Psychology

The Happiness Trap (Second Edition)

The Happiness Trap (Second Edition)

  • Downloads：5759
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-09-18 09:51:42
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Russ Harris
  • ISBN：1645471160
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

Free yourself from depression， anxiety， and insecurity， and instead build a rich and meaningful life with the updated and expanded edition of the world’s best-selling guide to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy （ACT）。

Over 1 million copies sold！

In The Happiness Trap， Dr。 Russ Harris provides a means to escape the epidemic of stress， anxiety， and depression， unlocking the secrets to a truly fulfilling life。

Updated and expanded by fifty percent in its second edition， this empowering book presents the insights and techniques of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy （ACT）， covering more topics and providing more practical tools than ever before。 Learn how to clarify your values， develop self-compassion， and find true satisfaction with this bigger and better guide to:

Reducing stress and worry
Handling painful thoughts and feelings more effectively
Breaking self-defeating habits
Overcoming insecurity and self-doubt
Building better relationships
Improving performance and finding fulfilment at work

New topics include activating self-compassion; how to deal with loneliness， grief， and trauma; how to work with difficult behaviors like people-pleasing， perfectionism， and procrastination; and how to make difficult decisions。

The Happiness Trap is for everyone。 Whether you’re lacking confidence， facing illness， coping with loss， working in a high-stress job， or suffering from anxiety or depression， this book will show you how to build authentic happiness， from the inside out。

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Reviews

Sarah Loft ，

Simple， practical， achievable tools for living well。The book itself is a little repetitive （possibly intentionally so）， but does contain some fantastic content。I'd recommend this book to others。These teachings could be even more helpful if coupled with Biblical truth， such as:-Comparing the difference between joy and happiness。-Acknowledging that while we can't stop our thoughts and feelings， we can choose to trust and dwell on what God says is true。 （Eg。 We are fearfully and wonderfully made）。- Simple， practical， achievable tools for living well。The book itself is a little repetitive （possibly intentionally so）， but does contain some fantastic content。I'd recommend this book to others。These teachings could be even more helpful if coupled with Biblical truth， such as:-Comparing the difference between joy and happiness。-Acknowledging that while we can't stop our thoughts and feelings， we can choose to trust and dwell on what God says is true。 （Eg。 We are fearfully and wonderfully made）。-And we can ask him to help us （we don't have to do it in our own strength， in fact we shouldn't）。 。。。more

Darcy Schock ，

A book review: The Happiness trap by Russ Harris This book is a book about how to let go of the power thoughts have over us and live a life we truly value。 The whole point is not to get rid of thoughts， but the struggle with them。 One thing I really appreciated about this book was how often he reiterated if this doesn’t work try something else。 In this book he gives so many different things to try。 Often when I read books I can get hung up on something that doesn’t necessarily work for me then f A book review: The Happiness trap by Russ Harris This book is a book about how to let go of the power thoughts have over us and live a life we truly value。 The whole point is not to get rid of thoughts， but the struggle with them。 One thing I really appreciated about this book was how often he reiterated if this doesn’t work try something else。 In this book he gives so many different things to try。 Often when I read books I can get hung up on something that doesn’t necessarily work for me then feel like a failure if it doesn’t work。He teaches us to stop fighting the negative thoughts， instead to see them for what they are， make room for them to come and go， and shift our focus to the things that are valuable to us。 I’ve always tried to get rid of them which never worked only causing more negative feelings。 Another thing he teaches is thoughts and feelings are just stories， opinions， they aren’t necessarily truth。 I don’t know about you but mine feel so incredibly true。 This book really helped me separate from all I was stuck to that wasn’t true。 There’s so much freedom living separate from thoughts that aren’t true。 They may not leave， but they no longer have power to control or bind me。I also really benefited from how he described values verses goals。 I can get hung up on goals and if they don’t come to pass I feel like a failure or that time spent working toward it was wasted。 But values on the other hand… they are deeper。 They are the reason we do things。 It was really helpful for me to understand the importance of understanding values and how that is the very base of setting goals。I’ve been struggling…and healing， most of my life from feeling bondage to peoples opinions or expectations。 I’ve wanted freedom from it。 What I found in this book was even better， I’ve found how to break free from my own thoughts。 That’s incredibly valuable。 I’d highly recommend this book。 I bought the illustrated copy to remind me quickly of the principles in this book。 。。。more

