Living like you mean it - Ronald J Frederick

In LIVING LIKE YOU MEAN IT, author Ronald J. Frederick, does abrilliant job of describing why people are so afraid of theiremotions and how this fear creates a variety of problems in theirlives. While the problems are different, the underlying issue isoften the same. At the core of their distress is what Dr. Frederickrefers to as feelings phobia. Whether it s the experience of love,joy, anger, sadness, or surprise, our inborn ability to be a fullyfeeling person has been hijacked by fear--and it s fear that skeeping us from a better life.

The book begins with a questionnaire-style list that helpreaders take an honest look at themselves and recognize whether andhow they are afraid of their feelings. It then moves on to explorethe origins of fear of feeling and introduces a four-part programfor overcoming the fear: (1) Become aware of and learn to recognizefeelings--anger, sadness, joy, love, fear, guilt/shame, surprise,disgust. (2) Master techniques for taming the fear. (3) Let thefeeling work its way all the way through to its resolution. (4)Open up and put those feelings into words and communicate themconfidently. With wisdom, humor, and compassion, the book usesstories and examples to help readers see that overcoming feelingsphobia is the key to a better life and more fulfillingrelationships.