Angst: Origins of Anxiety and Depression - Rilegato

Kahn, Jeffrey P.

Rilegato

ISBN 10: 0199796440 ISBN 13: 9780199796441

Casa editrice: OUP USA, 2012

Riassunto

Why do so many people suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous angst? Some twenty percent of us are afflicted with common Anxiety and Depressive disorders. That's not just nervous or scared or sad - that is painful dysfunction without obvious benefit. This angst comes from an evolutionary inheritance that biologically shaped us into social communities. There are just five specific diagnostic subtypes that account for most of this modern-day angst: Panic Anxiety, Social Anxiety, OCD, Atypical Depression and Melancholic Depression. Each of the five comes from primeval social instincts that told our ancestors how to improve survival of their community DNA. These instincts are also very much alive and unfettered in other species today. Their potential link to our human distress was anticipated by both Darwin and Freud.

We humans have greater instinctive consciousness than other creatures. Rational thoughts let us defy biological social instructions. One result of this uniquely human skill is that over-ridden social instincts complain to us in the painful language of emotional disorders. A few of us even tackle this pain head-on, in ways that can advance our intellectual creativity, social performance, and productivity. Our human intellectual abilities owe as much to our unique social software as to our greater brain processing power. Civilization is built upon our ability to maintain social harmony with ethics and government, and to find solace in technology, religion and beer.

This novel theoretical synthesis offers a new framework for understanding what our knowledge of psychiatric neuroscience, clinical research, diagnosis and treatment. The central theory is explained in everyday language. It is supported by clinical observation, straightforward accounts of complex science, animal research, and quotes from both ancient writings and modern humor and lyrics. This fascinating new synthesis is written for the general public, mental health professionals and academic researchers alike.

Su questo libro

Recensione:

This is an interesting book by an author with a wealth of clinical and research experience. He has done a very thorough job on the research behind his theories and express them clearly and succinctly... I would recommend the book.

L'autore:

Jeffrey P. Kahn, M.D.'s evolutionary theory of Anxiety and Depression draws on his academic work on anxiety disorders, workplace mental health, and precision diagnosis, and most especially upon observations from clinical practice. A graduate of Swarthmore College and Columbia University Medical School, he is now Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Weill-Cornell Medical College, with offices in Manhattan and Westchester County.

Su questa edizione

• Editore: OUP USA
• Data di pubblicazione: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0199796440
• ISBN 13: 9780199796441
• Rilegatura: Copertina rigida
• Numero di pagine: 312