10 Don’t Let A nxiety Run Your Life
in which expressive suppression can be modified within a
healthier framework. Let’s consider them.
Imagine that you are experiencing anger in a public
place. The overall goal remains the same as with expressive
suppression (that is, don’t lash out in public or inappropri-
ately express your irritability); however, instead of rigidly
resisting your anger, you simply let the anger pass without
judgment. This still prevents any inappropriate expression
of your irritability, but in a much more healthy way. Instead
of suppressing your anger because of concerns about how
bad that emotion is, you are fostering a nonreactive stance
toward it that will enable you to achieve peace and be free
from a desire to lash out.
Throughout this book, we will explain how to mindfully
regulate your emotions, which can be especially tricky when
it comes to anxiety. Because anxiety expresses itself in so
many forms— mentally, physically, and behaviorally—
managing it requires thoughtful practice and deliberate use
of techniques that target the exact causes of anxiety.
Moreover, you will find it helpful to understand why these
techniques work the way they do. To that end, we will present
a set of skills informed by psychological science and theory
that have been proven to help people gain mastery over a
variety of emotions in different situations.
W hy We Wrote This Book
As we will discuss throughout this book, anxiety and fear, in
their most basic form, are typically helpful processes that
contribute to intelligence, creativity, performance, and even
survival. Both anxiety and fear serve evolutionary and