Generation Anxiety
A Millennial and Gen Z Guide to Staying Afloat in an Uncertain World
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
From licensed clinical psychologist and TikTok therapist Dr. Lauren Cook, Generation Anxiety is a practical guide aimed at Millennials and Gen Z for tackling anxiety.
This relatable, honest, and information-packed book incorporates thorough, evidence-backed psychological research and diverse client experiences to help readers gain insight into their own stressors. It also provides easy, actionable steps to help readers ride the waves of anxiety rather than constantly swimming against them.
Millennials and Gen Z-ers are considered two of the most anxious generations in history, and with the many intense generation-specific stressors they’ve had to face in recent years—including climate change, political polarization, systemic racism, gun violence, and financial instability—it’s easy to see why people are being diagnosed with anxiety at alarming rates.
Dr. Lauren Cook, a psychologist and career coach who specializes in treating Millennials and Gen Z patients—and a Millennial who also lives with anxiety—understands the many nuanced reasons why these two groups are struggling in different ways than their predecessors.
Using a feminist and intersectional lens, Dr. Cook shares her own struggles with anxiety and provides a blueprint to help her readers.
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Psychologist and TikTokker Cook debuts with an accessible resource that urges readers to combat their anxiety by taking "purposeful action" to "decide how we want to live our lives" in the face of anxiety rather than trying to eradicate it. While anxiety can make it seem as though "we're in completely unknown waters," Cook writes, "riding the wave" of the emotion can decrease one's distress, as the sufferer is no longer stymied by fear. Presenting examples of patients who worked to avoid "drowning" in their stresses, Cook describes how Luis grappled with his debilitating obsessive compulsive disorder through "exposure and response prevention therapy," which entails progressively acclimating to one's fears (Luis, whose OCD involved cleanliness-based obsessions, might progress from "not sanitizing groceries" to "only showering once a day"), while Colleen sought relief from bipolar disorder symptoms through gratitude practices, which can correct for the brain's tendency to "skew negative" and help the sufferer understand that "pain and joy" can exist side by side. Elsewhere, Cook outlines more general self-care interventions, including upping one's vitamin D and B12 intake and improving sleep hygiene. Cook's anxiety-managing practices are wise and lucidly explained, and readers will be emboldened by her message that fear and bravery aren't antithetical. This strikes a skillful balance between compassion and practicality.
