"A rigorous, in-depth guide to the history, philosophy, and scientific
exploration of this widespread emotional state . . . [LeDoux] offers a
magisterial review of the role of mind and brain in the generation of
unconscious defense responses and consciously expressed anxiety. . . .
[His] charming personal asides give an impression of having a
conversation with a world expert." --Nature
A comprehensive and accessible exploration of anxiety, from a leading
neuroscientist and the author of Synaptic Self
Collectively, anxiety disorders are our most prevalent psychiatric
problem, affecting about forty million adults in the United States. In
Anxious, Joseph LeDoux, whose NYU lab has been at the forefront of
research efforts to understand and treat fear and anxiety, explains the
range of these disorders, their origins, and discoveries that can
restore sufferers to normalcy.
LeDoux's groundbreaking premise is that we've been thinking about fear
and anxiety in the wrong way. These are not innate states waiting to be
unleashed from the brain, but experiences that we assemble cognitively.
Treatment of these problems must address both their conscious
manifestations and underlying non-conscious processes. While knowledge
about how the brain works will help us discover new drugs, LeDoux argues
that the greatest breakthroughs may come from using brain research to
help reshape psychotherapy.
A major work on one of our most pressing mental health issues, Anxious
explains the science behind fear and anxiety disorders.
Praise for Anxious
"[Anxious] helps to explain and prevent the kinds of debilitating
anxieties all of us face in this increasingly stressful world." --Daniel
J. Levitin, author of The Organized Mind and This Is Your Brain on
Music
"A careful tour through the current neuroscience of fear and anxiety . .
. [Anxious] will reward the informed reader." --The Wall Street
Journal
"An extraordinarily ambitious, provocative, challenging, and important
book. Drawing on the latest research in neuroscience (including work in
his own laboratory), LeDoux provides explanations of the origins,
nature, and impact of fear and anxiety disorders." --Psychology Today
