July 10, 2017
Wall Street Journal reporter Petersen has lived with anxiety for 25 years, and this thorough and lucid investigation combines her personal experiences, current research, and the general history and treatment of the disorder. Peterson was a college sophomore in 1989 when her anxiety “spiraled out of control,” which led her to drop out of school for a time. Her parents insisted she return, which ultimately turned out to be the right thing; she later learned that exposure therapy can be an effective way of combating this “invisible” affliction, and avoidance can reinforce anxiety. In her research, Petersen tracks the role of genetics (her grandmother was a schizophrenic who once set fire to the house) but finds that the link to her “marked genes” is complex. According to Petersen, 40 million Americans (twice as many women as men) have chronic anxiety; she also reveals that anxiety diagnoses among children and young adults are increasing. Now married and a mother, Petersen reflects upon how anxiety disorder affected her relationships with friends, family, and former lovers, and how it can tarnish (or, surprisingly, enhance) career, travel, and other aspects of life. While concluding that there is “no one way” to deal with anxiety disorder, she describes the various medications that may be helpful as well as such habits as getting adequate sleep, meditating, and doing yoga. Readers with anxiety disorders will find useful info as well as validation in Petersen’s intertwining of reportage and life story.
April 15, 2017
Anxiety and panic attacks plague a woman's life.A rapid heart rate, chest pains, and shallow breathing are all symptoms of a heart attack. However, for Wall Street Journal health reporter Petersen, those were the symptoms of her reoccurring anxiety attacks. As she notes, those are just a few of the many symptoms she and millions of others with anxiety disorders deal with on a regular basis. Having lived with anxiety for more 25 years, Petersen has been in and out of numerous emergency rooms, doctors' offices, and therapy sessions, and she has tried a variety of drugs and alternative solutions to alleviate her condition, with mixed results. In this honest and revealing memoir, the author makes no attempt to mask the multiple ways that panic attacks have sideswiped her, forcing her to reschedule and rethink how she lives her life. Along with her personal memories of the past two decades, Petersen explores practical information about anxiety and panic attacks, the history and development of anti-anxiety drugs, the methods of therapy used to treat disorders, and the factors involved in the inheritance of genes that lead to the disorders. "The estimated number of people who will have at least one anxiety disorder during the course of their lives is staggering: one in three Americans ages thirteen or older," writes the author. "If we look only at women, the number is even higher--more than 40 percent." Based on these figures, Petersen's thoughtful and encouraging treatise on living and thriving despite these disorders will be helpful reading for many, and her honesty opens a much-needed doorway onto a significant health problem that is often underreported but on the rise. Sensitive and frank personal views on anxiety backed by substantial research and analysis of the evolution of treatment methods and drugs to alleviate symptoms.
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January 1, 2017
Smothered breath and hard-beating heart: the 40 million Americans suffering from anxiety know them well. Wall Street Journal editor considers causes and her ways of coping. With a 100,000-copy first printing.
Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
May 1, 2017
Science journalist Petersen's revelatory chronicle might feel familiar to millions of people who suffer from anxiety disorder, frequently called panic attacks. Between 2008 and 2016, the number of college students alone diagnosed with or treated for anxiety disorders jumped between 10 and 17 percent. Petersen's personal history with the disorder began over 25 years ago while she was a student at the University of Michigan. An episode very nearly totally immobilized her, keeping her from attending classes and frightening her parents. At the time, they consulted one doctor after another, and she was variously misdiagnosed as suffering from such physical causes as multiple sclerosis and a brain tumor. Through dogged determination, Petersen was eventually correctly diagnosed, but her journey was far from over. There is no magic pill. By chronicling her own experiences with a variety of therapeutic interventions and coping mechanisms, she sheds light on the circuitous route those with anxiety disorder travel. With reported incidences of the disorder on the rise, particularly among millennials, Petersen's account is enlightening and informative.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)
April 15, 2017
Wall Street Journal reporter Petersen provides an honest memoir of her 15-plus years of struggle with an anxiety disorder. After dozens of visits with physicians, multiple ER trips, numerous EKGs, EEGs, CAT scans, and MRIs, along with the expenditure of thousands of dollars, Petersen's eventual diagnosis came while she was a college student. She presents a succinct summary of the history of the condition and early clinical efforts to understand, define, and treat it; the impact of the disorder during childhood; current research in possible genetic links; nonprescription therapies that hold promise; the latest medications available; how the disorder impacts careers and interpersonal relationships; and how to manage it successfully. Petersen's revelations about one failed pregnancy, followed by the natural ongoing fear about her subsequent daughter's development, solidify her understanding of this illness and its impacts on the lives of thousands. Her heartfelt memoir nicely blends her personal story with findings from extensive professional research cited in the in-depth notes, which provide an impressive primer for professionals wishing to dig deeper into clinical research on anxiety disorders. VERDICT This work is essential for all university collections supporting psychology curriculum and should be required reading for anyone working with those who have the disorder.--Dale Farris, Groves, TX
Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.