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Things Might Go Terribly, Horribly Wrong: A Guide to Life Liberated from Anxiety Kindle Edition

by Kelly G. Wilson (Author), Troy DuFrene (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 333 ratings
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You don't need a book to tell you this much: Sometimes things fall apart, crack open, and miss the mark. You can plan and strategize and keep your eye on the horizon, watching for trouble. And nothing you can do will protect you from the fact that things might, when you least expect it, go terribly, horribly wrong. If you're anxious about this, it's not like you don't have a reason. If you're very anxious about this, you're certainly not alone. In fact, even if your whole life feels like it's about anxiety, your story is a lot more common that you might imagine.


If you could just get your anxiety to go away, you could get on with the business of living your life, right? Well, maybe — or maybe not. Does anxiety need to go away in order for you to live your life fully, vitally, with richness and purpose?


This book approaches the problem of anxiety a little differently than most. Instead of trying to help you overcome or reduce feelings of anxiety, Things Might Go Terribly, Horribly Wrong will help you climb inside these feelings, sit in that place, and see what it would be like to have anxiety and still make room in your life to breathe and rest and live — really and truly live — in a way that matters to you.


Although it's grounded in a research-supported form of psychotherapy called acceptance and commitment therapy, also known as ACT, Things isn't especially technical or stepwise. Rather, the book starts a conversation about why we all sometimes feel anxious and what role that anxiety serves in our lives. It connects the experience of anxiety to the essential experience of human suffering. And then, in sometimes unexpected ways, Things explores some basic ways of being in the world that can change the role anxiety plays in your life.


This book has been awarded The Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Self-Help Seal of Merit — an award bestowed on outstanding self-help books that are consistent with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) principles and that incorporate scientifically tested strategies for overcoming mental health difficulties. Used alone or in conjunction with therapy, our books offer powerful tools readers can use to jump-start changes in their lives.

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  1. Print length
    178 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    New Harbinger Publications
  5. Publication date
    May 1, 2010
  6. File size
    558 KB
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Rejecting the use of diagnostic labels (agoraphobia, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, etc.) as part of a medical legacy best left behind, psychologist Wilson (Mindfulness for Two) and writer Dufrene (Coping with OCD) approach anxiety as a mild dysfunction treatable with "acceptance and commitment therapy" (ACT), a way of becoming "more psychologically limber" in order to "negotiate crowds, participate in social functions, take risks, and so forth." The collaborators contend that behind much anxiety is an inability to deal with ambiguity; as such, they suggest a series of exercises to stop the cycle of brooding that arises from problems that do not have clear, immediate solutions (and which may be unsolvable). Many of the techniques they propose (visualization, "mindful breathing practice") are familiar exercises in mindfulness, but the most important message of ACT is not to avoid situations that produce anxiety. Instead, this empathetic guide helps readers recognize that brooding over painful or disorienting thoughts is a natural part of everyone's life, necessitating the flexibility to "work around obstacles... inside our own heads."
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From the Publisher

In Things Might Go Terribly, Horribly Wrong, Kelly Wilson and Troy DuFrene, authors of Mindfulness for Two, offer an effective approach based in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to coping with the worry, panic, and fear associated with anxiety disorders. This comprehensive book is packed with in-the-moment strategies readers with anxiety can use to calm their fears.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B003TU29XO
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ New Harbinger Publications; 1st edition (May 1, 2010)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 1, 2010
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 558 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 178 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 333 ratings

About the authors

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  1. Troy DuFrene

    Troy DuFrene

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    Troy DuFrene is a psychotherapist and author. He is coauthor of nine books, including Coping with OCD, Mindfulness for Two, and Things Might Go Terribly, Horribly Wrong. He lives and works in Alameda, CA, in the San Francisco Bay Area. Visit him at www.sfcompassion.com.

