Hi, Anxiety: Life With a Bad Case of Nerves

by Kat Kinsman

Overview

Joining the ranks of such acclaimed accounts as Manic, Brain on Fire, and Monkey Mind, a deeply personal, funny, and sometimes painful look at anxiety and its impact from writer and commentator Kat Kinsman.

Feeling anxious? Can’t sleep because your brain won’t stop recycling thoughts? Unable to make a decision because you're too afraid you’ll make the wrong one? You’re not alone.

In Hi, Anxiety, beloved food writer, editor, and commentator Kat Kinsman expands on the high profile pieces she wrote for CNN.com about depression, and its wicked cousin, anxiety. Taking us back to her adolescence, when she was diagnosed with depression at fourteen, Kat speaks eloquently with pathos and humor about her skin picking, hand flapping, “nervousness” that made her the recipient of many a harsh taunt. With her mother also gripped by depression and health issues throughout her life, Kat came to live in a constant state of unease—that she would fail, that she would never find love . . . that she would end up just like her mother.

Now, as a successful media personality, Kat still battles anxiety every day. That anxiety manifests in strange, and deeply personal ways. But as she found when she started to write about her struggles, Kat is not alone in feeling like the simple act of leaving the house, or getting a haircut can be crippling. And though periodic medication, counseling, a successful career and a happy marriage have brought her relief, the illness, because that is what anxiety is, remains.

Exploring how millions are affected anxiety, Hi, Anxiety is a clarion call for everyone—but especially women—struggling with this condition. Though she is a strong advocate for seeking medical intervention, Kinsman implores those suffering to come out of the shadows—to talk about their battle openly and honestly. With humor, bravery, and writing that brings bestsellers like Laurie Notaro and Jenny Lawson to mind, Hi, Anxiety tackles a difficult subject with amazing grace.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062369680
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	11/15/2016
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 8.60(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Kat Kinsman is Senior Editor of Food and Drinks for Extra Crispy, a food website devoted to the joys of breakfast. She is the former editor at large and former editor in chief of Tasting Table and editor for CNN.com, where she was nominated for the James Beard Broadcast Award in the TV segment category and won the 2011 EPPY best food website for CNN’s Eatocracy. Kinsman is a frequent public speaker on the topics of food and mental health. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Opening Scene 1

Chapter 1 Naming the Beast 9

Irrational Fear #1 Having No Way Out 17

Chapter 2 All in the Family 23

Chapter 3 School Days 31

Irrational Fear #2 Dancing 41

Chapter 4 The Number of the Beast 47

Chapter 5 The Horrors of love 53

Irrational Fear #3 Seeing the Doctor 79

Chapter 6 In the Dungeon 87

Irrational Fear #4 Talking on the Telephone 99

Chapter 7 Drifting, Failing, Landing 103

Irrational Fear #5 Getting My Hair Cut 119

Chapter 8 Drugging the least 123

Irrational Fear #6 Having Children 141

Irrational Fear #7 Alternative Remedies 147

Chapter 9 Home Is Where the Fear Hides 155

Irrational Fear #8 Picking Things Up 177

Chapter 10 On Money and Futons 183

Irrational Fear #9 Driving 203

Irrational Fear #10 Being Driven 207

Closing Scene 211

Acknowledgments 219

Editorial Reviews

An insightful look at an often misunderstood disorder that doesn't have an immediate cure, this book should appeal to anyone who has struggled with anxiety or loves someone who has.” — Library Journal

“With witty humor and an enduring boldness, Kinsman’s insightful read will have readers cringing at times, like when her nerves keep her from picking up a pair of designer shoes at the repair shop, but never fails to showcase her inner strength all the same.” — Booklist

From the Publisher

09/15/2016
Kinsman, senior food and drinks editor for the Time, Inc. website Extra Crispy and founder of the mental-health awareness website Chefs with Issues, here chronicles a lifetime of worry and fear. She writes about her childhood and the crippling anxiety she felt but didn't understand. Kinsman presents the various methods she tried to control her anxiety, including medications, meditation, supplements, etc., but never found a solution. The author comes to the realization that there is no one method that works for everyone, and many can't manage the fear well, but that these emotions come from an illness and shouldn't be a source of shame. Kinsman encourages those suffering from the malady to acknowledge what is happening so that they can get the support they deserve. VERDICT An insightful look at an often misunderstood disorder that doesn't have an immediate cure, this book should appeal to anyone who has struggled with anxiety or loves someone who has.—Terry Lamperski, Carnegie Lib. of Pittsburgh, PA

Library Journal

With witty humor and an enduring boldness, Kinsman’s insightful read will have readers cringing at times, like when her nerves keep her from picking up a pair of designer shoes at the repair shop, but never fails to showcase her inner strength all the same.

Booklist

With witty humor and an enduring boldness, Kinsman’s insightful read will have readers cringing at times, like when her nerves keep her from picking up a pair of designer shoes at the repair shop, but never fails to showcase her inner strength all the same.

Booklist