The Anatomy of Anxiety – by Dr. Ellen Vora

The author, a holistic psychiatrist (notably, she is a psychiatrist and also a yoga teacher, which does factor in), takes a functional approach to mental health, and seeks to treat the cause where possible, rather than merely the symptom. That might not sound groundbreaking, but honestly, the vast majority of psychiatrists in particular do take a “here’s a prescription for Diralisin, and let’s schedule an appointment for two months from now to see how it’s going” approach, so this is refreshing.

You know what else is refreshing? That she acknowledges the difference between “true” and “false” anxiety, that is to say: actually there are many legitimate reasons to be anxious, and those can’t be CBT’d away with a flowchart that asks you to challenge your automatic thoughts, because what if you examine the threat and conclude from the evidence that “no, this one’s a real threat; things genuinely are bad”?

However, that doesn’t mean to say that nothing can be done for our mental health in those regards; indeed, there’s plenty to be done, both in terms of cognitive restructuring (including, but not limited to, radical acceptance and reframing) and in terms of things that are more of the variety: “this is not related to that at all, but it’ll make you feel better, so hey, use what works”.

That’s where a lot of her holistic approach comes in. Having a shower or going for a nature walk or eating some fruit will probably not eliminate an existential threat, but the existential threat is easier to face when refreshed and nourished, for example.

She also talks about what things to hold onto and what to let go (and how to decide the difference for yourself), how to make your social connections anxiolytic instead of anxiogenic (i.e., they ease your anxiety rather than increase it), and how to stay informed in a world on fire without burning out about it.

The style is high-end pop-science with a lot of references, and its information-density does not stop it from also being very readable.

Bottom line: if you suffer from anxiety and would like to not do so, this book is a treasure-trove of evidence-based ways to address that and feel better, healthily, while still acknowledging reality as it is rather than as you’d prefer it to be.

Click here to check out The Anatomy Of Anxiety, and ease yours with a sound, scientific approach!