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A Brief History of Anxiety
Patricia Pearson returns to non-fiction with a witty, insightful and highly personal look at recognizing and coping with fears and anxieties in our contemporary world.
The millions of North Americans who silently cope with anxiety at last have a witty, articulate champion in Patricia Pearson, who shows that the anxious are hardly “nervous nellies” with “weak characters” who just need medicine and a pat on the head. Instead, Pearson questions what it is about today’s culture that is making people anxious, and offers some surprising answers–as well as some inspiring solutions based on her own fierce battle to drive the beast away.
Drawing on personal episodes of incapacitating dread as a vivid, often hilarious guide to her quest to understand this most ancient of human emotions, Pearson delves into the history and geography of anxiety. Why are North Americans so much more likely to suffer than Latin Americans? Why did Darwin treat hypochondria with sprays from a hose? Why have we forgotten the insights of some of our greatest philosophers, theologians and psychologists in favor of prescribing addictive drugs? In this blend of fascinating reportage and poignant memoir, Pearson ends with her struggle to withdraw from antidepressants and to find more self-aware and philosophically-grounded ways to strengthen the soul.
From the Hardcover edition.
The millions of North Americans who silently cope with anxiety at last have a witty, articulate champion in Patricia Pearson, who shows that the anxious are hardly “nervous nellies” with “weak characters” who just need medicine and a pat on the head. Instead, Pearson questions what it is about today’s culture that is making people anxious, and offers some surprising answers–as well as some inspiring solutions based on her own fierce battle to drive the beast away.
Drawing on personal episodes of incapacitating dread as a vivid, often hilarious guide to her quest to understand this most ancient of human emotions, Pearson delves into the history and geography of anxiety. Why are North Americans so much more likely to suffer than Latin Americans? Why did Darwin treat hypochondria with sprays from a hose? Why have we forgotten the insights of some of our greatest philosophers, theologians and psychologists in favor of prescribing addictive drugs? In this blend of fascinating reportage and poignant memoir, Pearson ends with her struggle to withdraw from antidepressants and to find more self-aware and philosophically-grounded ways to strengthen the soul.
From the Hardcover edition.
208 pages, Paperback
First published March 4, 2008
18 people are currently reading
809 people want to read
About the author
Patricia Pearson
40 books18 followersCanadian journalist and daughter of Canadian diplomat Geoffrey Pearson and former Ontario Senator Landon Pearson, and the granddaughter of former Prime Minister Lester Pearson.
She resigned her weekly column at the National Post in 2003 to protest that newspaper's support for the Bush administration.
She resigned her weekly column at the National Post in 2003 to protest that newspaper's support for the Bush administration.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 85 reviews
July 9, 2011
This book is indeed brief, but in the best way. She surveys anxiety from a number of different angles, from the excommunication of snails and putting marauding animals on trial in the 1400s (one of my favorite parts of the book) to personality types susceptible to mental disorder and the vagaries of psychiatry.
Well worth the read, especially if you battle anxiety - her humor comes through often and at the perfect time. Often I found myself shaking with laughter while yelling (maybe only in my head) "I KNOW JUST WHAT YOU MEAN!!" (Effexor withdrawal: "I missed a single dose and I felt like I was trapped in a disco club on acid with the strobe light at maximum pulse.")
She levels a searing critique at psychiatry, and while I'm behind that 100% I would take her experience with drugs with a grain of salt. While I have also had my fair share of HORRENDOUS psychiatrists and horrendous side effects and withdrawal, finding a psychologist I could trust made all the difference. I still struggle with existential (yes, melodramatic) and ethical concerns when it comes to medication but it makes the decision to go back on slightly easier. While my psychiatrist is another story altogether (to the point that I sometimes lie about my condition so she doesn't just hand me an increased dosage), my experience with medication has been much different this time around.
On a separate note I'd be happy to discuss it with anyone on a more personal level.
Well worth the read, especially if you battle anxiety - her humor comes through often and at the perfect time. Often I found myself shaking with laughter while yelling (maybe only in my head) "I KNOW JUST WHAT YOU MEAN!!" (Effexor withdrawal: "I missed a single dose and I felt like I was trapped in a disco club on acid with the strobe light at maximum pulse.")
She levels a searing critique at psychiatry, and while I'm behind that 100% I would take her experience with drugs with a grain of salt. While I have also had my fair share of HORRENDOUS psychiatrists and horrendous side effects and withdrawal, finding a psychologist I could trust made all the difference. I still struggle with existential (yes, melodramatic) and ethical concerns when it comes to medication but it makes the decision to go back on slightly easier. While my psychiatrist is another story altogether (to the point that I sometimes lie about my condition so she doesn't just hand me an increased dosage), my experience with medication has been much different this time around.
On a separate note I'd be happy to discuss it with anyone on a more personal level.
