Understanding Anxiety

Anxiety sufferers, as well as the health professionals and loved ones who support them, are often unaware of the true extent of their struggles. Family and friends misunderstand anxious people, believing they are lazy or lack initiative. Patients seek treatment for the symptoms of anxiety again and again, never addressing the underlying reasons for their disorder.

This book covers the complexity of anxiety in everyday life, as well as its effect on happiness and achievement, told through the experiences of anxiety sufferers across life stages, from childhood through retirement years. The author uses scientific literature and 40+ years of clinical experience to describe the major anxiety disorders and to illuminate their scope. For anxiety sufferers, as well as their family members and medical professionals, this book provides solutions for dealing with anxiety before it becomes too overwhelming.

Carol King, PhD is a retired psychologist. With a doctorate from Pennsylvania State University, she has done clinical work in community mental health centers, psychiatric hospitals, a university counseling center, and private practice. Her interests include personality psychology, social psychology, human development, positive psychology, depression, and especially, anxiety. She lives in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Sean Kelly (PhD, Sociology; University of Wisconsin-Madison) is a professor in the School of Education at the University of Pittsburgh. He studies the social organization of schools, student engagement, and teacher effectiveness. He currently serves as co-editor of the American Educational Research Journal and has served or serves on the editorial boards of the journals Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, Urban Education, Sociology of Education, as well as Research in the Teaching of English.

Carol King with Sean Kelly
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 227
Bibliographic Info: appendix, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2022
pISBN: 978-1-4766-8838-1
eISBN: 978-1-4766-4641-1
Imprint: Toplight

Acknowledgments vii
Preface 1
Introduction 5
One. What Is Anxiety? 13
Two. Social Anxiety 52
Three. Specific Phobia 77
Four. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) 92
Five. Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) 110
Six. Anxiety and Underachievement Across the Life Span 129
Seven. Managing Your Anxiety 147
Eight. Children, Anxiety, and Parenting Behaviors 176
Conclusion: Revealing and Confronting the Hidden Handicap 201
Appendix: Resources for Further Reading 203
References 205
Index 213

• “Common-sense guide…the authors give good examples of different types of anxiety and raise awareness and understanding of a disorder that can be debilitating from childhood through retirement”—Booklist