In “Anxiety: Challenge via Another Name,” James Lincoln Collier asserts that one “do what makes you feel anxious” due to the fact this will, possibly unintuitive, causes persons to sense much less anxious when they are confronted with the same anxiety-inducing scenario again. Collier’s essay is frequently in narrative form composed of anecdotes from his life. However, Collier additionally now and again intersperses notion from psychology and philosophy to similarly elucidate his reasoning.

Collier’s first instance is that when he declined to spend a summer on the Argentine Pampas during college, though in the following months he regretted his actions and depression consumed him; his anxieties about homesickness and prior tasks must no longer have prevented him from doing something he would have loved, the creator later concluded. Next, Collier points out how his newfound knowledge about the significance of taking dangers brought about him to choose a profession as an expert writer alternatively than a teacher of writing, the safer choice. His career as an author and his willingness to put himself in anxiety producing situations additionally contributed to him turning into an extra confident traveler. Collier observed the same benefits of performing resolutely notwithstanding non-public reluctance in his son Jeff: Jeff resisted swimming at first; however over the summer, with reinforcement from his father, Jeff eventually observed swimming effortless and pleasurable. The same thing happened to me after our immigration to the U.S. On the first day, I wanted to bring my daughter home from school, she was crying, when I asked her why she said I don’t understand anyone’s language, she was very disappointed on the first day, Perhaps she thought she could no longer continue her education. I couldn’t understand her problem properly because it hadn’t happened to me yet, so I spoke to her and asked her to be patient and to fight this challenge. The problem, of course, is that it is one thing to urge somebody else to take on those anxiety-producing challenges and it is quite another to get ourselves to do it (James Lincoln Collier). Collier additionally makes use of the work of psychologists and philosophers to guide his call to do anxious activities to avoid depression. The creator mentions how the seminal Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard thought that “anxiety continually arises when we confront the opportunity of our own development” From this statement, Collier concludes, anxiousness is a crucial aspect of non-public growth. Turning to psychology, Collier briefly describes the thought of “extinction.” Extinction is the phenomenon located via psychologists that men and women positioned in anxiety-causing conditions ultimately study them want no longer worry. This once more helps Collier’s thesis that anxiousness is an impediment that can be overcome.

In my opinion, “Anxiety” is construed as extra of a personal narrative as an alternative than an ordinary persuasive essay. Collier’s thesis, that setting oneself is anxious situations is imperative to stop feel sorry about and promote non-public development, is a common platitude in Western culture. Such an assertion must be obtained as a piece of wisdom as a substitute than a conclusion to be fastidiously examined. Indeed, most of “Anxiety” is constituted of anecdotal evidence rather than a large-scale psychological date or a priori proofs. If a reader did want to view “Anxiety” as a work of rigorous reasoning, he would shortly surprise why the creator only used examples from his existence and the lifestyles of Duke Ellington. Alternatively, a reader might think that Collier is struggling from confirmation bias because he only points out instances that risk-taking had advantageous outcomes. This line of thinking leads to the most anxiety-inducing question of all: what if Collier’s thesis is not simply his rational opinion, however an apologetic for today’s obsession with youth, positivity, and risk-taking? Would it no longer be the ultimate nervousness to agree with that the perpetual cycle of concern and salvation that Collier advocates for is a mere distraction from the ultimate war of words of our time, specifically the war of words with the vacancy and inertia of daily existence? Collier by no means deeply analyzes his despair after rejecting his chance to tour to Argentina. He passes over his want for danger and escapism as basically avoidance of anxiety. In my opinion, Collier is no longer trying to avoid anxiety, however, rather his alienation he rides in the safety and regularity of modern-day society. His emotions of personal increase are illusory due to the fact he in no way confronts the absolute melancholy that awaits for him in absolute normalcy. Thus, “Anxiety” ought to be viewed as a work of narrative, unless the reader wants to take its thesis to heart.