1.
What inspired you to write your book? A couple of years ago, I suffered from anxiety, and I felt that I
didn’t want to spend time dwelling on what was happening to my mind and body by
reading all these self-help books. I found myself watching comedies,
surrounding myself with comfort. I wanted anything I read to make me laugh, and
make me feel less alone, maybe even laugh at myself. ‘Why Am I Scared
of Everything?’ was a reaction to that.
2.
What message do you want to leave people with? I’d like the reader to take comfort from the universal themes of
being nervous about the bigger and smaller things we all deal with, but also to
leave people with a smile, realizing how these things just don’t matter. Our
heroine, Regina, often paints the ‘worst case scenario’ in the book, and we can
laugh at the improbability of this. It’s a message to tell people to just go
for it. The inspiring quotes at the bottom of each page can act as a mantra for
those tackling that particular anxiety.
3.
What do most people fear most often? We always hear about people fearing the big things: death and
illness for example. ‘Why Am I Scared of Everything?’ looks at
this, but the common everyday fears as well. So many of us fear just being in a
room making small-talk with strangers. We fear flying, how we look, how we
behave, driving. Almost anything can be a fear – and they’re all far more
common than people think.
4.
What do people with anxiety fear that most
don't concern themselves with? I remember not wanting
to leave the house. I’d imagine all the things that could possibly go wrong.
It’s the details that most without anxiety don’t think about. Thoughts like,
‘If I wear that, people will laugh at me.’ ‘I won’t be able to park, and people
will watch me and judge me.’ ‘I’ll say something stupid to someone and look
foolish.’ If you’re a confident person without anxiety, these are things that
barely cross your mind. But with anxiety, just a trip to buy a newspaper can be
a source of worry.
5.
Do people fail to take steps to prevent things
that could go wrong? A lot of people with anxiety can do exactly the
opposite. They take steps to avoid anything going wrong. Avoiding going out or
not pushing themselves to achieve their ambitions.
6.
How can one be more optimistic and less
anxious? The knowledge that other people have the same issues, that anxiety
is so common, can give people strength. For me it was a gradual process. I
tried to look at my fears and dissect them, and I realized none of them were
important. Practical things for me were listening to uplifting music, watching
really funny films, getting exercise and not beating myself up if I didn’t do
what I thought ‘I should’ do that day. If people stop pressuring themselves to
do something they might end up doing it through wanting to anyway.
For more information, please read this:
For more information, please read this:
More than forty
million adults in the United States suffer from anxiety disorders, and women
are twice as likely as men to be riddled with unfettered anxiety.
Author and
illustrator Bethany Straker has had personal
experience dealing with anxiety, and wanted to adopt a humorous approach at
addressing our common fears. In her new book, Why Am I Scared of
Everything?: A Diary of Our Greatest Worries and Inspirational Quotes to
Remember, she highlights a selection of common
anxiety-inducing fears such as:
Being a failure
Aging
Changing jobs
Having children
Flying
Becoming a bag lady
And many more!
With witty
illustrations and inspirational quotes on each spread to help any anxiety sufferer
get through the tough times, Why Am I Scared of Everything? promises
to make the reader laugh at his or her own worries while feeling as if they
aren’t alone in their fears. Available for pre-order now @ Amazon. The book debuts in February from Skyhorse Publishing.
DON’T MISS: ALL NEW RESOURCE OF THE YEAR
2015 Book PR & Marketing Toolkit: All New
Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and
ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his employer, Media
Connect, the nation’s largest book promoter. You can follow him on Twitter
@theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more
important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by
BookMarketingBuzzBlog © 2015
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