Ellen Vora

From an acclaimed functional medicine psychiatrist, a groundbreaking approach to understanding and managing anxiety from a holistic perspective. More than 40 million Americans suffer from anxiety in any given year, which has only worsened with the Covid-19 pandemic. To help patients cope with this often-debilitating mental health disorder, doctors tend to reach for the prescription pad, subscribing to the conventional wisdom that anxiety is "all in our heads." Ellen Vora, MD contends that what we need is an all-encompassing approach that looks beyond the brain and considers the whole person. Backed by the latest scientific research and Dr. Vora's clinical work, The Anatomy of Anxiety offers a fresh, much-needed look at mental health, offering actionable strategies for managing our moods. Much of our anxiety begins in the physical body, often the result of seemingly innocuous states of imbalance, such as a blood sugar crash or sleep deprivation. This type of anxiety is far more preventable than we may realize, through straightforward adjustments to our diet and lifestyle, such as reducing caffeine intake, stabilizing blood sugar, prioritizing rest, and rethinking our relationship to technology. Other forms of anxiety are not pathologic but come as a course correction to help nudge us back onto our paths. In this instance, anxiety is not what's wrong with us, but it's here to alert us to the fact that something else is out of balance--in our bodies, our lives, or in the world around us. This more intuitive version of anxiety, Dr. Vora suggests, is meant to be listened to and honored, and we can learn simple strategies for tuning into this anxiety and allowing it to protect and guide us. In The Anatomy of Anxiety, Dr. Vora walks beside us through a healing process to reframe our relationship with anxiety, and in turn create a more joyful and fulfilled life.

Rethinking the Body, Mind, and Healing of Anxiety

The Anatomy of Anxiety

From acclaimed psychiatrist Dr. Ellen Vora comes a groundbreaking understanding of how anxiety manifests in the body and mind—and what we can do to overcome it. Anxiety affects more than forty million Americans—a number that continues to climb in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. While conventional medicine tends to view anxiety as a “neck-up” problem—that is, one of brain chemistry and psychology—the truth is that the origins of anxiety are rooted in the body. In The Anatomy of Anxiety, holistic psychiatrist Dr. Ellen Vora offers nothing less than a paradigm shift in our understanding of anxiety and mental health, suggesting that anxiety is not simply a brain disorder but a whole-body condition. In her clinical work, Dr. Vora has found time and again that the symptoms of anxiety can often be traced to imbalances in the body. The emotional and physical discomfort we experience—sleeplessness, brain fog, stomach pain, jitters—is a result of the body’s stress response. This physiological state can be triggered by challenging experiences as well as seemingly innocuous factors, such as diet and use of technology. The good news is that this body-based anxiety, or, as Dr. Vora terms it, “false anxiety,” is easily treated. Once the body’s needs are addressed, Dr. Vora reframes any remaining symptoms not as a disorder but rather as an urgent plea from within. This “true anxiety” is a signal that something else is out of balance—in our lives, in our relationships, in the world. True anxiety serves as our inner compass, helping us recalibrate when we’re feeling lost. Practical, informative, and deeply hopeful, The Anatomy of Anxiety is the first book to fully explain the origins of anxiety and offer a detailed road map for healing and growth.

Understanding and Overcoming the Body's Fear Response

La ansiedad afecta a millones de personas en todo el mundo, un número que sigue en aumento. Mientras que la medicina convencional tiende a ver la ansiedad como un problema vinculado a la química cerebral y la psicología, la verdad es que sus orígenes están enraizados en el cuerpo. En La anatomía de la ansiedad, la psiquiatra Ellen Vora nos ofrece un cambio de paradigma en nuestra comprensión de la salud mental y sugiere que la ansiedad no es simplemente un trastorno cerebral sino una afección de todo el cuerpo. En su trabajo clínico, la Dra. Vora ha descubierto que los síntomas de la ansiedad a menudo se pueden atribuir a desequilibrios en el cuerpo. La incomodidad emocional y física que experimentamos (insomnio, confusión mental, dolor de estómago, nerviosismo) es el resultado de la respuesta del cuerpo al estrés. La buena noticia es que esta ansiedad relacionada con el cuerpo o, como la llama la Dra. Vora, la «ansiedad falsa», se trata fácilmente. Una vez que se abordan las necesidades del cuerpo, cualquier síntoma restante se reformula como una súplica urgente desde adentro. Esta, la «ansiedad real», es una señal de que hay algo más en desequilibrio en nuestras vidas, en nuestras relaciones, en el mundo. Práctico, informativo y profundamente esperanzador, La anatomía de la ansiedad es el primer libro que explica completamente los orígenes de la ansiedad y ofrece un mapa de ruta detallado para superarla y reorientarnos hacia un mayor equilibrio físico y mental.

Comprender y superar la respuesta de nuestro cuerpo al miedo

La anatomía de la ansiedad

'A redeeming way to look at the condition, as not merely a burden but ultimately a blessing ... unexpectedly moving ... validating and hopeful' Guardian 'An incredible paradigm shift in how we view anxiety' Dr Nicole LePera, author of international bestseller How to Do the Work Anxiety. It's all in your head, right? Wrong. Psychiatrist Dr Ellen Vora challenges the conventional view of anxiety as a mental disorder, suggesting instead that much of what we call anxiety begins in the body. Rather than our troubled thoughts creating physical symptoms, she argues that many types of anxiety are the result of states of imbalance in our bodies, whether blood sugar crashes, caffeine highs or sleep deprivation. Her clinical observation shows this type of anxiety is far more preventable than we may realise, responding almost immediately to straightforward adjustments to diet and lifestyle. Backed by the latest scientific research and Dr Vora's own clinical work, The Anatomy of Anxiety offers a fresh, much needed look at mental health, offering actionable strategies for managing our moods. She further argues that other forms of anxiety, when listened to and honoured instead of suppressed, can be seen as a course correction to help nudge us back to a more balanced life. In her groundbreaking book, Dr Vora walks beside us through a healing process to reframe our relationship with anxiety, creating a more joyful and fulfilled life.

Ellen Vora

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