Book Review: Rewire Your Anxious Brain by Nick Trenton

I received a review copy of Rewire Your Anxious Brain by Nick Trenton a couple of weeks ago, and it was on my list to get through by this week…TBH, I liked it. In today’s fast-paced professional world, anxiety seems to be something most of us are quietly dealing with—whether it’s from work pressure, personal struggles, or just the constant noise around us…and this book feels like a patient guide, helping you untangle what’s really happening inside your anxious mind, step by step, without making you feel like you’re broken or beyond help.

What really stood out to me—and I’m saying this as someone who’s read plenty of self-help books over the years—is how refreshingly practical and straightforward this one is. It focuses on the real stuff like how anxious thoughts often stem from deep-rooted beliefs we never really paused to examine, many of which trace back to childhood or old experiences that continue to live rent-free in our minds without us even realizing it.

There’s a good chunk of the book that talks about anxiety not just as a feeling, but as a learned behavior that gets reinforced over time. Because if you think about it, anxiety becomes a pattern—we experience a trigger, respond to it in a certain way, and then feel momentary relief, which makes us want to repeat that same behavior again. It’s a cycle, and the more we avoid what makes us uncomfortable, the more that avoidance quietly grows into a habit. I found myself nodding so many times while reading, not because I had read this elsewhere, but because it made sense in a very real, lived way.

One of the most useful tools the book offers is something called the ABCDE method. It helps you dissect what’s happening in your head—what triggered your reaction, what belief popped up in response, and how to challenge that belief with something more rational. It’s like doing mental surgery, except instead of removing anything, you’re just learning to question and soften what doesn’t serve you anymore. Then there’s the triple column technique, which again, is such a simple but eye-opening way of dealing with negative thoughts. You note down the automatic thought, identify the distortion behind it (like catastrophizing or black-and-white thinking), and then write down a rational response. These exercises don’t feel like homework. They actually work because they make you stop and reflect instead of spiraling. When I read self-help books, I always keep a pen and paper with me—it helps me jot down thoughts, situations, or people that come to mind whenever something resonates. That’s often when you realise where the real problem lies in your life.

There’s also this idea in the book that I like—the Batman Effect. Sounds cheesy at first, I know, but hear me out. It’s about creating a psychological distance between yourself and your anxious thoughts by imagining how someone stronger or wiser would respond in the same situation. It’s like saying, “What would that version of me do?” and it’s surprisingly effective. I tried it the next time I caught myself overthinking something as small as a work email, and just that small shift in perspective changed how I reacted.

Another thing I appreciated is how Nick Trenton talks about cognitive distortions. These are patterns of thinking that twist reality—like always assuming the worst will happen, or dismissing your achievements as luck. He doesn’t just list them; he explains how to recognize them and gently untangle them. It’s not about never having negative thoughts again, it’s about becoming aware of them and choosing not to let them control your entire mood or day.

But what makes this book different is that it encourages curiosity rather than judgment, which I think is the tone we need more of when talking about mental health.

There’s a chapter that discusses the difference between reality and our expectations. That part felt personal, because I’ve often caught myself being anxious about things that were never actually happening—just expectations I had built in my mind that didn’t go the way I wanted. And I kept thinking, maybe it’s not the situation that’s making me feel uneasy, maybe it’s just the gap between what I hoped would happen and what actually did. That insight alone is something I’ll carry with me.

The book also offers gentle but structured strategies to manage stress, like mind maps, body scans, and narrative therapy. These are not new concepts, but Nick weaves them into a very relatable context. They’re less about ticking boxes and more about understanding yourself better.

I would say Rewire Your Anxious Brain isn’t one of those loud, attention-grabbing books that promise a “new you” in seven days. It’s more like a quiet, wise friend who sits you down and says, “Let’s figure this out together.” At just 156 pages, it doesn’t take up much of your time, but it leaves behind quite a bit to think about. You won’t walk away feeling like your anxiety is gone—but you might walk away with a better idea of where it begins, how it works, and what small things you can do to stop letting it run the show.

Book: Rewire Your Anxious Brain

Author: Nick Trenton

Also available on Amazon

Published by: Srishti Publishers

(This book review and art section is curated by Shweta, a certified NLP practitioner with a passion for writing about art, books, family, relationships, and her insights from conversations, books, and movies. If you would like your work to get published, feel free to send an email to the editorial desk of Style Essentials at styleessentials.in@gmail.com. We’d love to consider your work for an insightful review.)