"We think of anxiety as everything from mild unease to full-blown panic. But it's also what drives the addictive behaviors and bad habits we use to cope (e.g. stress eating, procrastination, doom scrolling and social media). Plus, anxiety lives in a part of the brain that resists rational thought. So we get stuck in anxiety habit loops that we can't think our way out of or use willpower to overcome. Dr. Brewer teaches us how to map our brains to discover our triggers, defuse them with the simple but powerful practice of curiosity, and to train our brains using mindfulness and other practices that his lab has proven can work."-- adapted from book jacket.

Understanding your mind. Anxiety goes viral ; The birth of anxiety ; Habits and everyday addictions ; Anxiety as a habit loop -- Mapping your mind: first gear. How to map your mind ; Why your previous anti-anxiety (and anti-habit) strategies failed ; Dave's story, part 1 ; A brief word on mindfulness ; What is your mindfulness personality type? -- Updating your brain's reward value: second gear. How your brain makes decisions (why we prefer cake to broccoli) ; Stop thinking: Dave's story, part 2 ; Learning (and growing) from the past ; Fixing the fix: Dana Small's chocolate experiment ; How long does it take to change a habit? -- Finding that bigger, better offer for your brain: third gear. The bigger, better offer ; The science of curiosity ; Dave's story, part 3 ; What's good about rainy days? ; All you need is love ; The why habit loop ; Even doctors get panic attacks ; Evidence-based faith ; Anxiety sobriety ; Six years and five minutes.