The Pendulum
of Control
A guided workbook for what's within your reach, and the things that never were.
- ✓ Instant PDF download
- ✓ Fillable on any device
- ✓ Printable
- ✓ Lifetime access
- ✓ Written by a licensed psychotherapist
Where do you lean?
Most people don't live at one extreme all the time - feeling powerless, or exhausting yourself trying to control it all. Notice which pattern you reach for more often.
| Underreach | Overreach |
|---|---|
| A difficult thought or feeling feels like proof that you can’t do anything about it. | You try to control things you can’t fully control—like your thoughts or how others see you. |
| You feel powerless, as if speaking up or trying won’t make a difference. | You push hard to get rid of unwanted thoughts, but they keep coming back. |
| You hold back your needs, preferences, or boundaries, even when it’s safe to express them. | You stay constantly alert or overwork yourself because it feels like the only way to stay safe. |
What's inside
Each section pairs a short reflection with a worksheet - no clinical background needed, no right pace to keep. Fill it out digitally or print it and work by hand.
- Both Ends Cost SomethingOverreach and underreach
- Both Are LearnedWhere the pattern comes from
- Fighting a Thought BackfiresThe rebound effect
- The Quieter CostFeeling is not the absence of agency
- Differentiating Is the WorkWhat’s actually mine to control
- Where Responsibility Actually SitsNone are powerless
Plus a reusable Weekly Pendulum Check-In tracker - print it as many times as you need, long after you've finished the workbook itself.
Pages from the book
What changes when you actually do the work
Working through this workbook means:
- ✓Noticing the moment a thought or feeling gets treated as proof - that nothing can be done - before it settles in as fact.
- ✓Knowing the difference between what's yours to manage and what never was, including other people's impressions of you.
- ✓Understanding the rebound effect, so you stop fighting thoughts in ways that make them louder.
- ✓Understanding where the pattern came from, so it stops feeling like a personal failing and starts feeling like something you can retrain - neither pole is a fixed trait.
- ✓Expressing your needs, terms, and preferences gradually, with people and in situations you deem safe.
- ✓Feeling less helpless in the moments that used to feel out of reach, and less exhausted in the ones you used to grip too tightly.
- ✓Knowing you can adjust the frequency and direction whenever the way you're handling control no longer serves you.
Alexander Gino
LCSW · Licensed PsychotherapistAlexander Gino is a licensed psychotherapist with more than a decade of clinical practice. He has worked across crisis, dual diagnosis, residential, medical, and outpatient settings, mostly with adults navigating grief, mood disorders, addiction, questions of meaning, and trauma. He completed certifications in addictions counseling and nutrition that have informed his clinical work and holds a master’s degree in social work (behavioral health concentration).
Compare your options
Working through more than one pattern? The complete set covers all ten.
The Pendulum of Control
- ✓19 pages, including 6 guided sections & exercises
- ✓The Underreach/Overreach recognition framework, explained in plain language
- ✓A reusable Weekly Pendulum Check-In tracker
- ✓Written by a licensed psychotherapist
- ✓Lifetime access
The Pendulum Complete Collection
- ✓All ten workbooks in the series: 208 pages with 68 guided sections & exercises
- ✓Covers Risk, Hunger, Emotion, Trauma, Addiction, Grief, Connection, Esteem, and Adaptation
- ✓10 reusable Weekly Pendulum Check-In trackers, one inside each workbook
- ✓Less than the cost of buying six workbooks individually
- ✓Written by a licensed psychotherapist
- ✓Lifetime access
Not sure where to start?
Take the free Pendulum Questionnaire to find out where you actually land - and which workbook fits you best.
- ✓See which of your patterns are swinging, across all ten areas
- ✓Find out if you lean toward one extreme, or both
- ✓Get personalized results, so you know where to start
Questions
Is this a replacement for therapy?
No. It's educational and reflective - a companion for work you might do in therapy, or a place to start before you're able to access it. It isn't a diagnostic or treatment tool.
Do I need to be in therapy to use this?
Not at all. Many people use it entirely on their own; others bring it into sessions with their own therapist.
How is this different from a journal?
A journal is a blank page. This gives you structure: short reflections paired with guided worksheets, built around a specific clinical framework, plus a reusable weekly tracker so the practice continues after the workbook itself is finished.
What format is it, and how do I use it?
A fillable 21-page PDF. Fill it out on your phone, tablet, or computer, or print it and work by hand - whichever you'll actually use.
Can I get all ten workbooks?
Yes. The complete 10-workbook set is available as a bundle, at less than the cost of buying six individually.
Mind&Gut
The Pendulum of Control Workbook
The Pendulum of Control Workbook
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