August 26, 2016
For such a short book, this one took me awhile to get through. I see a lot of positive reviews here but this book really did not sit well with me. I admit, I was drawn to the breezy, humorous writing when browsing at Powell's in the otherwise-seemingly-dry mental health section, and thought it seemed like a unique take on exploring these issues. But a few more pages in, I began to notice that the casual, "genre-bending" (as cited on the cover) style felt insincere at best and irresponsible at worst.
As someone who knows what it's like to experience generalized anxiety, I appreciate the efforts to bring her personal experiences into a wider sociopolitical analysis of mental health-- covering the medical history, cultural development and treatment of anxiety and related disorders over the past several centuries. But in reading about her experience as a clearly affluent and privileged granddaughter of a Canadian Prime Minister, who grew up vacationing abroad and at her family's summer cottage while attending the best schools-- I quickly noticed the glaring omission of any analysis of how mental health impacts working-class and poor people, let alone people of color.
True, she makes an attempt to include some cross-cultural analysis of mental health, citing overgeneralized statistics about the "low incidence of anxiety" in countries like Mexico and Zimbabwe-- but it pains me to even write that, because she clearly did not delve into the research and theory enough to consider the way that mental health disorders are culturally bound and the way that studies like the ones she cited may have made large miscalculations based on the way their inquiries were framed by the researchers and interpreted by the people in the study. She simply cites these numbers and offers a halfhearted conclusion that "they must be doing something right over there in those countries" where cultural norms, economic conditions, and even the profit-hungry medical industry she examines later on in the book, may create conditions that cannot be so easily generalized and swept aside.
Early on in the book, she spends a few pages explaining that, as she spent some time in her childhood living in New Delhi while her parents worked for the government, she was briefly exposed to the threat of political violence and disaster at a young age and that this experience legitimately influenced her ability to cope with various threats to safety later in life. But shortly after that, she pays more close attention to establishing a failed college romance as the central trauma that she spent years struggling to recover from. This effectively trivializes what could have otherwise been a provocative examination of early experiences with trauma and how these influence a life that is otherwise sheltered and protected from the very real dangers (and threats to mental health) of poverty, discrimination, cultural displacement, and lack of access to the healthcare and education she so clearly benefits from.
Indeed, that is the overall problem I have with this book- which for dubious reasons, I insisted on finishing: it feels less like insightful commentary and more like someone's attempt to legitimize their own personal experiences, some of which are directly related to mental health and others, simply a byproduct of living a fairly privileged but sometimes moderately challenging life. I wouldn't dismiss the experience of mental illness amid circumstances of relative safety and privilege, but for a work that seems intent on uncovering the widespread misconceptions and social stigmas that surround the topic, I feel that the book would have benefitted from some more honest and thorough self-examination.
As someone who knows what it's like to experience generalized anxiety, I appreciate the efforts to bring her personal experiences into a wider sociopolitical analysis of mental health-- covering the medical history, cultural development and treatment of anxiety and related disorders over the past several centuries. But in reading about her experience as a clearly affluent and privileged granddaughter of a Canadian Prime Minister, who grew up vacationing abroad and at her family's summer cottage while attending the best schools-- I quickly noticed the glaring omission of any analysis of how mental health impacts working-class and poor people, let alone people of color.
True, she makes an attempt to include some cross-cultural analysis of mental health, citing overgeneralized statistics about the "low incidence of anxiety" in countries like Mexico and Zimbabwe-- but it pains me to even write that, because she clearly did not delve into the research and theory enough to consider the way that mental health disorders are culturally bound and the way that studies like the ones she cited may have made large miscalculations based on the way their inquiries were framed by the researchers and interpreted by the people in the study. She simply cites these numbers and offers a halfhearted conclusion that "they must be doing something right over there in those countries" where cultural norms, economic conditions, and even the profit-hungry medical industry she examines later on in the book, may create conditions that cannot be so easily generalized and swept aside.
Early on in the book, she spends a few pages explaining that, as she spent some time in her childhood living in New Delhi while her parents worked for the government, she was briefly exposed to the threat of political violence and disaster at a young age and that this experience legitimately influenced her ability to cope with various threats to safety later in life. But shortly after that, she pays more close attention to establishing a failed college romance as the central trauma that she spent years struggling to recover from. This effectively trivializes what could have otherwise been a provocative examination of early experiences with trauma and how these influence a life that is otherwise sheltered and protected from the very real dangers (and threats to mental health) of poverty, discrimination, cultural displacement, and lack of access to the healthcare and education she so clearly benefits from.
Indeed, that is the overall problem I have with this book- which for dubious reasons, I insisted on finishing: it feels less like insightful commentary and more like someone's attempt to legitimize their own personal experiences, some of which are directly related to mental health and others, simply a byproduct of living a fairly privileged but sometimes moderately challenging life. I wouldn't dismiss the experience of mental illness amid circumstances of relative safety and privilege, but for a work that seems intent on uncovering the widespread misconceptions and social stigmas that surround the topic, I feel that the book would have benefitted from some more honest and thorough self-examination.
