Unnerved : anxiety, social change, and the transformation of modern mental health / Jason Schnittker.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Schnittker, Jason, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Anxiety--Social aspects.

Anxiety.

Anxiety disorders.

Physical Description:

vi, 272 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Columbia University Press, [2021]

Summary:

"Anxiety is not new. Yet now more than ever, anxiety seems to define our times. Anxiety disorders are the most common psychiatric disorders in the United States, exceeding mood, impulse-control, and substance-use disorders, and they are especially common among younger cohorts. More and more Americans are taking antianxiety medications. According to polling data, anxiety is experienced more frequently than other negative emotions. Why have we become so anxious? In Unnerved, Jason Schnittker investigates the social, cultural, medical, and scientific underpinnings of the modern mental state. He explores how anxiety has been understood from the late nineteenth century to the present day and why it has assumed a more central position in how we think about mental health. Contrary to the claims that anxiety reflects large-scale traumas, abrupt social transitions, or technological revolutions, Schnittker argues that the ascent of anxiety has been driven by slow transformations in people, institutions, and social environments. Changes in family formation, religion, inequality, and social relationships have all primed people to be more anxious. At the same time, the scientific and medical understanding of anxiety has evolved, pushing it further to the fore. The rise in anxiety cannot be explained separately from changes in how patients, physicians, and scientists understand the disorder. Ultimately, Schnittker demonstrates that anxiety has carried the imprint of social change more acutely than have other emotions or disorders, including depression. When societies change, anxiety follows"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: ch. One The Significance and Meaning of Anxiety

ch. Two A Late Modern History of Anxiety

ch. Three The Evolving Science of Anxiety and Depression

ch. Four Anxiety Disorders in the United States

ch. Five Family Change and Cohort Differences in Anxiety

ch. Six The Decline in Religious Participation

ch. Seven Uncertain Attachments

ch. Eight Status Anxiety and Growing Inequality

ch. Nine The Ascent of Anxiety as a Therapeutic Target

ch. Ten The Past, Present, and Future of Fear.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version : Schnittker, Jason. Unnerved

ISBN:

9780231200349

023120034X

9780231200356

0231200358

OCLC:

1200832534

Publisher Number:

99987720367