The world we live in and our own personalities often leave us with anxiety on a fairly regular basis Often people think of this as a “bad” emotional feeling to be avoided (not always through the most helpful strategies) and one that serves no purpose. However, understanding more about anxiety can make a difference as Dr. Suzuki demonstrates in this title.

Dr. Suzuki takes a considered look at what anxiety is. She also offers many strategies to help “make anxiety work for you.” Hopefully, readers will feel more empowered and able to manage this complex emotion. They will, I think, also appreciate that the author shares some of her own experiences. Sounds good. Take a look at this title. It just might lead to positive change.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for this title. All opinions are my own.

Good Anxiety: Harnessing the Power of the Most Misunderstood Emotion by Wendy Suzuki is an interesting take on anxiety that attempts to redefine it as a positive force in our lives. She presents compelling arguments for how anxiety can be harnessed for personal growth and success, and offers practical exercises for readers to implement in their own lives. The book synthesizes research from neuroscience, psychology, and personal development to make the case. However, I couldn't help but feel that the author oversimplifies the complexity of the emotion. Anxiety is a very real and difficult experience for many people, and by glossing over the negative aspects of anxiety, Suzuki risks invalidating the experiences of those who struggle with it. It seemed like the people who "harnessed" their anxiety had some privileges and advantages that not every person will have, so it could potentially result in the perception that everyone should just be able to pull themselves up by their anxiety bootstraps. But as always with any book about mental/emotional wellness, I hope it can help someone out there and that the positives will outweigh the negatives.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a temporary digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

Thank you Netgalley and Atria for letting me read and review this book. Dr. Wendy Suzuki is a neuroscientist that writes an intriguing book about anxiety, stress, sleep, emotions, and survival. I learned a lot while reading this book. Being someone who suffers from anxiety, this was an informational and great read. Overall I liked her writing style. Whether or not you have anxiety you should read this book.

"If we simply approach anxiety as something to avoid, get rid of, or dampen, we actually miss an opportunity to not only manage the symptoms of anxiety better but also discover ways to improve our lives. Listening to our worries from a place of curiosity, instead of fear, can actually guide us onto a path that leads to joy."

I am sorry for the inconvenience but I don’t have the time to read this anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience.

Wendy Suzuki’s Good Anxiety is your typical self-help guide that’s great for anyone who struggles with being anxious. While I did enjoy parts of this guide, I felt a lot of it was the authors life and stories about what caused her anxiety and less about how to deal with said anxiety. I did like that she stresses the point that anxiety and emotions are okay to have and that we must learn to accept them in our lives and find ways to use these “problems” to our benefit.

Thank you very much for the copy of this book to review! I love reading books on anxiety and learning about it a bit more, especially the scientific portions.

I thought this book was a great read and I enjoyed learning about anxiety and the brain. I loved learning how anxiety is a hard wire threat response that our body-brain use to protect us, but how it's possible to use anxiety in positive ways.

Even though I enjoyed the book, I found quite a few sections repetitive and found myself skimming through a lot of it. I enjoyed the exercises near the end of the book however and thought those were very interesting!

This book about anxiety is a great read for anyone with a science background to read! I suffer from anxiety and feel like just reading this book helped me out more than I expected it to. I also have been exploring grounding techniques for myself and this book helped me confirm some that I have found for myself. However, while reading this I found that if you aren't aware of a lot of scientific terms this book isn't for you.

GOOD ANXIETY by Wendy Suzuki (Healthy Brain, Happy Life) is subtitled "Harnessing the Power of the Most Misunderstood Emotion" and she begins by explaining what anxiety is and notes that "yes, it is uncomfortable, but it is also essential for our survival." The second part of her book explains how to worry well with chapters related to flow, an activist mindset, amplifying focus, heightening compassion, and boosting creativity. Suzuki, a Professor of Neural Science and Psychology at New York University, argues that "we are surrounded by too much information to filter and too much stimulation to relax" and describes how "exercise, proper nutrition, and meditation could reduce and buffer against anxiety." With so much continued stress and concern about COVID-19, this text offers key ideas about how "listening to our anxieties from a place of curiosity, and without fear, can actually guide us onto a path that leads to joy." Her final section offers a Good Anxiety Toolbox with questionnaires to help assess how anxious readers are, what they feel when anxious, and possible triggers. These exercises will be very valuable to our Psych students and others who want to learn more about self-soothing techniques, including breathing, olfactory relaxation, and positive thinking. Our homeroom advisors could also use these quick tools – like the mindset check-in – as journal prompts or discussion starters. Suzuki includes notes and an index.

April Fulton of NPR interviewed Suzuki recently and summarizes "Six Tips for Coping with COVID Anxiety this Fall and Winter." Also, GOOD ANXIETY was chosen by Fortune Magazine as one of five new books to read this September. In addition, it is a nominee for the Next Big Idea Book Club for Fall 2021, compared to texts like Quiet or Thinking, Fast and Slow. For a quick sampling of Suzuki's message regarding the importance of brain health, view her TedTalk on the benefits of exercise; that YouTube version has almost 13 million views.

Links to articles and TedTalk:
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/09/04/1033672045/6-tips-for-coping-with-covid-anxiety-this-fall-and-winter
https://fortune.com/2021/09/01/5-new-books-to-read-in-september/
https://www.ted.com/talks/wendy_suzuki_the_brain_changing_benefits_of_exercise?language=en

Overall a powerful read. I greatly enjoyed this, with its focus on anxiety, its roots, and ways to reframe and use it as a tool to transform our thought processes and ultimately actions. Rather than avoiding anxiety, embrace it! An example includes the “sailboat” analogy, describing how as a sailboat needs wind, the brain-body needs outside encouragement. The author successful demonstrates throughout the read the difference between rational fear and anxiety, and ways to utilize these feelings. I highly recommend to all who experience anxiety (which one could argue we all do at some point), and/or for those trying to better understand the emotion and feeling in friends and family. Those vying for anxiety-provoking careers and training also would benefit from this read as it helps discern tangible steps to understand anxiety and use it for good.

Thank you NetGalley for my free copy. The comments above are my own without influence.

While I enjoy the idea of being able to harness anxiety vs. fight it, after reading Good Anxiety I’m not sure I completely understand how to accomplish this feat. I can see how this works for the general anxiety that everyone experiences but I’m not sure it truly applies to those who struggle with anxiety disorders. That being said, I do like the ideas presented throughout the book. Instead of ignoring anxiety we should acknowledge it and work to better understand it. Maybe this will help us work with anxiety instead of against it.

As someone who struggles with anxiety, it was interesting to read about how there might actually be some benefits of anxiety (assuming, of course, that an individual can overcome it and doesn't have too much of it). Considering anxiety as an emotion necessary for human survival was definitely a new concept for me. However, sometimes I did feel that there was too much positive spin and not enough acknowledgment of why people with anxiety struggle.