December 31, 2015
A compelling memoir of one woman's experience with anxiety, coupled with some sloppy science reportage and superficial (and intermittently inaccurate) history. That said, I think her argument that our experience of anxiety is at least in part a result of hyper-individualism and the loss of a coherent worldview is worth some careful thought.
Read
July 30, 2011This book was all over the place. Her points were overshadowed by her disconnected, lengthy anecdotes. The author deeply into her own life experiences - sometimes only loosely connected to anxiety - which seems like it would be an enjoyable way to read about anxiety - but not in this case.
June 10, 2025
I regret finishing it; I should have DNF'd it. Dated, ahistorical, and ascientific. Asserts her father and other members of her family experience clinical anxiety, though they deny it and don't have the vocabulary for it and then also discusses in great detail how many countries where there's a great deal of poverty and "real problems" (as the book puts it) are happier and less anxious than people in the US and Canada and never once grapples with the idea that maybe people in those countries conceptualize their distress differently? The book floats the idea that Western children and women are told to focus on their feelings too much and therefore get more anxiety but, again, does not try to square the circle of how that can possibly be true in tandem with the idea that people can experience anxiety without having the words for it. Additionally, several of the studies discussed in this book were found to be fatally flawed, though I'm not sure how obvious that was at the time the book came out.
Also, this book is not really a survey of anxiety in general. It's mostly about generalized anxiety disorder with a touch of discussion of phobias (not at all scientifically based) and like four mentions of PTSD. The other anxieties under the umbrella are not discussed really at all.
My real problems with this book are twofold. One, this coy flirtation with conservatism throughout the work, but a refusal to fully commit to the conservatism. I'm insufficiently familiar with the author's work, so maybe I should have known this going in, I guess that is on me. But the book essentially says that the author developed an anxiety disorder because modern society tells women to go out and sleep around and she got horribly dumped in her early twenties. And I'm sympathetic to the getting dumped setting off problems! And there's discussion about how religious leaders/culturally specific faith leaders are better or can be better than psychiatrists at dealing with distress throughout the book, which fine maybe for some people, except there's some extremely weird exoticism in this and a very strange claim that religious teenagers with OCD in Egypt aren't distressed if they are allowed to do their religious rituals. Except OCD cannot be diagnosed unless it causes distress, that is part of the diagnosis. Also all the true crime stuff and the discussion about how great the cops were!
The second is the screed against medicine for "minor mental health problems", a conceptualization of ranking mental health issues that has so many problems. I would have dropped the book at this ranking of mental distress immediately if this hadn't come during the second to last chapter and the sunk cost fallacy had me in its grip. Can SSRIs have side-effects and problems? Absolutely. Should there be more guidance about getting off of them? Sure. But calling almost all psychiatrists shills for big pharma and claiming she was 'addicted' to SSRIs because withdrawal was hard and that they shouldn't really be used in this polemic screed that wasn't fully founded in facts was not warranted.
It was a 2 until the second to last chapter.
Also, this book is not really a survey of anxiety in general. It's mostly about generalized anxiety disorder with a touch of discussion of phobias (not at all scientifically based) and like four mentions of PTSD. The other anxieties under the umbrella are not discussed really at all.
My real problems with this book are twofold. One, this coy flirtation with conservatism throughout the work, but a refusal to fully commit to the conservatism. I'm insufficiently familiar with the author's work, so maybe I should have known this going in, I guess that is on me. But the book essentially says that the author developed an anxiety disorder because modern society tells women to go out and sleep around and she got horribly dumped in her early twenties. And I'm sympathetic to the getting dumped setting off problems! And there's discussion about how religious leaders/culturally specific faith leaders are better or can be better than psychiatrists at dealing with distress throughout the book, which fine maybe for some people, except there's some extremely weird exoticism in this and a very strange claim that religious teenagers with OCD in Egypt aren't distressed if they are allowed to do their religious rituals. Except OCD cannot be diagnosed unless it causes distress, that is part of the diagnosis. Also all the true crime stuff and the discussion about how great the cops were!
The second is the screed against medicine for "minor mental health problems", a conceptualization of ranking mental health issues that has so many problems. I would have dropped the book at this ranking of mental distress immediately if this hadn't come during the second to last chapter and the sunk cost fallacy had me in its grip. Can SSRIs have side-effects and problems? Absolutely. Should there be more guidance about getting off of them? Sure. But calling almost all psychiatrists shills for big pharma and claiming she was 'addicted' to SSRIs because withdrawal was hard and that they shouldn't really be used in this polemic screed that wasn't fully founded in facts was not warranted.
It was a 2 until the second to last chapter.
July 25, 2017
I began the journey of this book with eager anticipation especially when the first few sentences described me & my anxiety to a T. I was mildly disappointed, but looking back I now think my anticipation had been ramped up by the blurb on my "Book-A-Day" calendar.