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  2. Kelly G. Wilson

    Kelly G. Wilson

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    Kelly G. Wilson, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of psychology at the University at Mississippi. He is Past President of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science, Representative-at-Large of the Society for a Science of Clinical Psychology, and Winner of the University of Mississippi's prestigious Elsie M. Hood Outstanding Teacher Award. Dr. Wilson is one of the co-developers of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). He has devoted himself to the development and dissemination of ACT and its underlying theory and philosophy for the past 20 years, publishing more than 70 articles and chapters, as well as 6 books including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: An Experiential Approach to Behavior Change and his newest books Mindfulness for Two and Things Might Go Terribly, Horribly Wrong. He has central interests in the application of behavioral principles to understanding topics such as purpose, meaning, values, therapeutic relationship, and mindfulness. Dr. Wilson is the founder of Onelife Education and Training, LLC and has presented workshops and provided consulting services in 20 countries. (above photos by Keith Henry kbaby72@ymail.com)

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
333 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Katia Manduchi
5.0 out of 5 stars Helpful for you, your mind and your anxiety
Reviewed in the United States on March 29, 2011
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Reading and exercising on this wonderful book I found it really useful in a way that everyone could perceived. It's not a book for clinicians only (but of course from an ACT perspective clinicians can read and exercise on it, remembering that we are always "in the same boat" as our clients) but it's easy to read and understand for everyone that could be curious about the mind and the anxiety, how they works, how could be easy to learn different way of thinking, feeling and living with taking a different perspective.
This is not a simple self-help book in the traditional way we're used to read them, it's more a stimulus for us, our mind and our heart to open up, if we want and live the life that we want, even if sometimes we can feel, think act as we're "terribly horribly wrong".
One person found this helpful
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C. James
5.0 out of 5 stars Recommended by DBT
Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2024
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Great parent book that was a suggested read by a DBT/CBT therapist. I'd recommend it for anyone struggling with anxiety or depression.
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Michelle H
4.0 out of 5 stars Fun Exercises
Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2013
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This book takes a different approach to managing anxiety (the ACT approach) and it seems helpful. There are fun little "exercises" in most chapters that help to illustrate points. Sometimes I get a bit lost with what the author is trying to convey, but overall the book is simple, not filled with technical jargon, and written with a sense of humor. I'm glad I bought the book.
2 people found this helpful
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Randy Burgess
5.0 out of 5 stars Super not just for those who are anxious, but almost anyone
Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2010
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I've finished reading (and rereading) "Things Might Go Terribly, Horribly Wrong," by Kelly Wilson & Troy Dufrene. As I expected from having read the previous book by this duo ("Mindfulness For Two"), this latest work is not only for those of us anxious about our anxiety, but for anyone interested in living well.

It's different than most self-help books. For one thing, it is not a workbook so much as a playbook. It has games you can try out - some hard, some easy - and poems too.

I find that with a few of the games, my mind starts complaining even while I'm reading the instructions on how to play: "That's impossible! That makes no sense!" This is already a hint of the possibilities involved.

I also like the book's discussion of values & how we can commit to them in this moment. And if we fail, as we sometimes do, how we can gently come back to a value & renew our commitment to it.

And those of us who want control at almost any cost (I raise my hand) will benefit from the examples throughout of how helpful it can be to allow life to surprise us.
31 people found this helpful
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C. Marker
5.0 out of 5 stars Pleasantly, wonderfully right
Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2010
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Kelly Wilson has written many research articles on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. This topic is often not explained well in research. However, he has always been a concise and clear writer on this topic. This book is no different. Things might go terribly, horribly wrong is an easy to understand and great read on a very powerful way for people to reduce anxiety. In our clinic, I am often looking for good books on Mindfulness and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. However, I have had a difficult time finding a book to recommend to clients until I read this book. I was amused and delighted reading this book and I am recommending it to many of our clients.
3 people found this helpful
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Bethany
5.0 out of 5 stars Makes Complicated Ideas Simple
Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2015
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This book is quite slim, but very simply and beautifully covers the complex ideas of ACT therapy for lay people. I listened to lecture on ACT therapy and was intrigued. The speaker recommended this book and I am very please with it. It explains complex ideas well and includes thought exercises to help put the ideas into practice. . It gives many word pictures and analogies--as well as making connections to poetry and classic literature. AND it presents a model of psychological wellness that is thoughtful, challenging, and helpful.
One person found this helpful
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bobweiss
5.0 out of 5 stars exceptional
Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2014
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The 6 steps of ACT are functional and effective for leading a more flexible life. Kelly Wilson articulates the processes so well as he applies it to all kinds of fear, pain, joy and health. Walk slowly through this book. No dogma found here, yet plenty of user friendly science that will enhance your long term health.
I have found it particularly useful for my clients who don't like sitting meditation. He really gets mindfulness as an evolving psychological flexibility where mistakes are part of the journey. If you judge yourself, read this book. You will still judge yourself, yet you will laugh at it more. This book is a superb contribution in a contextual science that is filled with wisdom: ACT...Robert L. Weiss, LICSW, CAS.
7 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Hopeful
Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2017
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My therapist recommended this book to me after my first session with him about my health anxiety. It was a good read, and I'm excited to go back and talk to my therapist about it. A lot in the book I felt like I already knew, but there were a few new concepts I hadn't thought of.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive approach to living a fulfilled life with anxiety
Reviewed in Canada on April 28, 2019
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Great approach to dealing with anxiety on a daily basis. Very comprehensive, with many relatable examples. Good exercises.
Very good read to help you live a fulfilled with anxiety.
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sonselit
5.0 out of 5 stars Sehr gute Übersicht über ACT, kurz zusammengefasst
Reviewed in Germany on July 12, 2017
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Das Buch beschreibt kurz, übersichtlich und unterhaltsam den Ansatz der sogenannten Akzeptanz- und Commitmenttherapie gegen Ängste, insbesondere bei generalisierter Angststörung.
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KOV
5.0 out of 5 stars Anxiety Management, forty years later!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 6, 2011
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In 1967 I bought  How To Stop Worrying And Start Living (Personal development)  as it seemed to be the best(maybe the only!) book on anxiety available at the time. And more than 40 years later I've now purchased Things Might Go Terribly, Horribly Wrong ('Things'), and what an interesting contrast.

