Daniel Smith (DSM-IV-TR 300.02: Generalized Anxiety Disorder) is an author, journalist, and editor.
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“I don’t know Daniel Smith, but I do want to give him a hug. His book is so bracingly honest, so hilarious, so sharp, it’s clear there’s one thing he doesn’t have to be anxious about: Whether or not he’s a great writer.”
—A.J. Jacobs, author of The Know-It-All and The Year of Living Biblically

“At last, that universally insidious and distressing experience of anxiety has been clarified. Through the elegant narrative of his personal history and his exposition of the scientific aspects, Monkey Mind does for anxiety what William Styron’s Darkness Visible did for depression.”
—Aaron T. Beck, professor emeritus of psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, and author of Anxiety Disorders and Phobias: A Cognitive Perspective

“You don’t need a Jewish mother, or a profound sweating problem, to feel Daniel Smith’s pain in Monkey Mind. His memoir treats what must be the essential ailment of our time — anxiety — and it does so with wisdom, honesty, and the kind of belly laughs that can only come from troubles transformed.”
—Chad Harbach, author of The Art of Fielding

“As a fellow sufferer, I balked at reading Monkey Mind, fearful that a book about anxiety might send me over the edge. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Daniel Smith maps the jagged contours of anxiety with such insight, humor, and compassion that the result is, oddly, calming. There are countless gems in these pages, including a fresh take on the psychopathology of chronic nail biting, an ill-fated ménage a trois—and the funniest perspiration scene since Albert Brooks’ sweaty performance in Broadcast News. Read this book. You have nothing to lose but your heart palpitations, and your Xanax habit.”
—Eric Weiner, author of The Geography of Bliss and Man Seeks God

“Daniel Smith has written a wise, funny book, a great mix of startling memoir and fascinating medical and literary history, all of it delivered with humor and a true generosity of spirit. I only got anxious in the last part, when I worried the book would end. Of course, it did, but Smith’s hopeful last chapters helped me cope.”
—Sam Lipsyte, author of Home Land and The Ask
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- 2012
- 2011

Posted on December 2, 2011 in General Anxiety

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Queen Occupies Wall Street (sort of)

After a brief hiatus caused by a paralyzing spasm of anxiety and dread (these spasms will complicate the ideal of regular blog updates, I fear), Anxiety Jukebox Friday returns with a classic from Queen. I’d never seen this video before, and recommend a wee nip of sedation before viewing. There’s exploding infrastructure, burning cars, clips from Nosferatu and other creepy old movies, and–appropriately enough in this season of bleak unemployment figures and populist discontent–breadlines, coercive police action, and a conspicuous shot of the Wall Street sign. Also: human skulls.

But it ends well, with Woodstock, flappers, and videos run in reverse!

So there’s that to look forward to.

I need a refill on my Xanax. That’s really all I know for sure.

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Queen Occupies Wall Street (sort of)

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