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bmcollins0 's review for:
First, We Make the Beast Beautiful: A New Story About Anxiety
by Sarah Wilson
I didn't agree with a fair amount of the authors views, and yet there were some helpful tidbits. However I feel I need to provide warnings for those seeking these tidbits.
Primarily, this book, although outwardly expressing against it, in my opinion romanticizes stopping mental health medication which can be extremely dangerous, and for many an unnecessary burden on their function. She at one point establishes growing anxiety rates and suggests that it's possible that anxiety just wasn't diagnosed until pharmaceutically convenient. Although I can believe this is part of the story the degree she is painting it to be felt like cherry picking due to her already existing medication bias.
More broadly, many of the 'research' points are pseudoscientific. Although she does warn that she's not an expert. She pushes a no sugar diet comparing sugar to cocaine while demonstrating a poor understanding of nutritional science. Also at one point she includes speaking with someone who allegedly self healed their cancer which is a very dangerous story to promote that reminds me of the woman who died after not treating her cancer because of a book introducing her too manifestation.
She writes this book in a lot of generalizing statements that didn't resonate with me. An overarching theme of the book being that anxiety originates from a lack of spiritual connection to the universe.
I felt like this left me, and I imagine some others, feeling disconnected from the book. One of the big drivers behind my anxiety is a tangible risk to my safety and well being (finding housing after a house fire, affording critical medical care, being a minority under oppressive/dangerous government/climate change disaster's). I can feel connected to the universe and still fear suffering.
In the end two things felt clear to me. This book is not for anxiety. Sarah has bipolar disorder, and the symptoms of her condition make this book difficult to relate to/anxiety producing for those with pure anxiety. I would count the marketing of the book as being self help for anxiety almost false advertisement.
Two, Sarah very clearly lives a life with more privilege than she is aware of and it makes this book hard to relate to and out of touch with most everyday people's experience with anxiety.
Primarily, this book, although outwardly expressing against it, in my opinion romanticizes stopping mental health medication which can be extremely dangerous, and for many an unnecessary burden on their function. She at one point establishes growing anxiety rates and suggests that it's possible that anxiety just wasn't diagnosed until pharmaceutically convenient. Although I can believe this is part of the story the degree she is painting it to be felt like cherry picking due to her already existing medication bias.
More broadly, many of the 'research' points are pseudoscientific. Although she does warn that she's not an expert. She pushes a no sugar diet comparing sugar to cocaine while demonstrating a poor understanding of nutritional science. Also at one point she includes speaking with someone who allegedly self healed their cancer which is a very dangerous story to promote that reminds me of the woman who died after not treating her cancer because of a book introducing her too manifestation.
She writes this book in a lot of generalizing statements that didn't resonate with me. An overarching theme of the book being that anxiety originates from a lack of spiritual connection to the universe.
I felt like this left me, and I imagine some others, feeling disconnected from the book. One of the big drivers behind my anxiety is a tangible risk to my safety and well being (finding housing after a house fire, affording critical medical care, being a minority under oppressive/dangerous government/climate change disaster's). I can feel connected to the universe and still fear suffering.
In the end two things felt clear to me. This book is not for anxiety. Sarah has bipolar disorder, and the symptoms of her condition make this book difficult to relate to/anxiety producing for those with pure anxiety. I would count the marketing of the book as being self help for anxiety almost false advertisement.
Two, Sarah very clearly lives a life with more privilege than she is aware of and it makes this book hard to relate to and out of touch with most everyday people's experience with anxiety.