Rainy Brain, Sunny Brain: How to Retrain Your Brain to Overcome Pessimism and Achieve a More Positive Outlook
| AUTHOR | Fox, Elaine |
| PUBLISHER | Basic Books (06/05/2012) |
| PRODUCT TYPE | Hardcover (Hardcover) |
Description
Are you optimistic or pessimistic? Glass half-full or half-empty? Do you look on the bright side or turn towards the dark? These are easy questions for most of us to answer, because our personality types are hard-wired into our brains. As pioneering psychologist and neuroscientist Elaine Fox has discovered, our outlook on life reflects our primal inclination to seek pleasure or avoid danger -- inclinations that, in many people, are healthily balanced. But when our "fear brain" or "pleasure brain" is too strong, the results can be disastrous, as those of us suffering from debilitating shyness, addiction, depression, or anxiety know all too well. Luckily, anyone suffering from these afflictions has reason to hope. Stunning breakthroughs in neuroscience show that our brains are more malleable than we ever imagined. In Rainy Brain, Sunny Brain, Fox describes a range of techniques -- from traditional cognitive behavioral therapy to innovative cognitive-retraining exercises -- that can actually alter our brains' circuitry, strengthening specific thought processes by exercising the neural systems that control them. The implications are enormous: lifelong pessimists can train themselves to think positively and find happiness, while pleasure-seekers inclined toward risky or destructive behavior can take control of their lives. Drawing on her own cutting-edge research, Fox shows how we can retrain our brains to brighten our lives and learn to flourish. With keen insights into how genes, life experiences and cognitive processes interleave together to make us who we are, Rainy Brain, SunnyBrain revolutionizes our basic concept of individuality. We learn that we can influence our own personalities, and that our lives are only as "sunny" or as "rainy" as we allow them to be.
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Product Format
Product Details
ISBN-13:
9780465019458
ISBN-10:
0465019455
Binding:
Hardback or Cased Book (Unsewn / Adhesive Bound)
Content Language:
English
More Product Details
Page Count:
272
Carton Quantity:
20
Product Dimensions:
6.39 x 0.97 x 9.53 inches
Weight:
1.04 pound(s)
Feature Codes:
Bibliography,
Index,
Dust Cover,
Price on Product,
Table of Contents,
Illustrated
Country of Origin:
US
Subject Information
BISAC Categories
Psychology | Personality
Psychology | Psychotherapy - Psychoanalysis
Psychology | Mental Health
Grade Level:
College Freshman
and up
Dewey Decimal:
155.232
Library of Congress Control Number:
2012004406
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
publisher marketing
Are you optimistic or pessimistic? Glass half-full or half-empty? Do you look on the bright side or turn towards the dark? These are easy questions for most of us to answer, because our personality types are hard-wired into our brains. As pioneering psychologist and neuroscientist Elaine Fox has discovered, our outlook on life reflects our primal inclination to seek pleasure or avoid danger -- inclinations that, in many people, are healthily balanced. But when our "fear brain" or "pleasure brain" is too strong, the results can be disastrous, as those of us suffering from debilitating shyness, addiction, depression, or anxiety know all too well. Luckily, anyone suffering from these afflictions has reason to hope. Stunning breakthroughs in neuroscience show that our brains are more malleable than we ever imagined. In Rainy Brain, Sunny Brain, Fox describes a range of techniques -- from traditional cognitive behavioral therapy to innovative cognitive-retraining exercises -- that can actually alter our brains' circuitry, strengthening specific thought processes by exercising the neural systems that control them. The implications are enormous: lifelong pessimists can train themselves to think positively and find happiness, while pleasure-seekers inclined toward risky or destructive behavior can take control of their lives. Drawing on her own cutting-edge research, Fox shows how we can retrain our brains to brighten our lives and learn to flourish. With keen insights into how genes, life experiences and cognitive processes interleave together to make us who we are, Rainy Brain, SunnyBrain revolutionizes our basic concept of individuality. We learn that we can influence our own personalities, and that our lives are only as "sunny" or as "rainy" as we allow them to be.
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Author:
Fox, Elaine
ELAINE FOX is head of the Department of Psychology and Centre for Brain Science at the University of Essex, where she runs a department of thirty-six psychologists and 600 students. There, her work incorporates cognitive psychology, as well as neuroimaging and genetics, in a bid to unravel the complexities of fear and optimism. Published in the leading scientific journals, her work has also been discussed in a wide range of outlets, including Nature, Science, New Scientist, The Economist, The New York Times and The Guardian, as well as countless other newspaper, TV and radio outlets around the world.
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Your Price
$35.64