I Bet I Won't Fret: A Workbook to Help Children With Generalized Anxiety Disorder

By Timothy A. Sisemore

Book Overview

We like to think of childhood as a carefree time, but for the many children with anxiety disorders it's anything but. Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is one of the most common anxiety disorders in children. It causes intense worry and anxiety that can disrupt emotional, academic, and social development. The good news is that GAD is highly treatable and children can be taught to manage and even overcome it. Child psychologist Timothy Sisemore specializes in helping anxious children and in I Bet I Won't Fret he gives kids fun and engaging exercises to help them relieve anxiety and worry, change anxiety-inducing self-talk, and communicate their feelings. These activities can be done on their own or as part of a therapy program, and are appropriate for kids between the ages of six and twelve.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1572246006
• ISBN13: 9781572246003
• Release Date: March 2008
• Publisher: Instant Help Publications
• Length: 152 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 8.0" x 9.9"
• Age Range: 6 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 1 to 7

Customer Reviews

Very useful - lots of activities....

My 11 yo son, who has Asperger's Syndrome, is working through this book. His worries range from not getting enough sleep to asteroids hitting earth, or germs on his hands, or global warming's effect on snow, and so on. "I Bet I Won't Fret" is a very useful book on many levels. First, the fact there is a book designed just for kids to work on anxiety helped my son believe me when I said, "Many kids have anxiety, it's not just you." It was less stressful just to know and believe he wasn't alone. Second, it is written so that kids can do it independently, they set up their reward (it is a behaviorial approach and so includes the idea of rewards for working through the book) with their parent and then can do the exercises independently. I'd say 4th/5th through middle school. Third, there are a variety of activities to choose from - learning to recognize stressors, analyzing how others handle worries, changing self-talk, developing an anti-anxious plan, relaxation and breathing, problem solving, talking back to worries, and so on. This is helpful because every child is different, and some strategies will be more useful than others for any given child. There are bound to be a few real gems for any child in this book. I would definitely recommend going over the exercises with your child, however, for the insights you can gain, and also to model your own responses to the questions or examples. The author says most kids with anxiety disorders benefit from seeing a counselor, and that this book is intended as a companion to therapy so that parents can help their kids at home. We are not seeing a counselor since I am still looking for one who is experienced with Asperger's Syndrome, but even working through it independently, my son has made some gains.