If you have a burning need to know the history of anxiety, where it generally comes from, this book is for you. I guess I was hoping for more personal insite and experience.
Read for my 2017 Reading Challenge: A self awareness book
If you have a burning need to know the history of anxiety, where it generally comes from, this book is for you. I guess I was hoping for more personal insite and experience.
Read for my 2017 Reading Challenge: A self awareness book
March 27, 2021
(Audiobook) There are brief moments of interesting insights here, but they’re buried in navel gazing and privilege. I listened to the audiobook so I only just realized this was published in 2008. Its age shows, particularly when the author refers to the “ghetto side” of Chicago.
June 28, 2018
Frică. Fobie. Anxietate. Depresie. Delimitări și intruziuni în zone personale și științifice.
June 22, 2014
I was surprised my rating was this much higher than my friends who had also read this book. Then I remembered that this is about anxiety, which seems to me to go beyond the veil of the personal and into the indescribably personal, so duh no two experiences of this sorta thing are going to be alike.
Having taken Effexor (for about a week before tossing it in the wastebin) I was grateful for the last couple chapters. Having been thinking about the effect of our culture on anxiety disorders I was bouncing in my seat while reading Pearson's take on how our pathological focus on indivudualism is hugely to blame, using as examples more community-focused cultures that don't have nearly our rates of anxiety and depression.
The knockout punch came on page 88. "Studies consistently reveal that the religiously observant are less prone to severe anxiety and depression. When the question is posed as to why they suffer less, the answer is not that their fear of death is diminished, but that their lives are shaped by a narrative that is larger than themselves. In secular/material cultures we forego such narratives in favor of what is actually a more implausible narrative: that we can assume total mastery over our fates."
I've never seen my internal misgivings about Atheism so perfectly articulated. Wow. That really landed.
(EDIT: Interesting to read my own words three years later and say "Umm wait, we're made up of atoms forged in the belly of stars, an incredible place that is the only place nuclei ever touch". Yes the religiously observant might feel less anxious when they are so sure they will somehow survive the death of the brain, but blissful ignorance has costs, as any Carl Sagan book will tell you. Recent studies on psilocybin mushrooms show extreme reductions in anxiety, should everyone do mushrooms? I'm not buying Pearson's argument like I once did)
I loved her blurb on Melinda Doolittle as well. The one season of American Idol I have actually watched and Pearson uses it to burst the dam in my head that couldn't quite pinpoint just how sociopathic we've become. I liked myself a lot better after reading that.
Full disclosure: My partner is a relative of Pearson. I say that less with the intention of full disclosure, and more to brag.
5 stars for personal impact.
Having taken Effexor (for about a week before tossing it in the wastebin) I was grateful for the last couple chapters. Having been thinking about the effect of our culture on anxiety disorders I was bouncing in my seat while reading Pearson's take on how our pathological focus on indivudualism is hugely to blame, using as examples more community-focused cultures that don't have nearly our rates of anxiety and depression.
The knockout punch came on page 88. "Studies consistently reveal that the religiously observant are less prone to severe anxiety and depression. When the question is posed as to why they suffer less, the answer is not that their fear of death is diminished, but that their lives are shaped by a narrative that is larger than themselves. In secular/material cultures we forego such narratives in favor of what is actually a more implausible narrative: that we can assume total mastery over our fates."
I've never seen my internal misgivings about Atheism so perfectly articulated. Wow. That really landed.
(EDIT: Interesting to read my own words three years later and say "Umm wait, we're made up of atoms forged in the belly of stars, an incredible place that is the only place nuclei ever touch". Yes the religiously observant might feel less anxious when they are so sure they will somehow survive the death of the brain, but blissful ignorance has costs, as any Carl Sagan book will tell you. Recent studies on psilocybin mushrooms show extreme reductions in anxiety, should everyone do mushrooms? I'm not buying Pearson's argument like I once did)
I loved her blurb on Melinda Doolittle as well. The one season of American Idol I have actually watched and Pearson uses it to burst the dam in my head that couldn't quite pinpoint just how sociopathic we've become. I liked myself a lot better after reading that.
Full disclosure: My partner is a relative of Pearson. I say that less with the intention of full disclosure, and more to brag.
5 stars for personal impact.
July 10, 2008
Fabulous, I can't say enough good about this book! It spoke to me with insights that I had been subconsciously ruminating over for years. I loved her denouncement of Dawkins' "The God Delusion", her cautionary tale on SSRI's and other psychiatric elixirs, and her quoting of Edward Shorter's "scientism" (the church of the science promoting itself, not to be confused with "good science" as she calls it). Her smart analysis of the social status discrepancies between psychiatrists and patients and the resulting "God complex" was healing to one who has been victim of that more than once. She also talked about how withdrawal and addiction rates on prescription ("sanctioned") drugs is rarely cited, much less studied, while we all know how horrible meth withdrawal is... But the main thing I loved, something that I have since discovered myself through the physical punishment of long-distance running, is that I can take anything that is thrown at me. The fear of fearing so greatly is an unnecessary accessory in my life and I am slowly finding that whatever happens, it will eventually pass or become a part of my life that I need not distrust. So much else is good in this book--a must read for ANYONE!
