Worrying: A Literary and Cultural History

Although only a short book, he packs a lot of ideas into less than 200 pages. I am interested in the history of psychiatry and mental health, but hadn't really thought about worrying as coming under this category. O'Gorman doesn't limit himself to worry, but tackles the enormous subject of the birth of reason (the creation of worry?); the ways in which self help seems preoccupied with worry (and the flaws within the idea that 'we' (as human beings in a capitalist society) are failing if our thoughts and emotions don't fit into the ideal type envisioned by market economies. He even questions the place of CBT as used to rewrite individuals' personal beliefs about themselves, which given its status as magic bullet in the NHS, is brave. He show more references plenty of other books on worry, and even talks about ways in which the worrier might be an asset in paticular roles or tasks at work. I really liked this book, and am going to add it to the 'buy if you can' list. show less