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The Meaning of Anxiety

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I read this this book a few years back when I was in the throes of my own, rather intense, "anxiety disorder." I read many books on anxiety during this period and found that most of them fit into one of two catagories. The first catagory is the "conquer anxiety disorder" type, which explain the disorder in psycho-medical terms and propose a number of techniques (including drugs in some cases) for alleviating the symptoms. Some of these I found helpful, but they give very little insight into the "root" of the disorder or its deep psychological causes. The other type of book, which is more rare, delves into the philosophical and psychological roots of anxiety. Rollo May's book fits into the later catagory. Rollo May was a student of Paul Tillich who wrote "The Courage to Be" which examines anxiety from an ontological and existential viewpoint. He had a lot of influence on May's thought. The Meaning of Anxiety is an in depth study of anxiety: what it is, where it comes from, what purpose it serves, and in some ways how to transcend it. This book gives real insight into anxiety. The major thinkers on anxiety tend to be existentialists like May, Tillich, and Kierkegaard. When you read their work you gain a much broader perspective on this thing called anxiety.

This scholarly yet extremely accesible study of anxiety--from philosophical, social, theological, literary, cultural as well as biological perspectives--was first published in 1950, and updated by May in 1977. It is still the widest-ranging, richest, most intelligent and insightful exploration of anxiety currently available in one volume. In this postmodern era of hyperbiologism (which presumes anxiety and other symptoms to hold only physical meaning) and resulting wildly popular pharmacological treatments for anxiety, May reminds readers that anxiety has much more than mere biochemical causes and physiological significance: anxiety, insists May, is not necessarily pathological, but rather, a meaningful, necessary, vital and ultimately inextricable aspect of human existence.

There are, in my estimation, three main audiences for works of psychology: curious members of the public with a humanistic desire to know about their fellow creatures, those attempting to self-medicate and those with a professional interest. Each will get something out of Rollo May's work on anxiety but likely also experience some dissatisfaction.

The curious: they will likely be the most disappointed. They might enjoy the individual case studies of `Harold Brown' and the women pregnant out of wedlock. Even though they are short, there is a richness to them. They might also find inspiration in May's conclusions about how anxiety is not something entirely awful but is in many ways central to the human experience, particularly as we attempt to grow, for May argues that normal anxiety is part and product of risk and development.

On the other hand, the nicest thing that can be said about May's prose is that it is very `workman-like'. May obviously was a very smart fellow and in certain ways, this book isn't as dated as it should be for being thirty years past its second edition. But there is something dry about his prose. There is no panache, no elegant turns of phrases. Indeed, even though you can tell May is enthusiastic about his topic, he isn't able to get you to feel it.

The self-medicating bookworms: I suspect that they will only find interesting the initial discussion, up to Kierkegaard, in which May lays out his ideas, and then the ending, in which he tries to draw conclusions from his case studies. There's a whole lot of book between those, so if I were looking for help, I'd just read the beginning and ending at a library and call it a day. (But note that at least one reviewer motivated by their own pain has a better assessment on this score than myself.)

The professionally inclined: my sense is that the person who would get the most out of this book is a grad student in psychology who is on summer break the year before they do their orals. The first half of the book is an overview of anxiety from a number of different angles, attempting to define anxiety (as opposed to fear) and explain its causes. May doesn't pretend to be exhaustively cover each view, but he does give a good sense of different perspectives and this is two-hundred pages of lit review that would be worth the shelf space and money to actually buy, though his historical approach to anxiety seems a little breezy. (It's worth noting that in the biology chapter in particular has a strong proto-cognitive behavioral streak.)

The synthesis and clinic investigation that make up the second half of the book probably won't do much for a professional. May considers himself a post-Freudian, but he's probably not post-Freudian enough for modern audiences. He'll do things like interpret a response to a Rorschach ink blot as an erupting volcano as symbolizing a woman's upcoming labor and birth. And his relating anxiety almost entirely to childhood rejection seems a little pat, even if his arguments are intriguing. (That's the one part of the book that borders on provocative.)

So a curious, anxious psychologist might enjoy the whole book. Everyone else, I suspect, will get a lot out of some parts but get impatient in others.

Reading this book helped change my life. It gave me a new insight into my own life and made me start looking at things rationally instead of through the tinted lense that is anxiety. The case-studies are mind-blowing and really help one understand the core emotions that underly all people. I have specific underlined passages I often refer back to and think to myself, "there is no other way to describe what the author is writing other than pure genius."

Perhaps a bit old-fashioned these days, THE MEANING OF ANXIETY is still a well-written and very useful compendium of different theories of anxiety, with a particular nod, pre-Freud, to Kierkegaard, as well as to cultural determinants, particularly ideologies of individualism. A good read though not up to date, missing out especially on the contributions of interpersonal psychonalaysis, evolutionary biology, and congnitive therapy.

Perhaps a bit old-fashioned these days, THE MEANING OF ANXIETY is still a well-written and very useful compendium of different theories of anxiety, with a particular nod, pre-Freud, to Kierkegaard, as well as to cultural determinants, particularly ideologies of individualism. A good read though not up to date, missing out especially on the contributions of interpersonal psychonalaysis, evolutionary biology, and congnitive therapy.

All famous descriptions of anxieties are explored. This book is for the storm chaser of our inner selves. Like it or not, we're all living in a methaphorical Kansas. This book helps make sense out of our "real" environment. Sometimes one twister after another. Othertimes several mega-twisters all at once!

A quote from P. 236 explains why my supervisor puts so much emphasis on logic and scientific method. When people subscribe to Theory X (the usual and sometimes necessary case), here's what's involved in terms of anxiety (heathly forms of it...apparently):

"The psychological helplessness arising out of this contradiction often leads the individual to cling to the illusion of rational power under the 'anonymous authorities of public opinion,' 'science,' and so forth... THE ILLUSION OF RATIONALITY TEMPORARILY ALLAYS ANXIETY BY SUPPRESSING THE CONTRADICTIONS."

....and a penetrating look at the cultural and contemporary roots of the Age of Anxiety. One could wish books like this would be provided in courses that dwell only on the personal facets of what are now called anxiety disorders.

Rollo May
The Meaning of Anxiety

(New York: Ronald Press, 1950)
(New York: Norton, 1977, revised edition)

This is a helpful book by an American psychotherapist.
May was looking for causes of anxiety when he wrote this,
but it still has some good insights into existential anxiety.

Similar books will be found on the Internet:
"Our Existential Predicament Bibliography".

James Leonard Park, existential philosopher.