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Anxiety Rx: A New Prescription for Anxiety Relief from the Doctor Who Created It Paperback – October 9, 2020
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** Winner of the 2020 Nautilus Award in Psychology **
Anxiety Is Unavoidable: Suffering Is Optional
“Anxiety Rx is unlike any book on anxiety and a must-read for anyone who suffers with chronic worry.” – Nicole LePera, PhD, The Holistic Psychologist
On February 8, 2013, I was a highly anxious and burned-out fifty-two-year-old physician. That night, as I left my clinic in my usual chronic state of anxiety, I wondered if life was worth living. But I had to be on stage as a stand-up comedian an hour later, so killing myself would have to wait. However, I never got to the comedy club. I suffered an injury that night that would end my medical career.
I’ve dealt with anxiety since I was a teenager. My father was schizophrenic and bipolar, and the chaos and pain of his illness created tremendous alarm in my system. My mother did her best to love and take care of my brother and me, but she had her own issue with chronic anxiety. I often say my mother was neurotic and my father was psychotic, so my psyche didn’t stand much of a chance!
I wrote this book to make my father’s eventual suicide and the suffering of my family mean something: to help others like me who experienced chronic worry to understand and fix the pain that was sucking the life out of their lives. I have degrees and advanced training in medicine, neuroscience, and developmental psychology, but much of what I’ll share with you came out of my experiences in very unscientific places. This book is unique in its blend of hard neuroscience and soft spirit.
For over thirty years, I searched for relief from anxiety and saw over fifty practitioners ranging from Indian shamanic energy healers to highly accomplished psychiatrists. (I was lucky I was a doctor so I could afford to be a patient.) Have you, too, gone to extraordinary lengths to resolve your chronic compulsion to worry and are still suffering? Read on.
What makes this book different is a relentless focus on calming anxiety at its true source, which I will share with you in detail. That source is in a place most doctors and psychologists fail to explore, and that oversight is why the positive effects of most anxiety therapies tend to wear off over time.
Although I’ll talk about my patients’ experiences with anxiety as well as my own, everything within these pages has been vetted, explored, and applied to my own life. The ideas and practices are unique, novel, and effective. This is my life’s work and the ultimate book of high-impact solutions for escaping the trap of chronic worry. I truly do not want you to suffer as I have!
I’ve gone from being a hapless victim of my anxiety, never knowing when it would end, to having a path that helps me every single time anxiety comes up.
People with anxiety are confused because they don't know what is happening to them. In this book, I'll show you exactly what is going on in your mind and your body and exactly what you can do about it.
What is in this book has changed my life very much for the better, and I know it will do the same for you.
- Print length366 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateOctober 9, 2020
- Dimensions6 x 0.83 x 9 inches
- ISBN-101734426543
- ISBN-13978-1734426540
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Product details
- Publisher : Awaken Village Press (October 9, 2020)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 366 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1734426543
- ISBN-13 : 978-1734426540
- Item Weight : 1.15 pounds
- Dimensions : 6 x 0.83 x 9 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #36,542 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #87 in Anxieties & Phobias
- #105 in Anxiety
- #247 in Mental & Spiritual Healing
- Customer Reviews:
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Russell Kennedy
About the author

Russell Kennedy, MD is a physician, neuroscientist, certified yoga and meditation teacher, and a professional stand-up comedian. For over a decade he was a doctor by day, comic by night and that's no joke! He specializes in non-traditional treatments for anxiety disorders and he himself is a chronic worrier in recovery. He is married to Somatic Trauma Therapist Cynthia Solylo-Kennedy and is father to two step-sons, one daughter, two grandkids, and two Labradoodles. His hobbies are playing acoustic, electric, and classical guitar, golf, and hypochondriasis.
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the book helpful and insightful. They describe it as readable, well-written, and a treasure. The approach is simple and easy to understand, making everything make sense. Readers appreciate the humor and mention the book is entertaining at times. The daily process is effective and works, but it's not a quick fix. Customers praise the author's professionalism and warmth.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the book helpful. It provides insight and removes shame. The guided meditations help readers find new tools to cope with anxiety. Readers say it has changed their lives and relationships with anxiety.
