The Happiness Trap: How to Stop Struggling and Start Living Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Russ Harris (Author, Narrator), Shambhala Publications (Publisher)

5,198 ratings

See all formats and editions

Amazon Price

New from

Used from

Kindle

"Please retry"

$15.90

—

Audible Audiobook, Unabridged

"Please retry"

$0.00

Free with your Audible trial

Paperback

"Please retry"

$29.99

—

Spiral-bound

"Please retry"

$124.00

—

Free yourself from depression, anxiety, and insecurity, and instead build a rich and meaningful life with the updated and expanded edition of the world’s best-selling guide to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).

Over 1 million copies sold!

In The Happiness Trap, Dr. Russ Harris provides a means to escape the epidemic of stress, anxiety, and depression, unlocking the secrets to a truly fulfilling life.

Updated and expanded by 50 percent in its second edition, this empowering book presents the insights and techniques of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), covering more topics and providing more practical tools than ever before. Learn how to clarify your values, develop self-compassion, and find true satisfaction with this bigger and better guide to:

Reducing stress and worry
Handling painful thoughts and feelings more effectively
Breaking self-defeating habits
Overcoming insecurity and self-doubt
Building better relationships
Improving performance and finding fulfillment at work

New topics include activating self-compassion; how to deal with loneliness, grief, and trauma; how to work with difficult behaviors like people-pleasing, perfectionism, and procrastination; and how to make difficult decisions.

The Happiness Trap is for everyone. Whether you’re lacking confidence, facing illness, coping with loss, working in a high-stress job, or suffering from anxiety or depression, this book will show you how to build authentic happiness, from the inside out.

Listening Length

12 hours and 19 minutes
Author

Russ Harris
Narrator

Russ Harris
Audible release date

8 January 2022
Language

English
Publisher

Shambhala Publications
ASIN

B09PMC66WY
Version

Unabridged
Program Type

Audiobook
See all details

Get this audiobook free then 1 credit each month, good for any title you like - yours to keep, even if you cancel
Listen all you want to the Plus Catalogue—a selection of thousands of Audible Originals, audiobooks and podcasts, including exclusive series
Exclusive member-only deals
$16.45 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime

Learn more about membership

By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible’s Conditions Of Use and Privacy Notice.

Sold and delivered by Audible, an Amazon company

People who viewed this also viewed

Page 1 of 1Start OverPage 1 of 1

Product details

Listening Length	12 hours and 19 minutes
Author	Russ Harris
Narrator	Russ Harris
Audible.com.au Release Date	08 January 2022
Publisher	Shambhala Publications
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B09PMC66WY
Best Sellers Rank	213 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) 2 in Mood Disorders (Audible Books & Originals) 3 in Depression (Books) 7 in Cognitive Psychology (Books)

Customer reviews

5 star		75%
4 star		15%
3 star		6%
2 star		2%
1 star		2%

How are ratings calculated?

Review this product

Write a customer review

Top reviews from Australia

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Miss P

Life changing book

Reviewed in Australia on 10 June 2021

Verified Purchase

I love this book, it will help you manage your thoughts and deal with struggles you may have. Also great just for a different perspective, recommended by my therapist.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

The Shepherds

Helpful and informative read

Reviewed in Australia on 6 June 2019

Verified Purchase

Was delivered quickly and a great price. Cheaper than I could find elsewhere. Great book and highly recommend to anyone wishing to find ways to increase their overall happiness.

Helpful

siobhán

Helpful

Reviewed in Australia on 7 November 2020

Verified Purchase

Great book. Very helpful.

Helpful

Namrata Suthar

Must have book

Reviewed in Australia on 13 July 2019

Verified Purchase

Book arrived on time and it was in good condition when I opened the package. Worth the money!

Helpful

michellina van loder

Great book

Reviewed in Australia on 28 September 2019

Verified Purchase

Helpful techniques that psychologists use. We are not our thoughts!

Helpful

linda

Five Stars

Reviewed in Australia on 4 May 2018

Verified Purchase

This book is a must have in the family home for adolescents and adults alike.

Helpful

Leisa Zeppa

How every ones mind thinks.

Reviewed in Australia on 3 November 2019

Verified Purchase

Enjoy a good read.

Helpful

Paul

Great

Reviewed in Australia on 23 May 2019

Verified Purchase

Great

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

CheeseFan

Some useful ideas but not the holy grail

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 24 January 2019

Verified Purchase

I liked this book and got a lot out of it. The idea that thoughts are not within our control, do not have power over us, and do not mean anything about us as people are important concepts. I also am very much on board with getting out of your head and into activity. I like some of the metaphors given, the idea of viewing thoughts as a "story" and not "facts". I especially like the idea of saying "aha! here comes the "i'm a loser" story" (or whatever) - it cuts thoughts down to size, even deeply entrenched ones.

However - there were aspects of the book I really didn't like. Firstly, the thinly-veiled attacks on other therapies (particularly CBT). The author acts as if ACT is the holiest holy grail of therapies, and the rest are rubbish. This simply isn't the case. In my opinion, ACT is really CBT in disguise, or at best a nice add-on (it is essentially cognitively reappraising how you think of your own thoughts). Many of these ideas are around in CBT anyway. But even if ACT was brand new, it would still stand on the shoulders of the many therapeutic models which have come before and exist alongside it. CBT has helped me tremendously and yet the author here dismisses it out of hand - he does not believe there is any value in challenging negative thoughts, only in accepting them and making room for them. I believe the two things can go hand in hand. Sometimes making room for a thought isn't enough if it is built on a flawed and highly threatening interpretation - this interpretation needs to be chipped away at. If, for example, someone grew up with abusive parents and absorbed the view that they are bad/useless, it is unlikely to be enough to just see this view as a "story" - that person likely REALLY believes it, heart and soul. I really believe a cognitive strategy is necessary - "making room for" such thoughts isn't really going to cut it.

