EXERCISES, TIPS AND STRATEGIES for Self-Improvement 03 :: INTRODUCTION 07 :: 1. MOVING AWAY FROM THE DIAGNOSIS OF “I’M CRAZY”: THE STRENGTHS-BASED APPROACH 12 :: 2. CONNECTING TO OTHERS AND MANAGING YOUR EMOTIONS 18 :: 3. DEFINE, PRIORITIZE, AND CHOREOGRAPH WHAT YOU DO: TIME AND TASK MANAGEMENT 31 :: 4. PRINCIPLES OF ATTUNED EATING 43 :: 5. BEING AN INTIMATE SEXUAL TEAM: DISCOVERING YOUR COUPLE SEXUAL STYLE 52 :: 6. TWO PLUS TWO: COUPLES AND THEIR COUPLE FRIENDSHIPS 64 :: 7. DEVELOPING RELAXATION SKILLS 80 :: 8. THE BUDDHIST PSYCHOLOGY OF HAPPINESS 85 :: 9. BEFRIENDING YOUR GREATEST CHALLENGES (EXERCISE) introduction

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

Year after year, we begin the new year by making a list of promises and goals that we inevitably forget or abandon by mid-February. This year doesn’t have to follow that pattern, though. This year you’ll have New Year, New You, a curated collection of content from our expert authors and top titles designed to help you stick to your plans and achieve your goals. With concrete tips and practical advice to make positive changes in 2015, New Year, New You offers you the tools you need to tackle some of the most common New Year’s resolutions, addressing areas in which we could all benefit from a little help.

In this FreeBook, you’ll learn how to deepen your interpersonal relationships, develop a healthy attitude toward eating and dieting, deal with stress in and out of the workplace, and discover coping techniques to help you overcome your biggest challenges. Feel free to skip around and focus on the topics that are most important to you. And remember that if you’re in search of deeper levels of self-improvement, all of the titles featured in New Year, New You are available in full from our website.

CHAPTERS 1 & 2

In these two chapters from Letting Go of Self-Destructive Behaviors: A Workbook of Hope and Healing, author Lisa Ferentz helps you to change the way you see the behaviors you struggle with the most and develop a better understanding of how you relate to others. Chapter 2, “Connecting to Others and Managing Your Emotions”, includes an exercise that will allow you to reflect on how your childhood caretakers’ responses to your emotional needs shaped you into the person you are today.

Ferentz is president and founder of the Institute for Advanced Psychotherapy Training and Education.

CHAPTER 3

If you are looking for some help with time management (and who isn’t?), “Define, Prioritize, and Choreograph What You Do” is the chapter for you. Here, J. Russell Ramsay and Anthony Rostain offer detailed instructions for how to best approach scheduling your day. Based in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, their outline will give you the tools you need to optimize your personal and professional time.

Ramsay and Rostain are co-founders and co-directors of the Adult ADHD Treatment and Research Program at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine.

ROUTLEDGE 3 ROUTLEDGE.COM introduction

CHAPTER 4

Judith Matz and Ellen Frankel lay out the principles of attuned eating in this chapter from Beyond a Shadow of a Diet, 2nd edition. The “Health at Any Size” paradigm that informs this chapter encourages you to pay attention to and trust in your body’s needs. Nurturing this healthy relationship with your body and your hunger will help you to look at food in a new way.

Matz and Frankel are experts in the field of eating disorder treatment and prevention with decades of experience.

CHAPTER 5

Do you know what your style is when it comes to intimacy with your partner? According to Barry and Emily McCarthy, authors of Rekindling Desire, 2nd edition, identifying your style and understanding how and why it works for you can do wonders for your intimate relationships. They explain why in this chapter, which features an exercise that will help you discover what’s best for you and your partner.

Husband and wife team Barry and Emily McCarthy have written 11 books togeth