Rationality for Mortals: How People Cope with Uncertainty

Ellen Vora (Author)

The Anatomy of Anxiety: Understanding and Overcoming the Body's Fear Response

5,From acclaimed psychiatrist Dr. Ellen Vora comes a groundbreaking understanding of how anxiety manifests in the body and mind--and what we can do to overcome it.Anxiety affects more than forty million Americans--a number that continues to climb in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. While conventional medicine tends to view anxiety as a "neck-up" problem--that is, one of brain chemistry and psychology--the truth is that the origins of anxiety are rooted in the body.In The Anatomy of Anxiety, holistic psychiatrist Dr. Ellen Vora offers nothing less than a paradigm shift in our understanding of anxiety and mental health, suggesting that anxiety is not simply a brain disorder but a whole-body condition. In her clinical work, Dr. Vora has found time and again that the symptoms of anxiety can often be traced to imbalances in the body. The emotional and physical discomfort we experience--sleeplessness, brain fog, stomach pain, jitters--is a result of the body's stress response. This physiological state can be triggered by challenging experiences as well as seemingly innocuous factors, such as diet and use of technology.The good news is that this body-based anxiety, or, as Dr. Vora terms ...

Jenara Nerenberg (Author)

Trust Your Mind: Embracing Nuance in a World of Self-Silencing

1,An urgent examination of self-silencing culture and the toxic impact of groupthink, by the author of Divergent Mind and founder of The Neurodiversity Project. Nerenberg empowers readers with tools to understand the mind and navigate an increasingly polarized world, from campuses and workplaces, to the media and beyond.Connected across geography and culture via the internet, the world is both a vast, limitless landscape and an ever-shrinking echo chamber. Communication, especially discourse over free speech, is becoming increasingly divisive; one person's right to speak comes into conflict with another seeking to prevent harm. Our tolerance for differing opinions is also narrowing. A "wrong" remark or comment, no matter how seemingly innocent, can result in banishment, and contradictory ideas spark hysteria and backlash--what is referred to as "cancel culture." This polarization affects everyone of us--among friends and families, workplaces and communities--and threatens the fabric of society.In this timely book, Jenara Nerenberg analyzes this phenomenon of "self-silencing," asking potent questions about how harmful groupthink has become accepted. Applying her expertise in ...

William Von Hippel (Author)

The Social Paradox: Autonomy, Connection, and Why We Need Both to Find Happiness

5,A Next Big Idea Club Must Read of February 2025"Von Hippel presents a radically new way to understand why human happiness has diminished. What's more, he offers superlative advice for how to get back on track." --Sonja Lyubomirsky, New York Times bestselling author of The How of HappinessFrom the author of The Social Leap comes this thought-provoking exploration into humans' two core evolutionary needs, for connection and autonomy, how the modern world has thrown them out of whack, and how we can rebalance them to improve our lives.Why do people who have so much--leading comfortable lives filled with unprecedented freedom, choice, and abundance--often feel so unhappy and unfulfilled? This phenomenon is a defining paradox of our time and one we endlessly seek to solve. In The Social Paradox, psychologist William von Hippel argues that we need to think about this problem in a new way. By changing our perspective, we might finally see the solution, bringing us greater happiness and more satisfying relationships.The key is to understand the interplay between our two most basic psychological needs--for connection and autonomy. Evolution made us dependent on one another for survival, ...