Afraid: Understanding the Purpose of Fear and Harnessing the Power of Anxiety

Summary

About a third of the world population suffers from an anxiety disorder, and half of Americans have had at least one traumatic experience like rape, assault, shooting, or natural disasters. Fear and anxiety are with us everywhere we go.

Fear is deeply woven into our biology, culture, politics, and day to day life. We sometimes don't even know what we are afraid of. What we know for sure is that we are afraid too often.

But why are we so scared? How does fear work in our brains? What is the evolutionary purpose of fear? Why do we enjoy watching horror movies? How do we learn to be afraid, and how can we unlearn? Can we use fear to our advantage?

In this book, a psychiatrist and neuroscientist answers these questions. Arash Javanbakht explores how our childhood experiences define the role fear plays in us as adults, how fear may or may not affect our genes, what excessive fear and anxiety can do to our brains and bodies, and the role of fear in the wake of trauma. Listeners will come away with a better understanding of fear and how we can tamp its negative effects, how we can treat it medically if necessary, and how we can protect ourselves from fear's most negative consequences.