"...These practices, diligently applied with curiosity, determination and compassion have been an eye opener, giving me a new path of discovery and..." Read more
"...I was not disappointed by the interview. I soon fell asleep, soothed and curious about this new method, and in the morning purchased Anxiety Rx...." Read more
"...and gracious, warm and gentle in tone ... yet so inordinately powerful in its life changing message...." Read more
"...Way more info then I expected. His personal stories were interesting and helpful in understanding the issues. One issue - it needs chapters!..." Read more
Customers find the book easy to read and helpful. They describe it as well-written and life-changing. Readers appreciate the author's tenacity, vulnerability, and time spent writing the book.
"This is quite a volume. Way more info then I expected. His personal stories were interesting and helpful in understanding the issues...." Read more
"This book is a treasure. It’s the best and most helpful book I’ve read on anxiety. I only regret I hadn’t found it sooner...." Read more
"...trauma and some other things, I found this book helpful and easy to read...." Read more
"...THANK YOU, Dr Kennedy, for your tenacity, vulnerability, and time in writing the book!" Read more
Customers find the book easy to understand and follow. They appreciate the down-to-earth approach and simple method. The lessons are clear and accessible, making it simple for readers to apply therapy directly to their bodies.
"An extraordinary work. Clear and totally accessible, easy to follow and understand, and gracious, warm and gentle in tone ... yet so inordinately..." Read more
"...Light humor is used throughout the book which makes it easier to process a subject that can be hard at times...." Read more
"...I am so incredibly grateful for Dr. Kennedy’s insight and his down to earth approach...." Read more
"...This book is different. The solution to separate mind from body and apply therapy directly to body is just perfect for me...." Read more
Customers enjoy the book's humor. They find it entertaining and easy to read, with quotes from some of the best comedians of the last 75 years.
"...Light humor is used throughout the book which makes it easier to process a subject that can be hard at times...." Read more
"Where can you find a book that addresses anxiety, quotes the best comedians of the last 75 years, current quantum healing leaders and spiritual..." Read more
"...It literally took me out of my head and panicky thoughts and made me laugh out loud and I realized then that I could stop, step back from my..." Read more
"...He breaks down complicated topics through analogies, examples, research and humor. The information is actually "sticking" in my mind...." Read more
Customers find the ABC steps simple and effective. They say it's a daily process that works, but it's not a quick fix.
"...The idea to use ABC steps is simple and effective...." Read more
"...It's a daily process that works, but it's not a quick fix, which I understand...." Read more
"...of following instructions— because if you follow these, the book served WORKS...." Read more
"...me from chronic anxiety, barely able to leave my house, to a functioning human being with a very low level of anxiety and alarm...." Read more
Customers appreciate the author's professionalism and warmth. They say he is a wonderful healer and warm and gentle in tone.
"...Clear and totally accessible, easy to follow and understand, and gracious, warm and gentle in tone ... yet so inordinately powerful in its life..." Read more
"...Kudos to this wonderful man who became a healer, but will heal far more with this book than he ever could being an allopathic physician...." Read more
"...with any number of other evidence-based counseling theories, is unprofessional and biased, based solely on his own experience...." Read more
"Excellent book for anyone with anxiety and the people who love them." Read more
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This is the BEST self-improvement book I’ve ever read!
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2024I picked up this book “by chance”at my local Public Library. What a lucky break!
Like Dr Kennedy I have struggled with anxiety all my life. In spite of numerous types of therapy, Buddhist practice and all the knowledge that years of professional practice as a psychotherapist have brought I was unable to break the alarm/worry cycle. Dr Kennedy provides the missing link, that alarm starts in the body and needs to be addressed right there. Trying to do it through thinking our way out of it is a fools errand. We have to learn to tune out of thinking and into awareness of the body. I agree with him that if you have not processed your experiences of childhood issues it makes sense to find a therapist to help you work through the insights and practices this book provides. If like me you have already done the therapy journey and have been searching for the missing piece of the puzzle, Go for It! These practices, diligently applied with curiosity, determination and compassion have been an eye opener, giving me a new path of discovery and healing. Be prepared to put your own slant on it, being creative about adapting the practices to your own life experience and response to what you read in the book and above all experiment, this helps to get out of the “frozen” mind space our worries get us locked into.
- Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2023At the beginning of this year (2023), in the middle of the night, riddled with insomnia and emotional terror, I searched the word "anxiety" in Spotify, hoping to find a podcast episode that would comfort me back to sleep. I came across an interview with Dr. Kennedy on the Mel Robbins show. I hadn't heard of either person, but was hooked by the description: "Everything you think about anxiety is wrong." And, "...this interview today is so revolutionary, it's forever changed the way I think about my anxiety and my relationship to it."
I was not disappointed by the interview. I soon fell asleep, soothed and curious about this new method, and in the morning purchased Anxiety Rx.
It took me about two and half weeks to read the book, along with reviews here and there, plus episodes of Kennedy's podcast. Yes the book is repetitive, but in the end I am thankful for that. Without being steeped in the concepts and drilling them over and over, a real shift in a lifetime's worth of negative thought patterns would not be possible. (The suggestion I would make for a revised edition would be to state from the introduction that there will be repetition—and to explain the importance of it—in order to manage reader expectations.)
Like a lot of other satisfied readers, I highlighted vast swaths of the book. Also like a lot of readers, I am familiar with other books, teachings and modalities in the emotional suffering and healing world: The Power of Now, Radical Acceptance, yoga, Buddhism, Byron Katie, Gabor Mate, mindfulness meditation, psychedelic psychotherapy and so forth. I also take an SSRI, completed over a dozen years of counseling, adopted a low-carb, high protein diet, and even became a personal trainer and nutrition coach because of the anti-depressant effects fitness and diet have on my emotional state.
Having done all that, the "alarm" still would find its way through to terrorize me, and I believed the cruel, negative thought loops to such a point that I wanted to die.
What Anxiety Rx did for me was to distill wisdom I had learned from other sources into actionable steps that I could implement immediately.
Dr. Russ teaches (among other things):
-All anxiety is separation anxiety from childhood. In adulthood, we become separated from ourselves.
-Believing negative thoughts is what causes the pain, not the thoughts themselves.
-Approach healing from the neck down. The mind lies. The body never lies.
-JABS = judge, alienate/abandon, blame, shame. JABS are the negative thought loops that lead to depression, paralysis, despair.
-When we were abused or abandoned by our caregivers, we still looked up to them. We could not blame them so we figured we must be to blame. We turned on ourselves as unlovable.
-When alarm strikes, ask yourself three questions: am I safe right NOW, what am I thankful for, where in my body am I safe?
-ALARMS is really what our inner child is feeling. (Abandonment, Loss, Abuse, Rejection, Maturing too early, Shame. Dr. Russ loves his acronyms. I have every one of these letters from my childhood, and had to skip parts of the ALARMS section because it was too overwhelming.) The inner child needs to feel safe and protected. Alarm is triggered in the present by experiences that recall the initial wound. (For me it's also triggered by high morning cortisol.)
-Tune out of the fiction mind and into reality: physical sensations. Hand on your heart, set the intention to protect your inner child. She is safe now. She can rest.
-In the millisecond after the body feels the alarm, the mind scrolls through the rolodex of potential fears to justify the panicked feeling. These thoughts are never true. Don't engage with the thoughts. Keep to the body.
-Trying to heal negative thoughts with more thoughts is like trying to put out a fire with gasoline.
I LOVED creating visualizations and having conversations with my inner child. It helped me detach in a creative and magical way from incredibly paralyzing thoughts. With an inner child ally, it becomes easy to see that the negative thoughts cannot possibly be true. They can't apply to an innocent child, and we ARE our innocent inner child. Now, every time a negative thought threatens me, I call up my inner child and we dismantle the thoughts together through visualizations and self-compassion.
Since reading the book, I have found a true ally within myself. I have learned that the "ego dragon" is an ancient protective mechanism that warped into a terrorizing demon who also needs to be heard and loved. By telling myself that I am a terrible person it keeps me from taking risks or living in the uncertainty of the present moment, and that uncertainty, as an abused child, was more terrifying than the familiarity and strange comfort of self-hatred. That was a huge revelation that I am so thankful for.
