The Meaning of Anxiety

In this revised edition of his classic work—the first modern book on anxiety following Freud and Kierkegaard—psychologist Rollo May brings order and lucidity to the subject of anxiety.

Rollo May challenges the idea that “mental health is living without anxiety,” believing it is essential to being human. He explores how it can relieve boredom, sharpen sensibilities, and produce the tension necessary to preserve human existence. May sees a link extending from anxiety to intelligence, creativity, and originality, and guides the reader away from destructive ways to positive ways of dealing with anxiety. He convincingly proposes that anxiety can impel personal change, as it is only by confronting and coping with it that self-realization can occur.