內容簡介
「一本關於在忙碌生活中對抗焦慮的精彩回憶錄」─柯克斯評論
作者莎拉‧威爾森身兼數職，是記者、企業家、作家，豐富的日常生活中，她還得花時間和心中的怪獸作戰，也就是慢性焦慮。當她讀到了一句中國格言「要對抗怪物，就必須先將它變美」(意譯)，馬上就了解這句話即將改變她的人生。
威爾森理解其意義在於在對抗某樣東西前，不能將它當作敵人，而是必須將它當作夥伴、人生的指引，她決定要將這個哲學運用在治療她的慢性焦慮的問題上。
於是她開始作研究、查詢各種引起焦慮的原因和治療方法，並且訪問了許多心理治療的專家、受焦慮所苦的患者，甚至是達賴喇嘛她都訪問過了，最終威爾森發現，焦慮並非是一種危險傷人的疾病，而是患者本身的探索之旅。
本書內容實用、明智、有趣，對於那些還在掙扎、不知該怎麼面對焦慮的自己的朋友們，都很需要這本書來讓你認識自己。
“Probably the best book on living with anxiety that I’ve ever read.” – Mark Manson, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
The Chinese believe that before you can conquer a beast, you must first make it beautiful.
Sarah Wilson first came across this Chinese proverb in psychiatrist Kay Redfield Jamison's memoir An Unquiet Mind, and it became the key to understanding her own lifelong struggle with anxiety. Wilson, bestselling author, journalist, and entrepreneur has helped over 1.5 million people worldwide to live better, healthier lives through her I Quit Sugar books and program. And all along, she has been managing chronic anxiety.
In First, We Make the Beast Beautiful, Wilson directs her intense focus and fierce investigating skills onto her lifetime companion, looking at the triggers and treatments, the fashions and fads. She reads widely and interviews fellow sufferers, mental health experts, philosophers, and even the Dalai Lama, processing all she learns through the prism of her own experiences.
Wilson offers readers comfort, humor, companionship, and practical tips for living with the Beast:
●Cultivate a "gratitude ritual." You can't be grateful and anxious at the same time.
●Eat to curb anxiety. Real food is your best friend.
●Just breathe. Embrace the healing power of meditation.
●Make your bed. Every day. Simple outer order creates inner calm.
●Study fellow fretters to know thyself. Emily Dickinson, Charles Darwin, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. all struggled with anxiety.
●Actively practice missing out. Forget FOMO, curl up on the couch, and order takeout.
Practical and poetic, wise and funny, First, We Make the Beast Beautiful is a small book with a big heart. It will encourage the myriad souls who dance with this condition to embrace it as a part of who they are, and to explore the possibilities it offers for a richer, fuller life.