June 6, 2021
I listened to this as an audiobook.
I saw this in my audiobook catalogue and figured I may as well read it because I also suffer from anxiety, and it's just one of those things where I thought maybe I was going to learn more about it or how to better cope. I... guessed wrong.
The book starts out with some promise. It's mentioned somewhere that sometimes traumas can make that person afraid of things having nothing to do with that trauma, but simply because whatever it is was there when the trauma happened. I already knew this was a thing, so I can't say I learned more about myself or my anxieties. However, it was a very validating chapter. Unfortunately, things go downhill from there.
It's very clear that the author is very much against taking drugs for anxiety and depression. So clear, in fact, that I can't take this book at face value. Because Pearson herself was either improperly medicated or had bad reactions to her medication, most of her research beyond this point in the book become influenced by her bias. It seems like she only wanted to gather information from those who also had bad experiences with their medication. I know exactly the kind of worries she has about medication, too. I was put on some of the same drugs she was put on and had similar reactions - including the brain zaps that occurred when I missed a dose - but drugs do work for a lot of people. I have family members and friends that truly aren't able to function in their daily lives without the medications that their doctors prescribed.
There is such a thing as treatment-resistant depression, and there is also the fact that some of these drugs just won't work if you are misdiagnosed. The latter happened to me and I was trying to gain the courage to see a new doctor about treatment, until Covid happened and I was quarantining as well as trying to stay out of the hospital so it could be used for Covid patients who needed it. But I did try therapy for a bit, and she realized that the reason my prescribed drugs didn't work is because I don't have depression, but something that might make depression manifest such as, in my case, Bipolar Disorder or ADHD, or maybe something else entirely. I have a cousin that was on anti-depressants that didn't work, until she was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and changed her meds. She has been fine with her meds since. So stuff like this happens, and her qualms with medication may also stem from her experience with doctors as well.
She argues that her doctors never told her about side effects, but I just think she had bad luck with doctors. I knew about all the side effects from my medication from my doctors, including the brain zaps from withdrawal, and if I questioned it, a quick Google search cleared things up before I accepted a prescription. It almost sounded like Pearson believed the doctors were trying to make off with a share of the profits drug companies make when they prescribe drugs to people. At that point, I couldn't take her seriously and I can't recommend this book to anyone, especially those suffering from a treatable mental illness.
In conclusion, I don't know how this book made it to press. Her reporting is hugely influenced from her own experiences and, to back up her claims, she went to unreliable sources that only she agreed with. Medication is not a scary thing and can be helpful for many people. Sometimes it takes a while to find the right medication, which can be exhausting, but it shouldn't be dismissed entirely as a treatment.
I saw this in my audiobook catalogue and figured I may as well read it because I also suffer from anxiety, and it's just one of those things where I thought maybe I was going to learn more about it or how to better cope. I... guessed wrong.
The book starts out with some promise. It's mentioned somewhere that sometimes traumas can make that person afraid of things having nothing to do with that trauma, but simply because whatever it is was there when the trauma happened. I already knew this was a thing, so I can't say I learned more about myself or my anxieties. However, it was a very validating chapter. Unfortunately, things go downhill from there.
It's very clear that the author is very much against taking drugs for anxiety and depression. So clear, in fact, that I can't take this book at face value. Because Pearson herself was either improperly medicated or had bad reactions to her medication, most of her research beyond this point in the book become influenced by her bias. It seems like she only wanted to gather information from those who also had bad experiences with their medication. I know exactly the kind of worries she has about medication, too. I was put on some of the same drugs she was put on and had similar reactions - including the brain zaps that occurred when I missed a dose - but drugs do work for a lot of people. I have family members and friends that truly aren't able to function in their daily lives without the medications that their doctors prescribed.
There is such a thing as treatment-resistant depression, and there is also the fact that some of these drugs just won't work if you are misdiagnosed. The latter happened to me and I was trying to gain the courage to see a new doctor about treatment, until Covid happened and I was quarantining as well as trying to stay out of the hospital so it could be used for Covid patients who needed it. But I did try therapy for a bit, and she realized that the reason my prescribed drugs didn't work is because I don't have depression, but something that might make depression manifest such as, in my case, Bipolar Disorder or ADHD, or maybe something else entirely. I have a cousin that was on anti-depressants that didn't work, until she was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and changed her meds. She has been fine with her meds since. So stuff like this happens, and her qualms with medication may also stem from her experience with doctors as well.
