The Worry Solution

Nature has wired us to worry, Dr. Rossman explains in The Worry Solution, so it's futile to try to stop.  The good news is that worry itself is a neutral function of our imagination - a reflection of the brain's ability to look at a problem from many different angles and to identify and tease apart the different pieces of a puzzle. What makes worry negative or positive, Dr. Rossman explains, is the way we use it. Unproductive worry sets us off on a mental hamster wheel of obsessive thoughts - effectively triggering the stress response that is behind a slew of chronic and/or life-threatening illnesses, from fibromyalgia to obesity to heart disease. Productive worry, to the contrary, helps us solve problems, prevent disease, and achieve peace of mind.

The Worry Solution offers not only helpful information but also its practical application - providing readers with numerous hands-on, easy-to-use guided imagery techniques that can be done in the comfort of one's own home. For those who prefer audio exercises, the guided imagery methods outlined in the book are also available on CDs or audio downloads that can be purchased on The Worry Solution website. Scientific research has demonstrated that these kind of simple, 15-minute guided imagery exercises can reduce anxiety by nearly 90%. As such, The Worry Solution is not just a book about preventative medicine. It is preventative medicine - a manifestation of the holistic, "more skills, less pills" approach to health care.

Dr. Rossman, a pioneer in mind-body medicine, is the founder of The Healing Mind, the co-founder of the Academy for Guided Imagery, a Clinical Faculty member at the University of California San Francisco Medical School, and an advisory board member of Dr. Andrew Weil's Integrative Medicine Program at the University of Arizona. Dr. Rossman's cutting-edge research in guided imagery has contributed to the current paradigm of holistic health and has influenced the work of many of its prominent leaders, including Drs. Weil, Dean Ornish, and Rachel Remen.