Includes bibliographical references (p. 321335) and index.

Understanding anxiety -- Anxiety as adaptation -- The anxiety rule book -- "That's dangerous!" : specific phobia -- "I'm losing control" : panic disorder and agoraphobia -- "Never enough" : obsessive-compulsive disorder -- "Yeah, but what if-- ?" : generalized anxiety disorder -- "I'm so embarrassed!" : social anxiety disorder -- "It's happening again" : post-traumatic stress disorder -- Final thoughts.

We live in the Age of Anxiety. The rates of overall anxiety have increased dramatically during the last 50 years. In fact, the average child today exhibits the same level of anxiety as the average psychiatric patient in the 1950s. We now know where it comes from, how it operates on the mind, and the behavior it generates. Here, cognitive therapist Robert L. Leahy looks at the origin of anxiety and teaches us how to outsmart our fears for a less stressful life. Our ancestors lived in a world filled with life-threatening dangers. Fear was protective, and our ancestors' minds were programmed with rules of how to react to their environment. To break free, we need to rewrite these preprogrammed rules. Leahy addresses the six recognized anxiety disorders, explaining what each is and which outmoded rules it follows. He then offers simple, step-by-step techniques for confronting and overcoming our specific anxieties.--From publisher description.