This is a good introduction to anxiety, though repetitive. The book is overly long and deals quite a bit with personal experience. There’s not really anything new here but it’s a good start for people who want some tools.

Anxiety Rx was a difficult read to make it through and I find is tough to rate. On one hand it has some really interesting things and applicable to me items, and is a good companion to The Body Keeps Score. But also, it was way too long and so much time was spent on the authors use of psychedelic drugs opening his eyes, but then also telling people not to do them. It ended up being a confusing message about how it was the thing that healed his anxiety but also dont touch them. I wish there was more practical tips but I also found it useful. Like i said, I was confused as to my feelings by the end.

What a wonderful book about anxiety and the body's alarm systems. Not only was this educational, it was practical and provided strategies to help when feeling anxiety or struggling with cycles of anxiety. This book is wonderful and I will be revisiting it again and again.

This book was good. I liked the fact that the author shared his experiences with anxiety. I even liked how he explained it. I'm grateful that netgalley and the publishers let me read this in exchange for an honest review.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: Sept. 14, 2024
“Anxiety RX: A Revolutionary New Prescription for Anxiety Relief, from the Doctor Who Created it” by Dr. Russell Kennedy is an updated version of the 2020 book with the same name. In this version, Dr. Kennedy, a life-long anxiety sufferer, uses his medical knowledge, as well as the knowledge he has honed through his meditation and yoga practices and even (gasp!) hallucinogenic drug use to introduce a new way to manage anxiety.
This book is long and, as Dr. Kennedy purports himself, it is repetitive in a lot of places. Kennedy states this was an intentional move, designed to drive home the important aspects of his theory, and ensure that readers are comfortable and familiar with his methods. Kennedy was inspired to write this story after the death of his mentally ill father, by suicide, not wanting to suffer the same fate. An “Eat, Pray, Love” journey to India helped him develop and perfect his meditation practices and, of course, a few different hallucinogenics helped him figure out what the root cause of his anxiety was. (Obviously, Kennedy doesn’t encourage or support the use of mind-altering drugs, but he is open and honest with his experiences and shares what he learned, allowing readers to experience the “trips” vicariously through Kennedy).
Kennedy provides a unique viewpoint, labeling anxiety as “alarm” throughout the book, and identifying its root cause being in the physical body, as opposed to the mental mind. Kennedy speaks to the common “anxiety cures”, such as mindfulness and meditation, and touts their praises and usefulness, which is absolutely nothing new and, in fact, seems to be the go-to anxiety solution these days. It is not Kennedy’s solution to “alarm” that intrigued me, as I’ve heard it over and over, but the way he described anxiety and his personal experiences with it, that kept me interested.
“Anxiety RX” is humorous in parts (as Kennedy is also a stand-up comedian) and it is generalizable and easy to read for those of us outside of the medical community. Although intentional, I found the story repeated things too much, and it dragged on far too long. For those of us who have read many other self-help books on anxiety, Kennedy doesn’t provide anything new treatment-wise, but his unique look at the disorder definitely helped me see anxiety in a different light and, perhaps, that’s one step closer than I was before.

Anxiety and trauma! I know the two can go hand in hand but I have never fully sat down and thought about my trauma and anxiety.

This book takes a whole new approach to both and looks at them separately and then in relation to one another. I was fortunate to have a therapist recently who looked at my trauma (PTSD) and relate my reactions through that trauma from my past. This book linked it all full circle for me and gave me some tools I never even thought to consider.

I wish more doctors and therapists would start to approach anxiety and depression from this stand point and start helping patients/people to look at the start. Where did the traumas start and how can we tap into those emotions to help the emotions felt today.

Going through the past isn’t always easy but sometimes necessary. A great resource and thorough look at trauma responses and how they relate to our anxiety!

I found this book unnecessarily lengthy and repetitive. Kennedy states that the repetition is purposeful, but it still creates an unnecessarily long text that inherently creates anxiety by making the reader look at the remaining page count and think, "Will I actually make it to the last page?" There is very little new, insightful, or miraculous information in this book. Kennedy reviews concepts that are widely considered in psychiatry and the holistic wellness realmn and renames items to make it seem that his information/presentation is unique or special. I think, for individuals who are new to anxiety texts, that these concepts would be beneficial, but for those that have read other pieces about anxiety, read the original version of this text, or have a healthcare or wellness background, there is little in the text that is life-changing.

All of us has an anxiety, some with little anxiety, some with really really big anxiety. But all of this feelings are not good in long term of our life. Russel Kennedy approach anxiety with new perspective for us to read so we can cope with anxiety better.

There is zero new and revolutionary in this book. I went back to see when this book was published because maybe it was old. Nope. 2020. None of this was new or revolutionary then. This man thinks he created a new thing with his ABCD. Everything in that list is already something used in the psychology world-- he just gives them his own names: mindfulness is now called awareness.
Psychedelics have been used for decades for psychological help until they got a bad rap and have been making their way back. Somatics are already used for panic attacks and with blood pressure. Exercise, yoga, and meditation are already suggested by therapists and other professionals. Also, psychology and psychiatry already study neuroscience. Is this part of the reality that a lot of great surgeons are Narcists? Maybe.
If you are already in therapy and have been reading nothing here will be new to you.
New to anxiety? This will be helpful. But as you continue your journey, you'll see all these ideas again.

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC for an honest review.
While I did find this book beneficial to those in the throws of anxiety, I was expecting a slightly more scientific approach. I am glad that Mr. Kennedy shared his experiences, but WAY TOO repetitive in his sharing.