Worried?: Science Investigates Some of Life's Common Concerns

by Lise A. Johnson, Eric Chudler

Quick--what do you worry about most? Your cell phone giving you cancer? The public bathroom you’re using being dirty? GMOs in your food? An asteroid strike? Something else?


In this witty and evidenced-based book, Lise Johnson and Eric Chudler get to the root of our worries, all the while using science to help tame the anxiety beast. 


News media, social media, and every mom blog in the world are continuously flagging new things for you to worry about. From obsessing over Lyme disease-infested ticks to worrying about amusement park safety, no-one is immune to the pervasive effects of anxiety brought on by normal, everyday activity. Each topic in this wide-ranging book is subjected to scientific scrutiny, and assigned a place on the “worry index,” with the authors concluding the only things worth worrying about are those those that can cause significant harm, are likely to happen, and are (somewhat) preventable.


Whether you are a constant worrier or a stick-your-head-in-the-sand-and-hope-for-the best sort of person, you’ll find something to love in this witty and informative book.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Psychology, Self Help, Audiobook

312 pages, Hardcover

Published February 26, 2019

Reviews

[Keen Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

In one sense this book soothes and allays fears but in other ways it stokes and nurtures the fear in ways you didn’t think possible. This looks through the subject largely through an American lens, which is its curse and blessing, thankfully for those of us from other Westernised nations, broadly speaking we tend to have stronger regulations and so are not exposed to the same risk levels.

“The United States is the only developed country that permits untested and undisclosed additives to enter its food supply.” Or when we get to amusement park rides we learn that, “There is more federal oversight on a stuffed animal or a T-shirt sold at the park than there is over the roller coaster that goes 100 miles per hour.” Operators can choose to follow their own policies or voluntary standards. Now isn’t that a comforting thought?... The dark and opaque optional rules and regulations around American theme parks reads like something from a third world country.

These facts and many more, just made me think what the hell is wrong with Americans?...What don’t they get?!...Is regulation nothing more than an obstacle on the way to even greater profit?...A sign that they haven’t bribed enough politicians, hired enough lawyers or lobbied hard enough?...

We learn a lot in here most of it quite unsettling. Next time you drink a soft drink you might want to check for Sodium benzoate, it reacts with Vitamin C and creates Benzene which is a well-known carcinogen. I also had no idea that a case of BSE was identified in a cow in Alabama back in 2017. And of course the word "organic" is rarely what you think it is. “If you eat organic produce to avoid GMOs, you are still exposed to a lot of Bt (bacillus thuringiensis).”

“The organic mark does not mean that no fertilizers and pesticides have been used. It means that most synthetic fertilizers and pesticides have not been used.” And that is according to the USDA. The authors later go onto add that “Synthetic pesticides have a bad reputation for good reason. However, their natural counterparts are not necessarily better for you, and in some cases they may be worse.”

They make a great point with the risks of conflating “natural” with “healthy”. After all E. coli, snake venom and spider bites are all entirely natural. We are told that more than 33 million pounds of antibiotics were sold or distributed for food producing animals in 2014 alone. Up to 75-80% of antibiotics are not metabolised by the beasts and so go through into the meat.

“Medical errors are far more common than you might think.” According to two contemporary studies from 1999 between 44,000 and 98,000 people die every year in US hospitals. In 2016 some researchers estimated that around 251,454 hospital patients died per year.

The news for Teflon and PFOs is not so chirpy and there is a bit of an ominous feel to the summary of them. The science on alcohol does not reveal promising results either, exposing the myth of the moderate drinkers having any mortality advantage. “Too much red meat increases the rate of all-cause mortality.” We can’t accuse the authors of sugar coating .

Elsewhere we hear of the seemingly omnipresent formaldehyde to the very rare but very disturbing brain eating amoeba?...The news on flame retardants is not encouraging at all either. And the outlook for lead and mercury isn’t too bonnie either. This is undoubtedly a hypochondriac’s heaven and hell and I certainly came out of the other end of this book more worried and paranoid about more things, than before I started.

This is an eloquent and clear overview of many questions most of us will have in relation to these largely everyday foods, drugs or issues that we would encounter. There were some surprise omissions though with no mention of Wi-Fi, mobile phone towers, long distance plane travel or gun crime victim stats (especially as this is an American-centric book?), but nevertheless this was an interesting book that will feed the demons and reanimate the monster in the closet of your mind.

[Isabelle reads a book a day because she has no friends · Rating 2 out of 5]

Me before reading this book: this sounds interesting
Me after reading this book: my theoretical future child is going to die because of mold in my house

This just reads like a giant list of things to be worried about in extreme detail and did not make me feel better in the slightest, but maybe that's just because I'm unfixable at this point xoxo

[Ninja Notion · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an entertaining read. According to the authors, there are few things to worry about in the world, and worrying about mercury and lead are way up there on the list of things to be really concerned about. On the other hand, don't worry about vaccines. They do and have done measurable good for human survival. They caution the reader that they've done their best to rigorously research each threat discussed, but to not trust them alone. In that spirit, it's a delightful trip exploring dozens of everyday threats like death by elevator and death by sugar, that they then plot on a "should I worry" chart.

[Kaitlynne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was a pretty interesting book. I didin't read the whole thing cover to cover, but I read enough of it. I liked how it broke down the possibility of different things happening, and how you could possibly avoid it.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read, very interesting, science and opinion about what is worth worrying about and what isn't. Worth worrying about are the likely and somewhat preventable things that you may or may not have much personal control over: dog bites, mosquitoes, sugar, salt, alcohol, mercury, lead, food safety, hospital-acquired infections, and asbestos (i.e. hindsight is killer on these). Everything else is unlikely and preventable, or unpreventable but unlikely, or likely but unpreventable. Great first aid kit list in Appendix C.

[Peggy McCoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting way to look at risks, the 3 factor graphs summed up preventability, likelihood and consequences neatly. The explanations for the rankings on the graphs were interesting and scientific. I appreciated the author's efforts to be unbiased. The conclusion chapter almost was ironic, in a world of risks from pirates to mosquitos, one of the best ways to avoid life's likely problems is to wash your hands often!

[Chet Taranowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad. Basically, this is a collection of short articles on all the things you should and shouldn't be worried about. The conclusions are based on the best science out there. For example, don't worry much about spiders, but do worry about dogs, alcohol, too much sugar, and lead. Because there are so many things to worry about, reading the book can be mildly unpleasant, but that isn't the fault of the authors so much as it is just the nature of life.

[Matt Kolbet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nicely lays out factors such as likelihood and severity of consequences. A reassuring read in many ways. Short sections and easily accessible.

[Ronda Canary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good research and clever approach.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this off the psychology section of my local library but it wasn’t what I expected. It’s basically just a reference book about many of the things we worry about in life. There’s plenty of information gathered by the authors with references to studies etc but it doesn’t tell you in any way how to stop worrying…other than to believe what they say about the issues!

[Mills College Library]

152.46 J679 2019

[Mark]

COCC

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mix of interesting facts with stuff we already know-quick read.