Recent Readings: Holding Your Nerve

The gear-shifting of existence across generations in America is taking its toll. Particularly at risk are high school, college age, and young adults who face pressure and stress that threaten to shred their life fabrics. Anxiety, in fact, has overtaken depression as the most common mental health diagnosis amongst college students. What--people ask--can the human individual do to stem the tide?

It's not a one-stop-shopping, quick-fix endeavor, but journalist Taylor Clark plunged into the science of ice-veined responses in his book Nerve, published in 2011. The subtitle is "Poise under pressure, serenity under stress, and the brave new science of fear and cool." Noting that the security, prosperity, and relative ease of modernity have exacerbated anxiety rather than assuaged it, Clark intends to offer a counterattack to this struggle.

One advantage of the book is that, although Clark interviews scientists and probes case studies, he is a journalist. Thus, the writing is livelier and brings a considerable "bounce" to the reader's experience. Above all is Clark's essential question: Why do some people thrive under pressure while others stumble?

Clark notes objectively the struggles that people have with a range of activities, be they standardized tests, game show participation, or job interviews. He arrays a host of individuals who have struggled under pressure, from former MLB pitcher Steve Blass who couldn't find the strike zone to astronaut Gordon Cooper whose 1963 flight on Faith 7 experienced electrical, oxygen purification, and cooling system failure prior to his return flight into Earth's atmosphere. Clark draws out what measures empower some to thrive under pressure, while adding stress and additional details can add to an asphixiating amount of anxiety.

Clark does a phenomenal job of delineating what is meant by fear, anxiety, and stress, showing that they are related but distinct concepts. He also deftly weaves scientific research from the experts in which a pursuit of his main thesis: Fear can be our friend and help us to survive in stressful mires if we can maneuver how to utilize it. The interplay of the different areas of the human brain, especially the role of the amygdala, is a special highlight of Nerve.

Of course, there are some items to be aware of. Some of the chapters are so lengthy one wonders if there are some details that could've been left out. I came away thinking the wordiness of the book was such that its nearly 300 pages could have been reduced by fifty and left a leaner, crisper read. But these are minor matters that do not detract from an otherwise fine work. It's not one that you digest in one sitting, but chew consistently over several readings. It promises an interesting, effective journey into the self, which is a road we should always be willing to take.