Almost Anxious: Is My (or My Loved One’s) Worry or Distress a Problem?
Luana Marques with Eric Metcalf
Harvard Health Publications

Some people never address their issues with anxiety, whether small or large, because they do not fully meet the diagnostic criteria for an anxiety disorder.

In Almost Anxious: Is My (or my Loved One’s) Worry or Distress a Problem? Luana Marques, HMS assistant professor of psychology in the Department of Psychiatry, describes the spectrum of “almost anxiety” symptoms, from normal situational anxiety to full-blown diagnosable anxiety disorder.

Marques draws on case studies and gives readers the tools she thinks will help them manage their problems. Along with help from medical writer Eric Metcalf, Marques gives guidelines to assess whether your or a loved one’s worry is a problem, to gain insight on how to intervene with a loved one, to discover strategies to change unhealthy feelings of distress, to gage the physical, physiological and social impact of your anxiety symptoms and to determine when and how to get professional help if necessary.

Almost Depressed: Is My (or My Loved One’s) Unhappiness a Problem?
Jefferson Prince and Shelley Carson
Harvard Health Publications

For those struggling with emotions between basic sadness and clinical depression, there lies the state of “almost depression.” In Almost Depressed: Is My (or My Loved One’s) Unhappiness a Problem? Jefferson Prince, HMS instructor in psychiatry, and Shelley Carson, Harvard University research psychologist and lecturer, outline the symptoms of depression, the role stress plays in depression and the many physical condition that can mimic depression.

The authors offer step-by-step guidance for making positive changes that they feel can help to alleviate and reverse “almost depression.” They give information on how to asses whether your or a loved one’s happiness is a problem, how to gain insight on how to intervene with a struggling loved one, how to discover proven strategies to change unhealthy feelings of sadness, how to gage the physical, psychological and social impact of your symptoms and how to determine when and how to get profession help when needed.

The book is divided into two parts. In part I, “almost depression” is described and the authors provide examples based upon their professional experiences. In part II, the authors describe the barriers that people often face when they are dealing with symptoms of depression and how to overcome those barriers.