My Age of Anxiety audiobook cover - Through Scott’s lifelong struggle with anxiety—both the everyday dread and the life-stopping terror—this story gently explores what anxiety is, why it’s rising in the modern world, and how understanding its roots can turn it from a burden into a source of resilience.

My Age of Anxiety

Through Scott’s lifelong struggle with anxiety—both the everyday dread and the life-stopping terror—this story gently explores what anxiety is, why it’s rising in the modern world, and how understanding its roots can turn it from a burden into a source of resilience.

Scott (as summarized)

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PsychologyPersonal Development

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My Age of Anxiety
Nature and Prevalence+
The Lived Experience+
Psychological Roots+
Evolution and Genetics+
Physiology+
Treatments and Management+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 7
According to the text, how does the prevalence of clinical anxiety compare to other mental illnesses?
  • A. It is less common than depression but generally more severe.
  • B. It is a modern phenomenon that is entirely unique to Western cultures.
  • C. It is the most common form of mental illness globally.
  • D. It is primarily diagnosed in highly successful, creative individuals.
Question 2 of 7
What do terms like 'ataques de nervios,' 'kayak angst,' and 'heart distress' illustrate about clinical anxiety?
  • A. Anxiety is a universal condition that transcends cultural and temporal boundaries.
  • B. Different cultures experience completely unrelated forms of mental illness.
  • C. Modern psychiatry has successfully categorized these as distinct, unrelated diseases.
  • D. Anxiety is purely a product of specific linguistic interpretations of stress.
Question 3 of 7
Why do some people compare living with severe clinical anxiety to living with diabetes?
  • A. Both conditions are exclusively caused by rare genetic mutations.
  • B. Sufferers of both must constantly monitor their state and be ever-ready to administer relief.
  • C. Both illnesses can be completely cured with a strict diet and exercise regime.
  • D. The physical symptoms of both conditions primarily affect the body's digestive system.
Question 4 of 7
How does the text explain the potential link between mother-child relationships and future anxiety?
  • A. Children who spend too much time with their mothers develop severe social phobias.
  • B. Mothers who are overly strict often raise children who lack any natural fear response.
  • C. Children enduring longer separations or having ambivalent, anxious mothers tend to become more anxious.
  • D. Anxiety is primarily passed down through the father's genetic line, regardless of the mother's behavior.
Question 5 of 7
From an evolutionary standpoint, why does the fear experienced in clinical anxiety not make evolutionary sense?
  • A. Clinically anxious people lack the stathmin gene necessary to recognize real threats.
  • B. Clinical anxiety involves extreme fear of things that are not intrinsically dangerous, like cheese.
  • C. Normal evolutionary anxiety completely eliminates the fear response in life-threatening situations.
  • D. Clinical anxiety prevents individuals from passing on the RGS2 survival gene to their offspring.
Question 6 of 7
How do anti-anxiety drugs like Xanax chemically affect the brain to produce a calming effect?
  • A. They increase the production of serotonin specifically in the frontal lobes.
  • B. They permanently alter the RGS2 gene to reduce the patient's genetic predisposition to fear.
  • C. They bind to GABA neurotransmitters to inhibit the activity of the central nervous system.
  • D. They stimulate hyperactivity in the anterior cingulate to counteract depressive thoughts.
Question 7 of 7
What was the outcome of the author's attempt to treat his emetophobia (fear of vomiting) using exposure therapy?
  • A. He successfully overcame his fear after a few sessions of imaginal exposure.
  • B. The therapy resulted in a disaster where he ended up choking instead of vomiting from the emetics.
  • C. He realized his fear was actually rooted in an outdated Freudian Oedipus complex.
  • D. He became addicted to the emetics prescribed by his cognitive behavioral therapist.

My Age of Anxiety — Full Chapter Overview

My Age of Anxiety Summary & Overview

Scott looks like someone who has everything together: a strong marriage, two children, and professional success. But underneath, he’s been living with relentless anxiety since early childhood—an anxiety that has shaped his body, his relationships, and his ability to move through ordinary life without fear.

This summary follows Scott’s search for clarity and relief, weaving personal experience with research on the brain, modern life, therapy approaches, medication, and the lasting impact of childhood and genetics. Along the way, it offers a steady, compassionate reminder: anxiety is real, complex, and common—and with the right supports, it can be understood, managed, and even channeled into strength.

Who Should Listen to My Age of Anxiety?

  • Anyone living with anxiety or phobias who wants to feel less alone—and more hopeful about understanding what’s happening inside them
  • Listeners who are curious about why anxiety seems more widespread today, and how biology, culture, and personal history all play a role
  • Friends, partners, parents, or coworkers who want a more compassionate, informed way to relate to someone struggling with anxiety

About the Author: Scott (as summarized)

Scott is presented here as a writer and magazine leader who has lived with severe anxiety since early childhood. Across decades of therapy, medication, and self-study, he combines personal experience with scientific and psychological perspectives to better understand what anxiety is, why it persists, and how it can be lived with more wisely.

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