Taylor Clark (1) (1979–)

I finally got the copy I won in the Goodreads giveaway a while ago (thanks for sending it again!) and I am glad I did, because Clark's book was a great read. I see that I consumed it in just 4 days; no small feat for me, as I am a rather slow reader. Clark does a good job of summarizing and highlighting historical and current research into the mysteries of the amygdala, the fear response, anxiety, and stress. He tells the stories of remarkable examples of humans who cracked or excelled under stress, from bullet-dodging war heroes to famous pitchers forced to leave their profession due to performance anxiety. And what becomes clear, from the stories and the research, is that a sense of control and predictability can make our fears and anxieties manageable. This is not a self-help book, but a book where one can learn a little bit of every aspect of what science knows about fear and anxiety. I am usually an anxiety-free person and some findings in research highlight some of my personality traits that allow me to remain anxiety-free, but what's striking is I could immediately recognize patterns of behavior that I or people around me employ to try to combat anxiety, and that some of it works for a good reason and some will never work. I also can recognize easily why, even though I usually have low anxiety, I freak out in very particular situations with time pressure. And why I just cannot help but squeeze the door handle every time I think the driver is doing something remotely "dangerous." (I was in a bad car accident when I was little, and my amygdala just won't forget it. Ever.) Yes, I may still walk out of a car after an hour of back-seat-driving with a limp due to pressing that invisible brake, but I won't feel like it's my fault for not being able to prevent this reaction, and that, in itself, will make my car ride less anxious.… (mehr)