Good Anxiety by Wendy Suzuki

GOOD ANXIETY by Wendy Suzuki (Healthy Brain, Happy Life) is subtitled “Harnessing the Power of the Most Misunderstood Emotion” and she begins by explaining what anxiety is and notes that “yes, it is uncomfortable, but it is also essential for our survival.” The second part of her book explains how to worry well with chapters related to flow, an activist mindset, amplifying focus, heightening compassion, and boosting creativity. Suzuki, a Professor of Neural Science and Psychology at New York University, argues that “we are surrounded by too much information to filter and too much stimulation to relax” and describes how “exercise, proper nutrition, and meditation could reduce and buffer against anxiety.” With so much continued stress and concern about COVID-19, this text offers key ideas about how “listening to our anxieties from a place of curiosity, and without fear, can actually guide us onto a path that leads to joy.” Her final section offers a Good Anxiety Toolbox with questionnaires to help assess how anxious readers are, what they feel when anxious, and possible triggers. These exercises will be very valuable to our Psych students and others who want to learn more about self-soothing techniques, including breathing, olfactory relaxation, and positive thinking. Our homeroom advisors could also use these quick tools – like the mindset check-in – as journal prompts or discussion starters. Suzuki includes notes and an index.

April Fulton of NPR interviewed Suzuki recently and summarizes “Six Tips for Coping with COVID Anxiety this Fall and Winter.” Also, GOOD ANXIETY was chosen by Fortune Magazine as one of five new books to read this September (others include The Burnout Epidemic and Three Girls from Bronzeville – review forthcoming). In addition, it is a nominee for the Next Big Idea Book Club for Fall 2021, compared to texts like Quiet or Thinking, Fast and Slow. For a quick sampling of Suzuki’s message regarding the importance of brain health, view her TedTalk on the benefits of exercise; that YouTube version has almost 13 million views.