She argues that her doctors never told her about side effects, but I just think she had bad luck with doctors. I knew about all the side effects from my medication from my doctors, including the brain zaps from withdrawal, and if I questioned it, a quick Google search cleared things up before I accepted a prescription. It almost sounded like Pearson believed the doctors were trying to make off with a share of the profits drug companies make when they prescribe drugs to people. At that point, I couldn't take her seriously and I can't recommend this book to anyone, especially those suffering from a treatable mental illness.
In conclusion, I don't know how this book made it to press. Her reporting is hugely influenced from her own experiences and, to back up her claims, she went to unreliable sources that only she agreed with. Medication is not a scary thing and can be helpful for many people. Sometimes it takes a while to find the right medication, which can be exhausting, but it shouldn't be dismissed entirely as a treatment.
December 19, 2024
“A Brief History of Anxiety: Yours and Mine” authored by Patricia Pearson was released by Bloomsbury in 2008. Chapters 1 and 2 of the book focus on Patricia’s experiences with obsessive compulsive disorders, and her childhood vacillations between trust and fears. These constant vacillations cause anxiety disorders throughout a person’s lifetime. From 2002 to 2007 Patricia wrote that the Institute of Health reported 13% of all American children suffered anxiety disorders. In 2007 National Institute of Mental Health estimated that these disorders dramatically affected the anxieties 25.1% of children and adolescents aged 13 to 18. Chapters 3, 5, and 6 focused on anxieties that trigger: 1) nervous breakdowns, 2) emotional breakdowns caused by failed romantic experiences, 3) anxieties fueled by criminal behavior, and 4) anxieties caused by obsessive fears of those who live in countries with demanding cultural social and economic mores. The final three chapters in the book feature anxieties caused by phobias, occasional moments of terrors, nightmares, and fears associated with serendipitous events leading to unexpected results. The last chapters of the book also discuss prescribed antidepressant drugs, and the anxieties that are caused by community economic gender and race biases. Patricia’s was born in Mexico City to a family of five children. Her father Geoffrey Pearson served as a Canadian diplomat and Ontario Senator. Her grandfather Lester Pearson served as Canada’s Prime Minister, Nobel Peace Prize Recipient, and Canadian Ambassador to the Inited States. (P)
October 21, 2024
This book fails to deliver on its promise. Rather than a brief history of anxiety, which is given only a few cursory pages and, even then, hardly discussed or explored, this book is a jumble of barely connected chapters that confuses the reader. This book is part memoir, part history of anxiety, part discussion about the North American fixation with crime and violence, and part discourse on the dangers of pharmaceuticals. Pearson shares a few medical statistics, which, in 2007, where brand new, but they are hardly explored or expanded on. Less than twenty years have passed and her book feels incredibly dated.
Moreover, the book is shot through with quotations from philosophers and poets, all of which seems tacked on as though to earn points with the literati. Despite knowing the vast majority of these references, her use of them was banal and uninformed, which made these sections unbearingly pretentious -- and I say this as someone who is often accused of pretentiousness!
Also, despite calling herself a humourist in one passage, this book hardly held anything close to a laugh. Her style is contrived, her attempts at humour flat, and her insight absent.
There are better books about anxiety. Skip this one and don't look back.
Moreover, the book is shot through with quotations from philosophers and poets, all of which seems tacked on as though to earn points with the literati. Despite knowing the vast majority of these references, her use of them was banal and uninformed, which made these sections unbearingly pretentious -- and I say this as someone who is often accused of pretentiousness!
Also, despite calling herself a humourist in one passage, this book hardly held anything close to a laugh. Her style is contrived, her attempts at humour flat, and her insight absent.
There are better books about anxiety. Skip this one and don't look back.
September 16, 2020
This book is about exactly what the title says it's about - a brief history of anxiety, yours and mine. It's a mixture of the history of everyone's best pal - anxiety - and the author's own struggle with it. I gotta be honest here, when I first started this book, my hackles went up. I thought 'aw, heck, this is going to be one self-indulgent, self-congratulating little turkey of a book' and I rolled my eyes. But, trooper that I am, I pressed on like a noble soldier and ended up being glad that I did. There are some interesting nuggets of wisdom here and even if you don't agree with everything she says, she presents the material with sincerity and humour, and you can't ask for much more than that. I'm a girl who has read a lot of stuff about anxiety, best pals, remember? But there were still things in here worth consideration. Also, this book is a quick, easy read which is a nice change from the slog that usually accompanies something of this topic. If anxiety is your pal too, worth a read.
