A very interesting book, but probably not one to read during a pandemic. Yeah, I know; you would think it would help. But somehow, talking about stress response, cortisol and anxiety during a time of world-wide physical and psychological stress response is actually a bit stressful.

It's somewhat technical, but readable. It walks the reader through different aspects of the body and normal physiological response. Although he relies on the extreme examples ("ancestors confronting lions"), the information contained is valid. I suppose that's one of the troubles with science-translation.

It's been updated twice since original publication. I feel like most of what it is saying isn't surprising, but I last intensively looked at stress response in the late 90s, so I'm wondering what more current thinking is.

Книга за физиологията и психологията на стреса и как той ни влияе. Детайлно е описано какво е стрес, защо се стресираме (ние и всички животни) какви процеси протичат в тялото и мозъка ни докато сме стресирани и как те се отразяват негативно на здравето ни в дългосрочен план.

Дори да оставим настрана факта, че язвата се предизвиква от бактерия, а не от нерви, обаче самата книга можеше да е тройно по-кратка и пак щеше да каже всичко смислено, което се съдържа в нея и да остане място за част от безкрайното отвлечено бърборене на автора. Естествено, една научно-популярна книга, освен научна, няма как и да не ... ами популярна, но Робърт Саполски му е изтървал края и според мен прекалява с "простонародния" език, метафори и детински сравнения.

Накрая има три глави относно това кои хора се стресират повече и кои по-малко, като цяло как да борим стреса, за да живеем по-дълго, по-здрави и по-спокойни. Съветите са валидни, но близки до ума. ( )

Incredible book. Thought provoking and thought changing in every page. It gives you the facts and mesmerize and wonders you with great, humorous writing. There are other books that start marveling at you (Homo Sapiens or Guns, Germs, and Steel) and then giving you sprinkles of facts just to be called nonfiction. This book is never dull, never difficult, sometimes dense if you don't know about the topic, but it just make you want to read more every time, because you don't know which direction any subject or conclusion is gonna jump to, and it is always extraordinary. Everybody should read it. ( )

Sapolsky gives you a rundown of the basics of the biology of the stress response, then explains the multifarious impacts of chronic stress on humans (and mice, rats, baboons, macaques, rhesus monkeys, etc.) Most of the facts presented in this book are pretty painful. Little is said without a reference to a specific study, its methods and findings. Sapolsky goes to good effort to note which findings are fairly conclusive, where more research is needed, where studies disagree or where he suspects they are not comprehensive. The sum of my understanding of the endocrine system (today) is basically what I was able to glean from this book. I haven't done a lot of other reading to validate the claims made, but for the most part they don't seem too bold and are mostly cautious suppositions based on available research.

For a book that could be really dry, it's actually _fun_ to read. Sapolsky balances sober explanation with wit and irony throughout. The footnotes are great.

The last four chapters (prior to the final chapter on managing stress) were particularly relevant to me, but I think also the hardest hitting. (14 is stress and depression, 15 is temperament/personality and anxiety, 16 is dopamine, the nature of pleasure and addiction, 17 is socioeconomic status and health outcomes)

The last chapter did not have any magic wands like I was hoping. I will have to resign myself to better understanding the physiology of stress and how I experience it, avoid pushing what buttons I can and learn/develop coping techniques. This is a great book and it has already done a lot for me. ( )

Good descriptions of what happens in your body in case of a stress related disease. The list of the "reasons why" is of course different for each reader. ( )