Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers

The Acclaimed Guide to Stress, Stress-Related Diseases, and Coping

539 pages

English language

Published Jan. 5, 2004 by Times Books.

OCLC Number:
54753129

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3 stars (1 review)

As Sapolsky explains, most of us do not lie awake at night worrying about whether we have leprosy or malaria. Instead, the diseases we fear-and the ones that plague us now-are illnesses brought on by the slow accumulation of damage, such as heart disease and cancer. When we worry or experience stress, our body turns on the same physiological responses that an animal's does, but we do not resolve conflict in the same way-through fighting or fleeing. Over time, this activation of a stress response makes us literally sick. Combining cutting-edge research with a healthy dose of good humor and practical advice, Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers explains how prolonged stress causes or intensifies a range of physical and mental afflictions, including depression, ulcers, colitis, heart disease, and more. It also provides essential guidance to controlling our stress responses.

1 edition

Informative, if occasionally flippant

3 stars

It was interesting to learn more about the science of stress. I found that Sapolsky did a good job of summarizing the complicated systems involved in our bodies when we are subjected to stress, and what experiments and studies can say about how those responses affect our health.

He also effectively expressed how the field has changed throughout scientific history and how it remains very primitive, with many aspects that remain elusive.

Despite the fact that the content should have been quite dry, his writing style presented it in a way that was more digestible.

I found that a few of his examples felt a bit insensitive as he brings up serious issues such as domestic abuse that could be traumatic to people without warning, using them as 'exaggerated examples' in an attempt to inject humor into his writing.

But besides those instances, he is mostly cautious with his words …

Subjects

  • Stress (Physiology)
  • Stress (Psychology)
  • Stress management