The Anxiety Audit

7 Sneaky Ways Anxiety Takes Hold and How to Escape Them

By: Lynn Lyons LICSW

Narrated by: Lynn Lyons

Ask people to describe anxiety and they'll start with the familiar symptoms: racing heart, sweaty palms, difficulty breathing. Anxiety, they might add, is "freaking out," a panic attack, or a frightening loss of control. But anxiety isn't always what we think it is, especially now. Anxiety has become the new normal, constant and simmering, disguising itself in patterns and responses we don't even recognize as anxiety. These patterns include:

- Ruminating and worrying (and mistaking it for problem solving)

- Going global, or seeing the world through an overwhelming, all-or-nothing lens

- Isolating and disconnecting, all too common in our "new normal"

- Creating chaos and "busy-ness"

The Anxiety Audit is a guide for us all: with no overly scientific or diagnostic language—just real talk and time-tested tactics from a respected therapist—it is a relatable and practical guide to untangling yourself from the grips of worry and fear.

Using stories, real-world examples, and helpful dialogues to retrain the way you think and react, trusted anxiety expert Lynn Lyons helps you recognize the sneaky ways these anxious patterns and cycles of worry take hold in your life.

©2022 Lynn Lyons (P)2023 Tantor

Well organized and helpful

This audiobook is well organized and presented. As a person challenged with anxiety most of my life, I not only found the advice helpful, but also explained in such a way that I could apply it in my own unique experiences.

Helpful with specific strategies

was very comprehensive in understanding how overwhelming anxiety presents itself and what to do about it.

This is my life

I would have like Chapter1-4 to be longer-the last few chapters didn’t resonate as much with me.

A must- read for those with anxiety!

I follow Lynn on her Flusterclux podcasts and really looked forward to reading this book! It's content was 5 star, going into more detail than in her podcasts. While her delivery was more serious here, some of Lynn's humor still showed up, though not as much as I would have liked. I want everyone to read this, but I rink get podcasts will hook more people than just this book.
Most importantly, thank you, Lynn. You have shown me how much I have fed into my own daughter's anxiety and how to start addressing that. While I could get really depressed about all that, LOL, instead I have a map before with tangible steps to take to forge more meaningful connections in the future. Thank you.

Simple & Connecting Language. Actually Useful tools.

So impressed with how the author literally described my challenges as if she treats me directly. I was so connected to the content and excited about possibly having some real simple strategies to help pull me out of familiar habits that I recommended this book to no less than 5 people directly before finishing Chapter 2! The author is easy to listen to (I did use 1.3x speed), and the language is not overly complex to the point of losing the audience, which is impressive for a psychological text. Very happy I discovered this through Audible’s recent promotion, and expect to revisit it a few times in the future when bad habits rear their ugly heads again and a refresher would be beneficial.
Lisa - Thank you for taking the time to share these strategies with the world!

A must-read for anyone who is human!

I just finished listening to Lynn Lyons' latest book and I am once again blown away by how incredibly helpful it is to anyone who has ever worried about anything (or who loves or cares for anyone who has ever worried about anything!) Basically, if you are a human being this book will share insights and practical tools that will improve your life. Lynn has such a straightforward, non-judgmental, and 'real' way about her; she is clearly a top expert (if not THE top expert) in the field of treating and managing anxiety yet she is so down-to-earth and unassuming. Listening to this book was like having a cup of tea with a wise and funny friend. I loved how at the end of each chapter she included some questions (an 'audit') to consider. It really got me thinking and I am very grateful. I especially love the sections about the importance of doing things for others as a way to get out of the rumination/internalization trap, and about how we often create "busy"ness in our lives as a way to avoid anxiety. I could not recommend this book more highly as both a parent and a psychologist.

A must read if you think you are anxious on any level!

I knew I was anxious. I read this book and learned that I am even more anxious than I realized. This book is so wonderfully approachable for what can be a very hard topic for some. Breaking the cycles and patterns we anxious people get stuck in is only half the battle. Having concrete examples and real strategies of how to reframe and move forward were an awesome and necessary part of this book. Thank you for writing this Lynn Lyons, you have more families and individual adult and children that will be forever grateful for your courage to write this book and your expertise on such a prevalent problem.

Very unimpressed

Weak book. Psych 101, below basic. I kept waiting for something interesting to show up.