October 10, 2017
I love it when a true writer takes on an addictions or mental health topic. Typically there is more truth in a few pages than reams of professional texts. Patricia Pearson's account of her struggle with anxiety is erudite, eccentric and well written. I don't agree with everything she says, particularly her take on medication, but she knows her stuff. She sees anxiety through a writer's eyes; it's personal and accurately put into the context of her life, with her daughter, husband, bills and work. She has a broad view of anxiety in history and the larger world, typically lacking in most professional accounts. I have written a much different book on anxiety and put off reading her book (justifiably), knowing that I would have trouble resisting theft of ideas. There are good books out there on anxiety, written by professionals and others but her experience should not be missed and will likely be the more fun read.
July 24, 2020
Honestly, I'd be more likely to give this a three with a caveat. There's some good history to read through here, but she rolls in hard against taking any kind of prescription drug in relation to anxiety or mental disorder like it. This is from a series of bad experiences with what she had taken, so it's understandable. But I feel like there's a point to make here. I know folks who have issues with anxiety or depression that do take prescriptions to help with them. I also know other people who don't. It doesn't have to be an all or nothing proposition on that front. It's a matter of having to find what works for you. Some folks don't need a prescription, and that's alright. Some do, and they have to try different things until they get an effect that is what they're looking for. That's okay too. It's a matter of doing any of those options from an informed position.
July 4, 2022
Never read Patricia Pearson before but I’ll certainly continue. Really fun voice- smart and clearly curious and educated but human. A little older book, but what a trip reading about large group of people suffering fear of inevitable pandemic flu. I think that bit may have had a wee of an opposite effect, although, not sure how incessant worry prepared anyone for Covid-times. Would be interested in hearing about that for sure. I generally enjoyed this just because it’s nice to read perspectives and experiences others have with anxiety. Plus, she is not afraid to tell big pharma whats up. “Why didn’t I know what awaited me when I tried to come off Effexor” indeed.
July 15, 2018
An interesting blend of facts, personal anecdotes, & total denial that medications can be at all helpful to mood. I don't exactly regret impulsively grabbing it at the library, but I wouldn't recommend it, either. A short read with some chuckles & nice reassurance that you aren't alone, but also not really helpful, & contributing to the stigma against SSRIs.
(Are SSRIs pure & perfect, the solution to all life's struggles? No, certainly not. They're just one option, one resource, that you & your doctor/s can discuss.)
(Are SSRIs pure & perfect, the solution to all life's struggles? No, certainly not. They're just one option, one resource, that you & your doctor/s can discuss.)
October 29, 2017
I'm disappointed because I actually liked it up until the last two chapters, where the author goes on a rant about how evil antidepressants are. She herself may have had a negative experience, but my life has been improved by the same drug she was on, and there are many people whose lives have been saved by antidepressants. So, ugh. Up until then, it was an interesting look at anxiety with different cultural perspectives.
May 30, 2018
Interesting but not as 'funny' as I had hoped based on book reviews and the first chapter of the book. I did like it that the author wove personal experiences into the book and was honest about anxiety medication side affects and more. I also liked it that it wasn't too clinical, most of the information was easy to relate to from a layman's standpoint. Some of the history of anxiety and it's treatments were really intriguing.
January 23, 2021
This book is a wonderful blend of memoir and history. It is an excellent book for many reasons, but for me chiefly for its discussion of SSRI's, namely, effexor, a drug which should never be prescribed to or taken by anyone.
April 5, 2019
Although a little outdated (2007), an interesting perspective on anxiety.
October 1, 2020
O carte care oferă informații prețioase pentru cei interesați de frici și anxietate.
November 13, 2022
Quasi research based essays about the author's anxiety. Readable not memorable.
September 8, 2025
This book and the author’s brave shares helped me feel less alone in my own anxieties. Well written, I’m glad I read it.
November 10, 2008
A quick read. I was excited to read a 'history' of anxiety, but I wanted a more substantial, serious meal than Pearson dishes out: this is more of a light buffet.
'A Brief History of Anxiety' is half-memoir, half-nonfiction work. It roughly chronologically follows Pearson's life, through a couple of anxious/depressive breakdowns, including an interesting, though not really germane to the book's theme, section about working as a crime reporter during the crime-obsessed early '90s.
If there's an overall argument that ties the book together, it's that Pearson believes that the modern world is a legitimately anxiety-provoking place, and that drugging our problems is a much less pleasing reaction than addressing the underlying causes. I basically believe that, too, and yet as reflected back from Pearson's book, I found it verging on tritely unsatisfying.
I guess it's better to approach the book as a smorgasbord than as a polemic. There's an engaging section on fear (what peoples' phobias are, and what the phobia says about the person or the society), and in a later segment about attending the APA conference, Pearson gets mad and gets her funny on.
Three stars...but does anyone know whether there's been a more substantial history of anxiety written?
'A Brief History of Anxiety' is half-memoir, half-nonfiction work. It roughly chronologically follows Pearson's life, through a couple of anxious/depressive breakdowns, including an interesting, though not really germane to the book's theme, section about working as a crime reporter during the crime-obsessed early '90s.
