didn't see instruction on how to pronounce "amygdala" (although I might have missed it - I was skimming a bit).

Highly recommended. (I see that Amazon is sold out, but it usually doesn't take them long to acquire more.)

SENG has a webinar with Dan Peters on March 18th. I was considering signing up and now I'll be sure to pick up the book, as well. Thanks for the recommendation.

I just got both of his Worrier/Warrior books, but I haven't had a chance to read them yet. Glad to hear they're worth the read; they'll be next on my list!

Interesting. I might see about getting it from the library first. I'm a bit puzzled about the fact that two out of the three reviews that each book has are the same ones, by the same people, on the same day. And both books have the same cover. But it's always worth a shot!

Oh, and "uh-MIG-duh-luh".

Yeah, I know how to pronounce it, but I also know that my DD would be so distracted by worrying about that that she wouldn't be able to focus on the book about worrying! Fortunately, I can just tell her when I give her the book.

The book is also available through Great Potential Press. Link in this old post.

How is there not an e-book of this?

Yes, because that would be the most important bit. I know how that goes!

I know it says pre teens and teens...but can someone look at it and tell me if my 14 year old would be insulted, does it treat them respectfully like young adults with a worry problem, or is it cartoony trying hard to be funny where he would think it was beneath him.

Considering getting it and leaving it in his room.

The two books are nearly identical with subtle changes in addressing the parent or the teen as the audience. The book consists of a wide variety of real-life stories told as personal vignettes, and others told with two main characters or entities, one of which is "The Worry Monster" and the other being a sample person/patient/case (including one named "Patrick". Thought I'd mention that as today is St. Paddy's Day). The reader engages in examining the interactions in the stories, which are carefully analyzed by the author with helpful tips provided. With regard to illustrations, there are occasional simple half-page line drawings, plus there are doodles of TWM in the margins which IMO help keep the tone friendly and hold reader interest. You may wish to use the Amazon look inside feature to get a feel for the approach utilized by the book.

It's hard to say whether a gifted 14-year-old is "too old" for this book or not - it's right on the borderline. (It would go back to being just fine for a 25-year-old, BTW - but for that difficult "prickly" age, I'm not sure.) I think it's probably more valuable for an 8-to-12-year-old. That said, it's not like there's a ton of books out there to choose from. Indigo's suggestion to use the Look Inside feature on Amazon is a good one. You could also check it out from the library and look at it yourself first.

This book was just suggested to us and we plan to check into it. Glad to see others endorse it.

On the other hand, asking a kiddo if the author seems to have it right... possibly saying that parts of the book remind the parent of how things felt for them at that age... asking the kiddo for their feedback on the book... may be an effective way to spark interest?

Any kiddo suffering from worry or anxiety may benefit from ideas presented in the book:
- the bit of scientific background provided,
- knowing they are not alone,
- knowing what can be done (what they can control),
- seeing a number of examples in the third person (so they do not personally feel pointed out)
... and possibly most of all by having a name for it which they could use to talk to their parents, whether "The Worry Monster is plaguing me again!" or "my amygdala is being activated"... anything which affords them the dignity of keeping their situation from being unspeakable or resulting in accusatory name calling ("You're such a worry-wart.")

The book is non-threatening to a teen; A reader is not likely to feel less-than after reading in the introduction that the author has experienced a bit of worry as well.

Books are good that way... a person can read a lot or a little, whenever they are ready.