Dear Anxious Person:
Hello, and welcome to your brand-new journal.
Let us begin by apologizing for taking the liberty of addressing you as “Anxious Person.” We don’t even know you! It’s just that we’re comfortable making the following assumptions. You are:
a) Human,
b) Living on Planet Earth, and
c) Participating, whether passively or actively, in one or more forms of social media.
If the foregoing conditions are met, in accordance with the Premack Principle* we must conclude that yes: You are anxious. Sorry.
Also not sorry! Because there are plenty of other humans on Planet Earth right this very minute, and most of them are worrying about everything from airplane bathrooms to unexpected phone calls to whether Carol washed her hands before grabbing that Snickers from the candy bowl because
she never does. God
damn it, Carol.
Anxiety, in other words, is everywhere - and so are people who want to tell you how to handle it (“just relax” being our favorite). Options for relieving the more uncomfortable byproducts of anxiety are as varied as the sources of anxiety themselves. Some people reach for crystals; some for prescriptions; some for trips to Disneyland so frequent that their friends feel weird about it. Still others reach for - yes - a journal.
Whether you’re new to journaling or have stacks of mortifying teenage musings hidden in your garage, this book is for you. In these pages, you’ll find prompts to explore your feelings, confront your fears, and answer questions like “Should I doodle?” (Yes), “Is mainlining espresso a good idea?” (No), and “How can I never, ever, ever again think about Jeff Bezos?” (if you figure it out, DM us).
So relax—or don’t—pick up the writing instrument of your choice, and flip the page to embark on a glorious journey of self-discovery, gratitude, and mindfulness, plus a healthy dose of lowered expectations, a dash of vengeance, and one very anxious cucumber (you’ll see).
Love,
Jordan & Erin
*Googled it.
Copyright © 2022 by Jordan Reid. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
