Anxiety

Answer the following How does the author’s anxiety, which makes his stomach hurt and bowels loosen, in turn make his anxiety even worse? What does the author mean when he says, “Rates of [DSM] consistency have improved since then, but the diagnosis of many mental disorders remains, despite pretensions to the contrary, more art than science. Agree or disagree with this lecture to the author: “You could try giving up the medication,” he said. “But your anxiety is clearly so deeply rooted in your biology that even mild stress provokes it. Only medication can control your biological reaction. And it may well be that your anxiety is so acute that the only way you’ll be able to get to the point where any kind of behavioral therapy can begin to be effective is by taking the edge off your physical symptoms with drugs.” Describe why the author feels this way about drugs: “Though plenty of studies, and many individual experiences, suggest that drugs can be highly effective in treating anxiety, the benefits are at the very least not clear-cut.” How well do SSRIs work? How is anxiety a gift as well as a curse?