First published 2014
Scott Stossel examines anxiety from multiple angles in this New York Times bestseller. He traces how anxiety transformed from an unrecognized condition thirty-five years ago into today's most common mental health diagnosis. Stossel weaves together his personal battle with anxiety alongside historical perspectives from ancient physicians like Galen and Hippocrates through modern neuroscientists. He explores observations by thinkers including Robert Burton, Søren Kierkegaard, Charles Darwin, William James, and Sigmund Freud as they investigated anxiety's origins. The author profiles famous individuals who faced similar struggles and examines his own family's affected generations. He surveys the wide range of treatments developed over time, from conventional psychotherapies and medications to more unusual approaches. Stossel captures both anxiety's devastating effects and the ways sufferers learn to cope with their condition. The book offers readers insight into the biological, cultural, and environmental elements that contribute to anxiety disorders.
Genres: psychology, mental-health, non-fiction, biography-memoir, health, 21st-century, academic
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: memoir
Period: Ancient, 19th-Century, 20th-Century, 21st-Century
416 pages · Hardcover · Knopf
Content warnings: anxiety, depression, mental-illness