The style is also exceedingly smug and condescending at times. I understand the author is trying to cut thoughts down to size, but in doing so he comes across as trivialising very real pain. A bit of empathy wouldn't go amiss.

So - some good ideas here but it is not what the author seems to want it to be.

146 people found this helpful

Shavi

A truly transformational book. I feel I'm a different person now.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 January 2019

Verified Purchase

I would generally be of the sceptical kind of people who would read a headline such as mine's and immediately class it as covert advertisement. I don't blame you if you do. To be honest, I very seldom type up reviews of my Amazon purchases. But this one clearly deserves a chunk of my time. That so much goodness can be compressed into a 270-page book at a starting price of only one penny for a used edition is exhilarating.

I stumbled upon Dr Harris' work in a moment of real darkness in my life. 25 years old, graduated in a degree with honours and about to graduate from a masters, living on my own with wonderful friends in an amazing city of a foreign country, working in a qualified job that attracted awe and respect from parents and acquaintances alike. Yet, for some reason, I started to feel increasingly miserable and blue, and I did all I could to run away from these feelings, telling myself stories about how inappropriate it was that someone as lucky as me was feeling that way. As it happens, these emotions could not be reined in for long, so they finally burst in the form of heightened levels of anxiety and panic attacks. Feeling desperate, I reached out to my close friends for support, and I also sought some tools from self-help books in Amazon. And "The Happiness Trap" had very good reviews, so I thought of giving it a try.

Boy, I think I've never spent £7.14 more wisely. Part 1 of the book sets for an interesting journey. Part 2 simply blows your mind: anybody who has ever had trouble with an anxiety disorder or depression will connect with Dr Harris' layman stories and explanations as if he had started to write the book only after returning from an expedition into your own mind. It makes you understand the source of all of your suffering and be more at ease with your thoughts and feelings, as you learn to value them simply for what they are: words and pictures created by your mind. Part 3 is inspirational, a super synthesis of the best coaching contents.

I finished the book an hour ago with a stupid smile on my face and I felt the urge to write this review. And because this urge is indeed helpful in building a more meaningful life, for me and for others, I allowed myself to fuse with it (readers will understand my choice of vocabulary best).

In summary, if you feel a bit lost in life, you're struggling with depression or anxiety, or you simply want to grow internally and understand your mind better, this book is a MUST. And to top it up, it's designed as a reference book, so it'll always occupy a preferential spot in your bookcase. As Americans would say, a no-brainer!!

80 people found this helpful

Dr. I. J. Newey

Accessible ACT.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 May 2018

Verified Purchase

This book should be required reading for all humans. I’m a Consultant Clinical Psychologist and I recommend this book to colleagues and patients alike. This is a useful guide to living a fulfilling life. I use the principles all the time to remind myself about what things are important to me, and to work toward those values, even when the going gets tough.

54 people found this helpful

Fred

A major update on the the first edition

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 April 2022

Verified Purchase

I bought the first edition of the Happiness Trap about 5 years ago. It was a great book then, but Russ really has made a massive upgrade with this second edition.

There is 50% new material inside and it reflects much of the honing and refinement that I have noticed in Russ' other work in the past few years. The book ties together core Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) practices with some of Russ' signature concepts, such as "Dropping Anchor", which is a practice you can use manage emotional storms that arise. There's a great "urge surfing" technique too, but perhaps the highlight is the application of the techniques to specific problems, such as rumination, healing of past hurts, making decisions and breaking habits.

To my surprise, Russ places emphasis on self-talk as a beneficial add-on to the standard ACT approaches. I haven't seen many other instances in ACT literature of helpful self-talk as a valuable practice so it was refreshing to see it in the Happiness Trap. Note, however, that the ACT idea of self-talk is not the unrealistic, wishful thinking variety preached in positive thinking books.

One thing I noticed more in this edition than the previous was the explanations of how ACT practice ties in to the bigger picture. Russ explains that by repeatedly taking charge of your inner world and behaviour, you can recondition your neurology and improve your quality of life. This longer view is sometimes missing from ACT books, partly because ACT is a very present-centered approach.

Anyway, there isn't a human being alive that couldn't benefit from this book. It's instantly among my most treasured books for managing myself and improving my life. The Audible version, in which Russ narrates, I recommend as a complement to the book.

7 people found this helpful

comingbackformore

i can't recommend this book enough

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 November 2016

Verified Purchase

i can't recommend this book enough, i was having panic attacks that were numbing and this has so many tips and tricks on how to train yourself to alter those negative thoughts and de-escalate the panic. i reread this book whenever things get tough again

60 people found this helpful

See all reviews

The Happiness Trap: How to Stop Struggling and Start Living Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Free with Audible Trial $0.00

Pay with 1-Click $34.12

People who viewed this also viewed

Product details

Customer reviews

Review this product

Top reviews from Australia

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Top reviews from other countries

Free with Audible Trial

$0.00

Pay with 1-Click

$34.12