Another revelation for me was the slipperiness of the ego dragon. Over the years, in addition to self-flagellation, my ego dragon fed me enticing fantasies of rescue, which Kennedy associates rightly with victimhood. I used to have great hopes of fame and fortune, along with all-consuming romantic infatuations. I now see that my ego was playing a long con on me—building up the hope of rescue through external and grandiose validation only for the fantasy to never manifest, leaving me feeling humiliated, rejected and inevitably despondent. Now, along with my inner child practice and the ABCs, I remain not only vigilant for self-hating thoughts, but also for fantasies of grandeur, knowing that they are the cunning work of the ego dragon. This helps me stick to the present moment, slow down and lean into the sometimes painful but never deadly uncertainty of life.
This is probably the longest review I've written here, thank you for reading. I know this book will not resonate with everyone but for me it was a true gift. If Dr. Kennedy ever creates a teacher certification program I would definitely sign up, because it would be incredibly meaningful to help others overcome decades of emotional pain.
Thank you for this wonderful technique and wisdom.
- Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2025An extraordinary work. Clear and totally accessible, easy to follow and understand, and gracious, warm and gentle in tone ... yet so inordinately powerful in its life changing message. A gift to be unwrapped slowly, as one journeys with the author, on a pathway of healing and recovery.
- Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2024This is quite a volume. Way more info then I expected. His personal stories were interesting and helpful in understanding the issues. One issue - it needs chapters! It has no chapter breaks.
Many reviewers said it was repetitive and it was in places. And yet - I couldn't put my finger on what was not new.
The best part of the book is the last Part. That's where it gets really helpful. So my suggestion is to read from the beginning until you get a good understanding of the issues and then move to Part 4. That is dense with helpful, usable information.
- Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2024Anxiety Rx has completely changed how I see what anxiety is and how to finally really heal from it. And, it is different than the many other books on the topic that rely on positive thinking. With Anxiety Rx I now understand that anxiety is mind-body based and how to step out of the anxiety loop for longterm healing. This book simply helps people to get out of the anxiety spiral and to actually unravel what is happening to us. Anxiety runs deep so the repetition in the book (which the author explains is intentional to help overcome the deep unconscious groove that anxiety created in us since we were young) is so helpful and not to be ignored. This repetition helps to repair and heal patterns that have held so many hostage for too long.
Light humor is used throughout the book which makes it easier to process a subject that can be hard at times. And, his own life experience really shows as he walks with you. He truly has lived with the pain, and has worked decades to help others find a way out. I am now able to unravel my anxiety instead of depending on medication, supplements or therapists which have kept me in a loop rather than setting me free.
Top reviews from other countries
- P. BouvryReviewed in Canada on October 24, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars Worth the read
This book goes beyond the usual solutions to handle anxiety issues. Very well written and red.
-
Cliente KindleReviewed in Brazil on January 28, 2023
4.0 out of 5 stars Bom, mas cansativo
O livro traz insights verdadeiros e pode ajudar quem sofre de ansiedade crônica. O lado negativo é que o autor exagera na repetição e nas referências pessoais, tornando o texto desnecessariamente longo e cansativo em algumas passagens.
- InkieReviewed in the United Kingdom on January 8, 2025
5.0 out of 5 stars Just buy the book
I’ve suffered with anxiety all my life, due to a traumatic childhood and have spent hundreds of hours in all sorts of therapies, from counselling (two counsellors at the same time at one point) distraction programmes to emotional release hypnotherapy and more, and nothing has come close to this book. A miracle lead me to Dr Kennedy on YouTube, after I came close to a breakdown. I’ve since bought his MBRX program and obviously his books. The first time I heard him say that anxiety is energy stored in the body and not in the mind, from unsolved trauma, I knew I’d found the answer. Dr Russ is repetitive, but I’m glad as my mind often goes off track and the anxious thoughts can take over. I’m working through his program and my alarm/anxiety has definitely reduced but you have to be determined and keep up with the program. These thought processes have been with me for over 40 years and they are not going to disappear over night or without a fight.