John Weiler ，

Excellent work （albeit with exercises which occasionally felt overly prescriptive！） I found that many of the fundamental concepts espoused in The Happiness Trap， especially those related to the idea of an inner voice， echoed those found in Don Miguel Ruiz' The Four Agreements， and vice-versa。 I believe the two works complement each other。 Excellent work （albeit with exercises which occasionally felt overly prescriptive！） I found that many of the fundamental concepts espoused in The Happiness Trap， especially those related to the idea of an inner voice， echoed those found in Don Miguel Ruiz' The Four Agreements， and vice-versa。 I believe the two works complement each other。 。。。more

Patrick Funston ，

Read at the suggestion of my therapist。 This is a self-help-angled look at （and invitation to） the principles of ACT， Acceptance and Commitment Therapy。 As I understand it， the ideas about ACT are that happiness is actually an uncommon state of mind and that spiraling out of control when we encounter difficult emotions only makes it more difficult to step away from them。 Friendliness and mindful “anchoring” is needed “unhook” ourselves from these difficult emotions。I listened to the audiobook of Read at the suggestion of my therapist。 This is a self-help-angled look at （and invitation to） the principles of ACT， Acceptance and Commitment Therapy。 As I understand it， the ideas about ACT are that happiness is actually an uncommon state of mind and that spiraling out of control when we encounter difficult emotions only makes it more difficult to step away from them。 Friendliness and mindful “anchoring” is needed “unhook” ourselves from these difficult emotions。I listened to the audiobook of the recently released second edition and appreciated the accompanying worksheets and meditations Harris provided。 Other than the usual and obvious normal limitations （for example， being harder to go back and review specific memorable passages）， audiobook was a helpful way to access this material because it’s narrated by the author and at the points when he invites specific mindfulness practices， he actually guides you through them。 。。。more

Behrooz Tadayon ，

This book is divided into two main parts。 In the first one， several methods and ways are suggested in order to find a path to have a meaningful life （which is not an always-happy life， according to what is said， but a life that must be accepted and commited to wholeheartedly）。 In the second part， which I found extremely interesting and useful， the importance of having values in life is discussed。 According to what is said， it's through having and believing in values that one can enjoy every mome This book is divided into two main parts。 In the first one， several methods and ways are suggested in order to find a path to have a meaningful life （which is not an always-happy life， according to what is said， but a life that must be accepted and commited to wholeheartedly）。 In the second part， which I found extremely interesting and useful， the importance of having values in life is discussed。 According to what is said， it's through having and believing in values that one can enjoy every moment of his life along with trying to reach his goals in the future （that may or may not be achieved， but because of finding important values that matter to us， no matter the outcome， we are pleased that we are in the right direction）。 I totally suggest reading this book at least once and as the author suggested， use it as a reference for reading the important parts again and again to find the correct path of having a value-based， meaningful life 。 。。。more

Mikayla ，

I love， love， love this book。 As a counselor in training， I am exploring different counseling theories that fit well with me， and ACT is 100% one of them。 One of my biggest takeaways is that if we base our lives on happiness and feelings， we will live more disappointed， depressing， and anxious lives。 Rather when we commit to living by our values， even when we are in the midst of struggles， we can still live a meaningful and satisfying life。 I have found so many individuals， including myself， in I love， love， love this book。 As a counselor in training， I am exploring different counseling theories that fit well with me， and ACT is 100% one of them。 One of my biggest takeaways is that if we base our lives on happiness and feelings， we will live more disappointed， depressing， and anxious lives。 Rather when we commit to living by our values， even when we are in the midst of struggles， we can still live a meaningful and satisfying life。 I have found so many individuals， including myself， in the midst of the happiness trap we have set up for ourselves。 As a counselor， and as an individual， I want to live a life based on my values rather than my feelings。 I loved how this book walked through the steps on how to do this， as well as what gets in our way。 This was super helpful， and I’m already excited to reread it！ 。。。more

