9781771994552
Distributed for Athabasca University Press
Anxiety as a Weapon
From Public Secret to Collective Solidarity
Challenges the idea of anxiety as an individual flaw and highlights its roots in social, economic, and political structures.
Anxiety as a Weapon reframes anxiety not as a personal failing but as a response to the deep social, economic, and political instabilities of our time. Challenging a culture that promotes self-blame and individual solutions to stress—from therapy apps to mindfulness courses—this book exposes how systemic forces like precarious labor, austerity, and social disconnection fuel widespread psychological and emotional distress. Rather than diagnosing individuals as defective, it exposes how dominant narratives, technologies, and institutions isolate and shame people, pushing them to internalize suffering and acquiesce in the commodification of self-care. Drawing on historical and empirical research, it introduces the concept of “anxious solidarity”: a powerful, collective response to the atomizing pressures of neoliberal capitalism. By tracing the structural roots of anxiety and critiquing the mainstream mental health solutions on offer, the book provides a framework for transforming anxiousness into a means for connection, resistance, and widespread social change. It is both a critique and a call to action.
Anxiety as a Weapon reframes anxiety not as a personal failing but as a response to the deep social, economic, and political instabilities of our time. Challenging a culture that promotes self-blame and individual solutions to stress—from therapy apps to mindfulness courses—this book exposes how systemic forces like precarious labor, austerity, and social disconnection fuel widespread psychological and emotional distress. Rather than diagnosing individuals as defective, it exposes how dominant narratives, technologies, and institutions isolate and shame people, pushing them to internalize suffering and acquiesce in the commodification of self-care. Drawing on historical and empirical research, it introduces the concept of “anxious solidarity”: a powerful, collective response to the atomizing pressures of neoliberal capitalism. By tracing the structural roots of anxiety and critiquing the mainstream mental health solutions on offer, the book provides a framework for transforming anxiousness into a means for connection, resistance, and widespread social change. It is both a critique and a call to action.