If there's an overall argument that ties the book together, it's that Pearson believes that the modern world is a legitimately anxiety-provoking place, and that drugging our problems is a much less pleasing reaction than addressing the underlying causes. I basically believe that, too, and yet as reflected back from Pearson's book, I found it verging on tritely unsatisfying.
I guess it's better to approach the book as a smorgasbord than as a polemic. There's an engaging section on fear (what peoples' phobias are, and what the phobia says about the person or the society), and in a later segment about attending the APA conference, Pearson gets mad and gets her funny on.
Three stars...but does anyone know whether there's been a more substantial history of anxiety written?
April 1, 2008
I ordered this book as soon as I read the review in The New York Times, and I'm glad that I did. Pearson's examination of the personal and social origins of anxiety is thought-provoking and her wry humor is at times laugh-out-loud funny.
She mentions that other cultures aren't as plagued by anxiety as Canada and the US, and speculates about why that may be. She also thinks that as our rapidly changing world continues to invalidate our expectations, anxiety sometimes results because we can't get a handle on what's going on. For some people, "getting a handle on what's going on" appears to not be a big deal. (It seems to help if people have strong social networks to support them.) For others ... well, hence the book and the increase in anxiety disorder diagnoses. :)
Pearson had a terrible experience with anti-anxiety pharmaceuticals and favors a philosophical + cognitive behavioral approach for dispelling her own demons.
She mentions that other cultures aren't as plagued by anxiety as Canada and the US, and speculates about why that may be. She also thinks that as our rapidly changing world continues to invalidate our expectations, anxiety sometimes results because we can't get a handle on what's going on. For some people, "getting a handle on what's going on" appears to not be a big deal. (It seems to help if people have strong social networks to support them.) For others ... well, hence the book and the increase in anxiety disorder diagnoses. :)
Pearson had a terrible experience with anti-anxiety pharmaceuticals and favors a philosophical + cognitive behavioral approach for dispelling her own demons.
September 14, 2008
Absolutely brilliant book, the amazing insight into the roots of today's phobias, epidemic of depression and anxiety. The book itself is very uplifting, gives hope, helps to understand you and to connect to people with similar symptoms. Very interesting is a part on a history of dealing with mental illness, the development of modern concept of psychiatry, antidepressants and counseling. After the Romans left Europe, it went down with chaos and the gloom and fear of Dark Ages created the foundation of our dread of everything. I liked the idea about the genius and madness, about phobias that mask other fears and the idea that you are not alone in this crazy reality. The best literature, poetry are the fruits of the anxious. I agree that today workplace is full of people with problems because being simply a nice person is a handicap, what expected is a fierce need to compete. This is one of the most honest book that I read in a long time.
August 6, 2016
Addictiveness ❤❤❤
Originality ✯✯
Detail ♢♢♢♢
Story/Plot N/A
Characters N/A
Memorable✿✿
Likeness to recommend to others ✤✤✤
Slow start but then this became a quick read, sat out on my porch and enjoyed a beautiful morning with this book. Reads a bit like a mix of a textbook or school paper with a personal memoir. This book gives a brief overview of the origins of what today is known as anxiety with bits of the author's personal history and anecdotes mixed in. That being said the book didn't teach me much new information (I have a bachelors in psychology) and left me thinking "ok anxiety is prevalent-what do we do about that?" That's my personal qualm though and I have to follow that with the fact that the title describes exactly what the book is a brief overview without any indication of a "self-help" life improvement discussion. Would recommend it to people looking for a general history and view of the experience of anxiety.
Originality ✯✯
Detail ♢♢♢♢
Story/Plot N/A
Characters N/A
Memorable✿✿
Likeness to recommend to others ✤✤✤
Slow start but then this became a quick read, sat out on my porch and enjoyed a beautiful morning with this book. Reads a bit like a mix of a textbook or school paper with a personal memoir. This book gives a brief overview of the origins of what today is known as anxiety with bits of the author's personal history and anecdotes mixed in. That being said the book didn't teach me much new information (I have a bachelors in psychology) and left me thinking "ok anxiety is prevalent-what do we do about that?" That's my personal qualm though and I have to follow that with the fact that the title describes exactly what the book is a brief overview without any indication of a "self-help" life improvement discussion. Would recommend it to people looking for a general history and view of the experience of anxiety.
April 12, 2010
A very short book, this can be read in a day although because of other competing interests, it took me several. Alternately, humorous and sobering, Pearson examines the anxiety from the caveman on. (A slight exaggeration) stopping to opine on all the various antidotes that society has come up with to combat it over the years. Finally concluding that a little CBT and a dash of faith in "something", possibly the Lord, will do it, Pearson oversimplifies a very complex problem which still defies solution for most of the afflicted. Nevertheless, she has done an enormous amount of research and presents the material in an eminently readable form that is easy to follow. Her own story seems to have a happy ending, at least for now and the humor with which she looks back at some of her travails gives those afflicted some genuine hope.
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