As someone with general anxiety disorder, I was privileged to read and review The Anxiety Blob Comfort & Encouragement Guide: Nearly 100 Activities, Exercises, and Positivity Prompts to Help You Find Peace and Joy, by Nanea Hoffman, the creator behind Sweatpants & Coffee. This magazine is more than articles and creative writing; it is full of prompts for the reader to fill out. And with a total of 100 of these prompts, this is not a short magazine to be looked over in one day but one that will provide hours of content, reflection, and self-care. This guide is not meant for only those who have been diagnosed with anxiety, though; it is perfect for anyone who is dealing with any stress or difficulty at the moment.
The guide is hosted by the Anxiety Blob, an amorphous blueish-grey creature representative of the reader’s anxiety, reminding the reader that “we’re in this together.” The Anxiety Blob not only guides you through the activities and prompts with kindness and images of self-care but also provides humor along the way. This was very helpful for me; I seek out therapists with a sense of humor and an affect that reminds me that it’s only life, after all. For those who actively choose not to seek out humor as a means of handling anxiety and other mental illnesses, the Anxiety Blob and its occasional silliness (“Aaaaauugh!!! A potato!!” the Anxiety Blob exclaims in a demonstration of how anxiety doesn’t have to make sense) may come across as ostentatious.
The prompts vary from lists such as “Name five things you think are your strengths” to behavioral activities such as setting a timer for ten minutes, letting your mind wander wherever it may, and coming back to jot down where it took you. The guide includes a favorite grounding exercise of mine, one that I use often during moments of panic: Write down five things you can see, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste.
Though some of the lists can read like the same question asked in different ways, I did not mind this. By making multiple lists detailing different examples of self-care, the directive becomes further ingrained in one’s mind, and accordingly, one’s daily behavior. I would recommend The Anxiety Blob Comfort & Encouragement Guide to anyone experiencing anxiety, worry, or stress.
The Anxiety Blob Comfort & Encouragement Guide: Nearly 100 Activities, Exercises, and Positivity Prompts to Help You Find Peace and Joy can be found through June at many grocery stores, including Bartells, Brookshire Brothers, Brookshire Grocery, Dollar General, Fred Meyer, Giant Eagle, Harris Teeter, HEB, Ingles, Kroger, Lowes, Meijer, Publix, Roundy’s, Target, Walgreens, Walmart, and others. It can also be purchased online here.
This magazine is published by Topix Media Lab Publishing, a MuggleNet partner.
