Instead of asking why certain people suffer from mental illness, Nesse asks why natural selection has left us all with fragile minds. Drawing on revealing stories from his own clinical practice and insights from evolutionary biology, Nesse shows how negative emotions are useful in certain situations, yet can become overwhelming. Anxiety protects us from harm in the face of danger, but false alarms are inevitable. Low moods prevent us from wasting...

#1 New York Times bestseller
“Essential reading for anyone interested in understanding and treating traumatic stress and the scope of its impact on society.” —Alexander McFarlane, Director of the Centre for Traumatic Stress Studies
A pioneering researcher transforms our understanding of trauma and offers a bold new paradigm for healing in this New York Times bestseller
 
Trauma...

The bravery displayed by our soldiers at war is commonly recognized. However, often forgotten is the courage required by veterans when they return home and suddenly face reintegration into their families, workplaces, and communities. Authored by three mental health professionals with many years of experience counseling veterans, this book provides strategies and techniques for this challenging journey home. It offers soldiers and their families a...

Includes material on "genocide survivors, witnesses to their own parents' murders, children raised in closets and cages, and victims of family violence ... explains what happens to the brain when a child is exposed to extreme stress, and the author reveals how today's innovative treatments are helping ease children's pain, allowing them to become healthy adults.

"Why do we think, feel, and act in ways we wish we did not? For decades, Dr. David A Kessler has studied this question with regard to tobacco, food, and drugs. Over the course of these investigations, he identified one underlying mechanism common to a broad range of human suffering. This phenomenon--capture--is the process by which our attention is hijacked and our brains commandeered by forces outside our control. In this book, Dr. Kessler considers...

Presents a controversial assessment of the rise in mental illness-related disabilities and considers if drug-based care may be fueling illness rates throughout the past half century.

"In the tradition of Lori Gottlieb and Henry Marsh, a distinguished psychiatrist examines his own practice"--

"Alphabetically arranged encyclopedia (500 entries) that covers a wide variety of disorders, treatments, tests, and therapies, focused specifically on topics in mental health"--