Writing Worth Reading
Writing Worth Reading
Psychiatrist reflects on nature of anxiety, and its varied history. "Present medical classifications offer up a smorgasbord of disorders variously defined by the quality of nervousness, the object of terror, or its source"
"God's gift", chill pills, benzos. Fast-acting anti-anxiety drugs for stressed workers. This is the era of Xanax, Ativan and Klonopin. A lot of Americans are taking them, casually. And with little thought of the consequences
"A lot of these kids were having a happy, normal life." And then they started twitching. Quite a lot. What happened when mass psychogenic illness, or mass hysteria, descended on the town of Le Roy, in upstate New York
Break awkward silences. Get rid of clutter. Always plan something new. Stop and think. Seek out like-minded people: "Nothing is better for your creativity than to find people whose artistic and ideological values you share"
"I was feeling a slight chill. That night a fever that spiked at 103. My housemates, all gay men, remarked on how rough I looked, and though no one said the word (or the letters), I had a feeling we were all thinking the same thing"
They have enough money to pay, and things they steal are often relatively cheap. So why do they do it? When caught, they usually don't know and express remorse. Psychologists suggest an explanation
It's a game of two halves, and so is this compelling piece. Half about the masochistic satisfaction of supporting a team where glory is glimpsed, rarely attained. And half about the author's experience of dealing with depression
Extraordinary story of temporary amnesia (TGA) brought on by severe emotional distress. A 34-year-old mother goes to bed and wakes up the next morning convinced she's her 15-year-old self
New research focuses on what happens in the brain when we worry. "The hippocampus is involved and that suggests that worry is part of the human defensive response." Unable to live a stress-free life? Don't fret, some anxiety is good
Are women really more anxious than men? Parenting disparities and cultural pressures play a part. Yet "Women are simply more honest about their anxiety, because they've been taught to deal with it through unencumbered fretting"
Feeling worried? Taylor Clarke considers rising levels of stress and fear in society: "Americans have become extremely vulnerable to the pressures of the 21st century". An insightful interview on a common affliction
Poise under pressure. A look at why some people cope better than others do in times of stress. Could genes dictate the way we behave in life-threatening, or more mundane, situations? Or is experience the key to keeping calm?