Ashley Peterson ，

I read the first edition of The Happiness Trap by Russ Harris a number of years ago and really liked it， so I was excited to read the new second edition。 The book is based on acceptance commitment therapy （ACT）， and the happiness trap refers to the reality that life is difficult， and if you try to have pleasant feelings all the time， you will fail。Rather than trying to pursue happiness， the book focuses on creating a meaningful life based on your values。 The author describes choice points at whi I read the first edition of The Happiness Trap by Russ Harris a number of years ago and really liked it， so I was excited to read the new second edition。 The book is based on acceptance commitment therapy （ACT）， and the happiness trap refers to the reality that life is difficult， and if you try to have pleasant feelings all the time， you will fail。Rather than trying to pursue happiness， the book focuses on creating a meaningful life based on your values。 The author describes choice points at which we can decide to move away from or toward the life we want to live。 We can unwittingly get pulled away from the life we want when we get “hooked” by difficult thoughts and feelings and go into either “OBEY” mode （doing what those thoughts/feelings urge us to do） or “STRUGGLE” mode。 In STRUGGLE mode， we try to avoid or get rid of those difficult feelings， but in doing so， we only perpetuate those thoughts and feelings。The author explains that thoughts， in and of themselves， aren’t harmful; the problem is when we get hooked by them。 While CBT involves challenging negative thoughts and evaluating whether they’re true or not， from an ACT perspective， whether a thought is true or false isn’t important; what matters is whether or not a thought is helpful。 The ACT perspective also acknowledges that we don’t have all that much control over what thoughts float into our heads， but we can recognize that thoughts are just stories that we don’t have to latch onto。 The book sums up the ACT approach as “be present， open up， do what matters。”Much of the book is devoted to various strategies that can help us to unhook from hard thoughts and feelings rather than obeying or struggling against them。 A strategy that comes up repeatedly throughout the book is “dropping anchor”， which involves the acronym ACE: Acknowledge your thoughts and feelings， Connect with your body， and Engage in what you’re doing。 Noticing and naming thoughts and feelings （“I’m having the thought that…”） is another key unhooking strategy。Some of the unhooking strategies may sound familiar as mindfulness strategies， while others are more creative and playful， like musical thoughts （e。g。 singing your negative thoughts to the tune of Happy Birthday） or replaying your self-judgments in silly voices。 The author acknowledges that not all strategies are going to work for everyone， and if you try something and it doesn’t work out， try something else instead。 I always like it when authors take this approach rather than assuming that everything they’re recommending is going to work for everyone。There was a chapter on self-kindness/self-compassion， and I thought the author did a good job of addressing common misconceptions about self-compassion and arguments against it that our minds are likely to come up with。 He offered this concise definition of self-compassion: “acknowledge your pain; respond with kindness。”I liked his take on the comfort zone。 He pointed out that the comfort zone usually isn’t comfortable at all; it’s more like the “misery zone”， the “stagnant zone”， or the “missing out on life zone”。 Our minds may shout at us when we start doing something new， so instead of doing what matters， we may keep on doing the same things that are making us feel crappy。I’m not particularly keen on affirmations， and neither is the author。 He points out that just like a documentary about Africa isn’t Africa itself， mental story reels （be they negative or positive） aren’t you， and doing what matters based on your values will give you a deeper sense of self-worth than positive stories you try to convince yourself of。The last part of the book focuses on how to create a more meaningful life。 It addresses the difference between values and goals， the barriers that tend to get in the way of achieving goals， and strategies for changing bad habits。 I liked the author’s point that we don’t have to wait for our mind’s “reason-giving machine” to either go silent or turn cheerleader before we start to make changes。 In his book Collective Illusions， Todd Rose wrote about how most people’s private definition of success is different from the money and power definition we think everyone else has; in The Happiness Trap， Russ Harris suggests we redefine success as living by our values。The book’s chapters are pretty short for the most part， which I always appreciate given my issues with concentration。 While the author mentions more technical psychological terms like cognitive defusion and psychological flexibility， he stays away from jargon for the most part。 I liked the trouble-shooting sections that addressed common difficulties people tend to have with the various strategies。 I always appreciate when authors are willing to be vulnerable about their own struggles， and in this book， the author is open about the self-criticism and impostor syndrome that he’s struggled with。I’m a big fan of ACT， and this book presents it in a very accessible way。 If the CBT challenge-your-thoughts approach isn’t a good fit for you， ACT will probably feel like a refreshing antidote。 If you’re not familiar at all with ACT， this book makes a great introduction。 And if you’re like me and “be positive” just doesn’t float your boat， I think you’ll probably appreciate this book。I received a reviewer copy from the publisher through Netgalley。 。。。more

Julie ，

This book didn't have much new information for me。 It absolutely did teach me a few things， mostly how to accept feelings。 However， I can see how helpful this book can be if starting from scratch。 Especially for those dealing with grief of any sort。 This book didn't have much new information for me。 It absolutely did teach me a few things， mostly how to accept feelings。 However， I can see how helpful this book can be if starting from scratch。 Especially for those dealing with grief of any sort。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Happiness Trap (Second Edition)

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Happiness Trap (Second Edition)&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Happiness Trap (Second Edition)&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0