ABOUT THE BOOK
Everyone, at one point or another, feels overwhelmed with crushing emotions and doesn’t know how to handle them. Super-feelers, however, feel their emotions as if they have a switch that turns on and off—they feel too much, too quickly, and they act too soon, as if they’re being kicked, stomped on, and knocked down to the floor by those feelings.
If you’re a super-feeler, your emotions are running your behaviors, 24/7, with no vacations and no holidays. For instance, when you feel guilty, you’re pulverized with guilt; when you feel anxious, you’re crushed with anxiety; when you feel sad, you’re flooded with sadness. You experience your emotions quickly and intensely; believe every thought, interpretation, or hypothesis that comes into your mind as if it were the absolute truth; and then do exactly what the emotion tells you to do. Later on, you regret your actions because you get hurt and the people you care about get hurt, too.
Going through this dance with your emotions, up and down, left and right, back and forth, is exhausting, and you find your life is full of broken relationships, loneliness, difficulties holding a job, and perhaps, even suicidal thoughts. It’s not easy for you, and it’s not easy for the people around you.
Are you a Super-Feeler?
- Have you been told you are too sensitive or that everything is a big emotional deal for you?
- Do you sometimes feel overwhelmed by your emotions—like a knob turned all the way up for anger, anxiety, guilt, sadness, and other emotions?
- Do you experience your emotions so intensely, as being overpowering, that you cannot manage your behavior or think clearly in the moment?
- Do you behave in ways that you later regret because in a given moment you do exactly what you feel?
- Do you struggle to identify what you’re feeling most of the time?
- Are you exhausted from going up and down, left and right, because of overwhelming emotions?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, chances are you are a super-feeler.
As a super-feeler, you’re dealing with emotion regulation problems—as all people do at times—but because of your makeup, you feel most of your emotions at a maximum level, turned all the way up, and despite your efforts, you frequently get stuck on a reactive chain of emotion after emotion, almost on a daily basis. You may wonder . . .
“At last: a truly practical book for ‘super-feelers’ on how to effectively handle overwhelming emotions. Packed full of great advice and effective strategies for taking the impact out of painful feelings and acting effectively in the face of life’s challenges.”
“Rarely, have I read a book that has provided me with true insights as to how one thinks, feels as a super-feeler and what to do about it. Reading Dr. Z.’s book gave me hope. If you read her book, you know that you are not alone and that there is help for you.”
“Zurita Ona provides a veritable treasure chest of strategies you can use to make your emotions work for you, rather than against you. It isn’t a bad thing to be a ‘super-feeler’, it is a good thing! I highly recommend this wonderful step by step program to help you develop a new level of emotional intelligence!”
“Escaping the Emotional Roller Coaster is a precious tool for anyone struggling with making sense of emotions and expressing them in a way that is both coherent with the current situation and pursuing life’s most cherished dreams.”
What’s inside
Chapter 1: Am I a Super-Feeler?
Chapter 2: Why Your Quick Fixes aren’t Working
Chapter 3: New Opportunities: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Super-Feelers
Chapter 4: Clarifying Your Values: Vivir Mi Vida La La La!
Chapter 5: What Are Emotions?
Chapter 6: What is the Function of Emotions?
Chapter 7: Charting an Emotional Strategy Course
Chapter 8: Watch Out for Those Gut Feelings!
Chapter 9: Emotions about Emotions
Chapter 10: Cranky Town
Core skills
Chapters
Pages
About Dr. Z.
I’m originally from Bolivia, South America, and am a psychologist by training. I’m formally trained in empirically supported treatments, and when I say “formally,” I mean that since 2004 I have received intensive training in them, particularly in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT).
Over the past 18 years, I have created resources for and worked with overthinkers and overachievers dealing with all types of fear--related struggles: perfectionism, procrastination, productivity anxiety, uncertainty intolerance, indecision, impostor phenomenon, overthinking, phobias, rumination, panic, worry and obsessive-compulsive disorder. I absolutely love my job!
In 2019, I was nominated as a fellow by the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science because of my contributions related to the applications of ACT for fear-based struggles. I’m the author of seven books and the co-author of three (see the section on previously written books).
I’m the founder and director of the East Bay Behavior Therapy Center, a boutique private center in the San Francisco Bay Area that offers therapy and coaching for anyone experiencing anxiety-based struggles.
In 2023, I gave a TEDx talk, “Stop playing-it-safe and start living” that has more than 264K downloads.
While I’m a psychologist by training and science-based by passion, my style is jargon-free, accessible, caring, and lighthearted; teaching ACT skills doesn’t have to be boring or inaccessible, so I do my best to make every skill I teach—in any format—as engaging as possible.
I believe that learning to navigate fear-based reactions is one of the key skills of the 21st century, and I’m passionate about it.
I'm passionate about disseminating ACT skills for anxiety-based struggles.
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