Whereas the earlier book sought to change your behaviour and your thoughts directly - not as easy as it sounds, 'Things' is based on the new ACT approach of developing 'psychological flexibility' ... which enables you to handle mental events (thoughts, emotions and sensations) as they arise. This approach (which itself draws heavily on mindfulness) is a fundamental departure from much (most?) of the self help material on offer today. At its core, 'Things' teaches you NOT TO TRY AND CHANGE your thoughts etc. but to 'STEP BACK' from your swirl of mental events through AWARENESS. And in doing so you bring 'psychological flexibility' to bear on these events - allowing you to either choose to immerse yourself in them or to 'defuse' and just let them arise and fade as most will do naturally.

Maybe I've made it sound a little complicated but the book is wonderfully written and the material easy to read and practice. The authors, Wilson and Dufrene, have an uncanny knack of sensing what you might be feeling as you dip into the book, and tailoring their message accordingly with simple insightful and encouraging comments and gentle humour; and even the occasional piece of poetry seems to further illuminate their message.

So, for me this is probably the best book around today on helping to manage anxiety. And even the absence of an index (an unnecessary irritation!) cannot prevent me giving it five stars.

Many thanks to Wilson and Dufrene for this gem of a book.
19 people found this helpful
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Cheerioh
3.0 out of 5 stars intéressant mais un peu creux
Reviewed in France on May 23, 2011
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C'est ma première lecture sur l'ACT. J'y suis venue par les TCC. Je trouve ça intéressant parce qu'effectivement on se trouve vite confronté aux limites des TCC à savoir que toutes nos pensées ne sont pas négatives et que toute pensée négative n'est pas forcément mauvaise et comment on gère à partir de là.

A ce titre, le livre apporte un nouvel éclairage mais qui se limite un peu à une ouverture. j'ai apprécié le style bon enfant et léger mais justement je trouve ça un peu léger globalement. Il y a quelques exercices qui servent un peu de démonstration mais sans intérêt notoire d'un point de vue pratique. C'est une grosse introduction à cette évolution des TCC. Bien pour une première découverte. Le livre donne quand même envie d'aller explorer ces idées.

Ah oui et c'est un détail mais j'ai adoré les citations, très pertinentes, d'auteurs passés ainsi que la tranche non finie du livre.
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Andreas Larsson
5.0 out of 5 stars Well done, Dr Wilson!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 29, 2010
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I wanted to write a review that didn't have the words "terribly horribly" in the title. That actually went rather well. But things as a rule, will - not may - go terribly, horribly wrong. There is no such life as one totally bereft of any kind of pain or strife. Anxiety and the unwillingness to face it is a human given.

The thing with "Things" is that it invites us as readers to find if there can be a life, a meaningful, vital life and a life that we can find when we explore our uncomfortable emotions. "What if?" it seems to whisper. It's scary... I mean things might go really wrong even on that path. And yet. What if we walk it? And that is the other part of this book, it's gotta be walked. So pick it up, walk it and see what might happen besides things going wrong.
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