I’m sorry for the previous negative reviews, as you are obviously not understanding it. Once I read that I had to find the alarm in my body as this was my hurting inner child, I had several profound moments and cried for hours over trauma that I didn’t know was there.
If you have anxiety and childhood trauma, just buy the book. It will change your life.
-
Amazon KundeReviewed in Germany on October 10, 2023
5.0 out of 5 stars Unkonventionell aber Wirkungsvoll
Dieses Buch und auch der Podcast von Russell Kennedy sind die ersten Dinge, die mir wirklich geholfen haben.
Hier geht es nicht darum, sich die Welt positiv und schön zu denken. Auch nicht anderen vorzuhalten welche Verletzungen sie einem angetan haben, oder Strategien diese Konflikte mit diesen Menschen zu lösen. Und auch nicht um die Top 10 Dinge und Routinen die das Leben verbessern sollen.
Es geht darum eine Verbindung zu sich wiederzufinden und aufzubauen, die irgendwo verloren ging. Zu verstehen, dass die Gedanken nicht die Ursache des Problems, sondern nur ein Symptom des Problems ist. Und darum einen weg zu finden, sich selbst das zu geben, was man in traumatischen Zeiten nicht erhalten hat. Sei es als Kind, Jugendlicher oder Erwachsener.
----- Wie ich zu diesem Buch gekommen bin -----
Ich allem, was nicht wissenschaftlich bewiesen ist, sehr skeptisch gegenüber. Weswegen der Weg zu diesem Buch sehr lange war. (Ich kämpfe bereits mein halbes Leben mit diesen Problemen)
Nach dem Kontakt mit Psychiatern/Therapeuten habe ich mich nicht wirklich verstanden gefühlt. Es wurden extrem schnell Medikamente verschrieben und probiert, bevor überhaupt noch die Ursache verstanden, geschweige denn besprochen wurde.
Medikamente haben natürlich ihre Wirkung, aber auch starke Nebenwirkungen. Allerdings war die Wirkung der Medikamente auf mich hauptsächlich dämpfend, betäubend und allgemein hatte ich den Eindruck nichts mehr zu fühlen. Ich war wieder arbeitsfähig, aber wie ein gefühlsloser Roboter. Das Problem bzw. das Trauma wurde nicht aufgelöst.
Außerdem scheint es beim Versuch diese Probleme zu lösen vorwiegend darum zu gehen anders zu denken. Mein Verhalten und meine Reaktionen zu verstehen finde ich durchaus extrem wichtig. Allerdings änderte für mich eine positivere Denkweise nichts daran, wie ich mich gefühlt habe.
Ich bekam das Eindruck und es scheint auch tatsächlich so zu sein, dass Mediziner (Der Autor Russell Kennedy ist selbst einer) eigentlich noch sehr wenig über psychische Erkrankungen wissen und verstehen, oder zumindest noch nicht genau zu wissen wie sie effektiv behandelt und nicht nur unterdrückt werden können.
- Testein Pasdel Vijaishree SivasamyReviewed in India on February 17, 2023
5.0 out of 5 stars Best book for anxiety and trauma disorders
I was paralysed with crippling anxiety for many many years. I am 23 years old and I discovered Dr Russell Kennedy's work last year by listening to the Mel Robbins podcast, for the first time I saw light at the end of the tunnel. I have tried talk therapy and CBT for many years but the effects didn't last long enough for me to move about my daily life without the Anxiety that was wearing me down. It was through this book I understood the most important facet for healing my anxiety. My anxiety was so severe that I lost sleep for 4 days straight. My mind will shut down but my body wouldn't come to terms with my mind. My digestion was out of place, I threw up everything I ate. It was horrible and I'm not exaggerating one bit and no, Dr Russ didn't ask me to type this but this one man's work transformed my life not on a whim, as he says, it's not going to happen soon and healing is very erratic but my symptoms have been going down and for the first time I have reconcealed with my younger child who faced trauma. I am lucky to live in this time space for getting a chance to read this book. Thank you for taking one for the team Dr Russ. It's a must read book for healing your trauma, anxiety and Dissociation disorders.