Product Description
Are you, like milllions of Americans, caught in the happiness trap? Russ Harris explains that the way most of us go about trying to find happiness ends up making us miserable, driving the epidemics of stress, anxiety, and depression. This empowering book presents the insights and techniques of ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) a revolutionary new psychotherapy based on cutting-edge research in behavioral psychology. By clarifying your values and developing mindfulness (a technique for living fully in the present moment), ACT helps you escape the happiness trap and find true satisfaction in life. The techniques presented in The Happiness Trap will help readers to: * Reduce stress and worry * Handle painful feelings and thoughts more effectively * Break self-defeating habits * Overcome insecurity and self-doubt * Create a rich, full, and meaningful lifeTo learn more about the author, Russ Harris, go to www.thehappinesstrap.com.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 5.0 based on 28 reviews)

Simply Amazing! by Peter Martin (California)

5 Stars
August 09, 2009
As someone who is a practicing therapist, I have been intrigued by Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for some time now. I tried to ready Dr. Steven Hayes' book "Acceptance and Commitment Therapy", but it seemed very dense and difficult to understand. I tried the various books by New Harbinger Press on ACT therapy and while they were useful, I still was unsure I understood ACT properly. Then came Dr. Russ Harris' "The Happiness Trap"... What a joy it was for me to read this book! Dr. Harris has the rare ability to explain difficult concepts in a very straight-forward way. Now I can finally say with conviction that I know and understand ACT therapy thanks to Dr. Harris and this book. However, you don't have to be a mental health professional to read and appreciate this book. In fact, the book seems to have been written for non-professionals because there are no psychological terms in this book. Instead, you will get clearly written and easy to understand concepts that are both empowering and insightful. I highly recommend this book to both the layperson who is trying to live a more valued and meaningful life and my mental health brethren who, like me, have been trying to understand ACT, but to no avail. Remarkably, "The Happiness Trap" is the answer to both groups.

The Happiness Trap by W. Repke (Michigan)

4 Stars
July 01, 2009
I am just starting the book, but find it to already have helped change my thinking. It offers a great perspective on "happiness" and the myths we have surrounding the concept. I will definitely keep reading!

ACT: Reality-based Therapy by bronx book nerd (Bronx, NY USA)

5 Stars
June 18, 2009
You will always have negatve thoughts and bad feelings. That's just the way life is. The key is not to struggle against these feelings or to try to make them go away, but to accept them and "make room for them", as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) teaches. This is a liberating thought: to accept that everyone will always and for all eternity have negative feelings and emotions. This does not make you abnormal or weak - it makes you human. Russ Harris writes crisply and clearly in the Happiness Trap, as he takes the reader through the basic philosphy of ACT and demonstrates how it is applied. His approach is true to his teachings, as he encourages the reader not believe ACT becuase he says so, but to use it if it works. A major lesson from ACT is that to create a meaningful life, people should be value-driven as opposed to goal-driven. Goals are events that are over when completed; values stay with us always. We can choose to live by our values at any time, and do not have to wait for a particular goal to be achieved. This is why some people are very happy despite not having the conventional trappings of success. They can live humbly, for example, and live by the value of providing for their family, in the present moment, rather than waiting to feel happy until they have acheived some "magazine cover" mansion and Rolls Royce success. ACT is very similar to Psychology of Mind (thoughts are just words) but uses this as a building block towards a more flexible personal psychology. This is one book that I will definitely re-read to extract maximum benefit.

A Revolutionary New Psychotherapy by Jusuf Hariman (Australia)

5 Stars
May 25, 2009
Are you, like millions of Americans, caught in the happiness trap? The author explains that the way most of us go about trying to find happiness ends up making us miserable, driving the epidemics of stress, anxiety, and depression. This empowering book presents the insights, and techniques of ACT (Acceptance and Committment Therapy), a revolutionary new psychotherapy based on cutting-edge research in behavioural psychology. By clarifying your values and developing mindfulness (a technique for living fully in the present moment), ACT helps you escape the happiness trap and find true satisfaction in life. The techniques presented in "The Happiness Trap" will help readers: (1). Reduce stress and worry; (2). Break self-defeating habits; (3).Overcome insecurity and self-doubt; (4). Create a rich, full and meaningful life; and (5). Handle painful feelings and thoughts more effectively.

easiest access to ACT ideas by Breath to Breath

5 Stars
May 17, 2009
This was a pleasure to read. ACT can be an intimidating therapy because there are so many new terms and concepts. Russ has a way of making complex ideas simple and making abstract ideas come to life. I could read this book under a palm tree on a Sunday and enjoy myself. I found myself underlining and highlighting the pages to death because there were so many phrases that I wanted to hold onto. So many books on mindfulness and acceptance yet everything felt fresh and exciting. Of course, there can never be enough writings on this topic because its so easy to forget to be attentive. Its so easy to forget that anxiety is not something to be fought and eliminated. Can't wait to read his next book.

SIMILAR PRODUCTS

	Act With Love: Stop Struggling, Reconcile Differences, and Strengthen Your Relationship With Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (Professional) by Russ, M.D. Harris (Author) Popular myths about love set us up for a struggle with real life. The inconvenient truth is there's no such thing as a perfect partner, all couples fight, and feelings of love come and go like the weather. But that doesn't mean you can't have a joyful and romantic relationship. Through a simple program based on the revolutionary new mindfulness-based acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), you can learn to handle painful thoughts and feelings more effectively and engage fully in the process of...
	The Mindfulness & Acceptance Workbook for Depression: Using Acceptance & Commitment Therapy to Move Through Depression & Create a Life Worth Living (New Harbinger Self-Help Workbook) by Kirk D. Strosahl (Author), Patricia J. Robinson (Author) There are hundreds of books that will try to help you "overcome" or "put an end to" depression. But what if you could use your depression to change your life for the better? Your symptoms may be signals that something in your life needs to change. Learning to understand and interpret these signals is much more important than ignoring or avoiding them--approaches that only make the situation worse. This workbook uses techniques from acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to offer a new...
	ACT Made Simple: An Easy-to-Read Primer on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (Professional) by Russ, M.D. Harris (Author), Steven C. Hayes (Foreword) Would you like to be less stressed and more fulfilled at work? Then join the many thousands of therapists and life coaches worldwide who are learning acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). ACT is not just a proven effective treatment for depression, anxiety, stress, addictions, eating disorders, schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, and myriad other psychological issues. It's also a revolutionary new way to view the human condition, packed full of exciting new tools, techniques, and...
	The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Anxiety: A Guide to Breaking Free from Anxiety, Phobias, and Worry Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy by John P. Forsyth (Author), Georg H. Eifert (Author) Anxiety happens. It's not a choice. And attempts to "manage" your thoughts or "get rid" of worry, fear, and panic can leave you feeling frustrated and powerless. But you can take back your life from anxiety without controlling anxious thoughts and feelings. You can stop avoiding anxiety and start showing up to your life. This book will get you started, using a revolutionary new approach called acceptance and commitment therapy, or ACT. The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Anxiety...
	Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life: The New Acceptance and Commitment Therapy by Steven C. Hayes (Author) Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a new approach to psychotherapy that rethinks even our most basic assumptions of mental well-being. Starting with the assumption that the normal condition of human existence is suffering and struggle, ACT works by first encouraging individuals to accept their lives as they are in the here and now. This acceptance is an antidote to the problem of avoidance, which ACT views as among the greatest risk factors for unnecessary suffering and poor mental...