The Anxious Brain

Anxiety is the most prevalent mental health condition in the UK and it is estimated that 1 in 10 people globally will experience symptoms of an anxiety disorder. Yet, we know very little about how and why we experience anxiety, and as many as 30 per cent of sufferers don't have an effective treatment. Groundbreaking research is currently underway to discover what is happening in the brain when we feel anxious and to uncover treatments of the future. Professor Oliver Robinson and his team at the Anxiety Lab at University College London are using cutting-edge techniques involving artificial intelligence, neuroimaging and recreations of Marvin the paranoid android to better understand how anxiety works. In The Anxious Brain, Professor Robinson explains what anxiety actually is, what is happening in the brain when we experience anxiety, why some treatments work for some but not others, and how anxious thought processes turn into behaviour change. He will also reveal how his research and innovative approach to personalised medicine could revolutionise how we treat anxiety in the future. This book will fundamentally change our understanding of an all-too-pervasive condition, offer hope for a future of more effective treatment, and reveal how we can all learn to live with anxiety more peacefully.