Review of “Beyond Anxiety” by Martha Beck

Martha Beck holds a PhD in Sociology from Harvard, among other degrees, and has established herself as a leader in the field of life coaching. Having grappled with severe anxiety herself, she made it her mission to research the subject and identify effective ways of curbing anxiety’s grip on Western society.

First off, she observes that many of us have grown up in a culture that reveres left-brain thinking– logical, controlling, competitive and productivity-obsessed – with too little focus on the right brain. The result is a pandemic of ‘anxiety spirals’ triggered by fear and trauma that aren’t grounded in present reality but keep looping back; she is convinced that the antidote is learning to harness the creative right brain to quieten anxiety and ignite innovative problem-solving and a joyful sense of purpose and connection.

The author herself went through IFS (Internal Family Systems) therapy, which she found helpful in understanding how different parts of the psyche react when under stress, and she explains this further in quite a bit of detail. She also shares other personal experiences, as well as those of clients and colleagues, including the fascinating case of Dr Jill Bolte Taylor, whose left hemisphere stopped functioning at the time she had a stroke at the age of 37 (if you’re interested, she wrote a book about this called My Stroke of Insight, and has a TED Talk).

Martha Beck uses humorous and whimsical metaphors to convey concepts – from ‘stitching a sanity quilt’ to ‘magical chickens’. The book contains numerous exercises that can be applied to calm your ‘anxiety creature’ – yes, you should give it a name as it’s not going anywhere! – and progresses through suggestions and practices to connect you with your curiosity and creativity, and use these as tools to find peace and purpose.

The book is organised into three main sections. The latter part of Beyond Anxiety does move into spiritual and metaphysical territory and a broader discussion on humanity. As she unapologetically states, it may seem a bit too “woo woo” for some people – but it certainly makes for thought-provoking reading.