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The book Turtles All the Way Down, by John Green expresses the idea that teenage anxiety is a big problem by writing a story that reflects the real life of a teenager living with anxiety. He does this by giving an in-depth look into what having anxiety is like and how peoples lives are affected. John Green himself suffers from anxiety and depression so this book is like an autobiography that is meant to help others realize they are not alone. These quotes show how John Green used his writing to show us as readers what it is like.

"I was thinking about how part of your self can be in a place while at the same time the most important parts are in a different place, a place that can't be accessed via your senses."

"People always talk like there's a bright line between imagination and memory, but there isn't, at least not for me. I remember what I've imagined and imagine what I remember."

"The thing about a spiral is, if you follow it inward, it never actually ends. It just keeps tightening, infinitely."

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"Don't believe every worried thought you have. Worried thoughts are notoriously inaccurate." -Renee Jain

Aza worries a lot and this quote would have been very helpful for Aza because it shows how not all of the thoughts we have, especially worried ones, are accurate.

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This image accurately shows what a person, such as Aza, brain looks like because it is constantly battling itself and having crazy thoughts so it is tired, confused and weak.

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This article goes through the process of how evolution evolved and by viewing this process how you can help free yourself from anxiety. I believe that this would have helped aid Aza in her recovery so she would not have had to suffer for so long like she did in the book.

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Let's pretend for a moment that you are a giraffe.

You live on the grasslands of the African savanna. You have a neck that is 7 feet long (2.1 meters). Every now and then, you spot a group of humans driving around on a safari taking pictures of you.

But it's not just your neck and their cameras that separates you from the humans. Perhaps the biggest difference between you and your giraffe friends and the humans taking your picture is that nearly every decision you make provides an immediate benefit to your life.

When you are hungry, you walk over and munch on a tree.

When a storm rolls across the plains, you take shelter under the brush.

When you spot a lion stalking you and your friends, you run away.

On any given day, most of your choices as a giraffe-like what to eat or where to sleep or when to avoid a predator-make an immediate impact on your life.You are constantly focused on the present or the very near future. You live in what scientists call an immediate-return environment because your actions instantly deliver clear and immediate outcomes.

The Delayed Return Environment

Now, let's flip the script and pretend you are one of the humans vacationing on safari. Unlike the giraffe, humans live in what researchers call a Delayed Return Environment. 1

Most of the choices you make today will not benefit you immediately. If you do a good job at work today, you'll get a paycheck in a few weeks. If you save money now, you'll have enough for retirement later. Many aspects of modern society are designed to delay rewards until some point in the future.

This is true of our problems as well. While a giraffe is worried about immediate problems like avoiding lions and seeking shelter from a storm, many of the problems humans worry about are problems of the future.

For example, while bouncing around the savanna in your Jeep, you might think, "This safari has been a lot of fun. It would be cool to work as a park ranger and see giraffes every day. Speaking of work, is it time for a career change? Am I really doing the work I was meant to do? Should I change jobs?"

Unfortunately, living in a Delayed Return Environment tends to lead to chronic stress and anxiety for humans. Why? Because your brain wasn't designed to solve the problems of a Delayed Return Environment.

Before we talk about how to get started, I wanted to let you know I discuss this topic in more depth in my book, . If you're interested in this topic (and learning how to build better habits and break bad ones), check it out.

The Evolution of the Human Brain

The human brain did not evolve for life in a delayed-return environment.

The earliest remains of modern humans, known as Homo sapiens sapiens, are approximately two hundred thousand years old. 2 These were the first humans to have a brain relatively similar to ours. In particular, the neocortex-the newest part of the brain and the region responsible for higher functions like language-was roughly the same size two hundred thousand years ago as today. 3 You are walking around with the same hardware as your Paleolithic ancestors.

Compared to the age of the brain, modern society is incredibly new. It is only recently-during the last 500 years or so-that our society has shifted to a predominantly Delayed Return Environment. The pace of change has increased exponentially compared to prehistoric times. In the last 100 years we have seen the rise of the car, the airplane, the television, the personal computer, the Internet, and Beyonce. Nearly everything that makes up your daily life has been created in a very small window of time.

A lot can happen in 100 years. From the perspective of evolution, however, 100 years is nothing. The modern human brain spent hundreds of thousands of years evolving for one type of environment (immediate returns) and in the blink of an eye the entire environment changed (delayed returns). Your brain was designed to value immediate returns. 4

The Evolution of Anxiety

The mismatch between our old brain and our new environment has a significant impact on the amount of chronic stress and anxiety we experience today.

Thousands of years ago, when humans lived in an Immediate Return Environment, stress and anxiety were useful emotions because they helped us take action in the face of immediate problems.

For example:

A lion appears across the plain > you feel stressed > you run away > your stress is relieved.

A storm rumbles in the distance > you worry about finding shelter > you find shelter > your anxiety is relieved.

You haven't drunk any water today > you feel stressed and dehydrated > you find water > your stress is relieved.

This is how your brain evolved to use worry, anxiety, and stress. Anxiety was an emotion that helped protect humans in an Immediate Return Environment. It was built for solving short-term, acute problems. There was no such thing as chronic stress because there aren't really chronic problems in an Immediate Return Environment.

Wild animals rarely experience chronic stress. As Duke University professor Mark Leary put it, "A deer may be startled by a loud noise and take off through the forest, but as soon as the threat is gone, the deer immediately calms down and starts grazing. And it doesn't appear to be tied in knots the way that many people are." When you live in an Immediate Return Environment, you only have to worry about acute stressors. Once the threat is gone, the anxiety subsides. 5

Today we face different problems. Will I have enough money to pay the bills next month? Will I get the promotion at work or remain stuck in my current job? Will I repair my broken relationship? Problems in a Delayed Return Environment can rarely be solved right now in the present moment. 6

What to Do About It

One of the greatest sources of anxiety in a Delayed Return Environment is the constant uncertainty. There is no guarantee that working hard in school will get you a job. There is no promise that investments will go up in the future. There is no assurance that going on a date will land you a soulmate. Living in a Delayed Return Environment means you are surrounded by uncertainty.

So what can you do? How can you thrive in a Delayed Return Environment that creates so much stress and anxiety?

The first thing you can do is measure something. You can't know for certain how much money you will have in retirement, but you can remove some uncertainty from the situation by measuring how much you save each month. You can't be sure that you'll get a job after graduation, but you can track how often you reach out to companies about internships. You can't predict when you find love, but you can pay attention to how many times you introduce yourself to someone new.

The act of measurement takes an unknown quantity and makes it known. When you measure something, you immediately become more certain about the situation. Measurement won't magically solve your problems, but it will clarify the situation, pull you out of the black box of worry and uncertainty, and help you get a grip on what is actually happening.

Furthermore, one of the most important distinctions between an Immediate Return Environment and a Delayed Return Environment is rapid feedback. Animals are constantly getting feedback about the things that cause them stress. As a result, they actually know whether or not they should feel stressed. Without measurement you have no feedback.

If you're looking for good measurement strategies, I suggest using something simple like The Paper Clip Strategy for tracking repetitive, daily actions and something like The Seinfeld Strategy for tracking long-term behaviors.

Shift Your Worry

The second thing you can do is "shift your worry" from the long-term problem to a daily routine that will solve that problem.

Instead of worrying about living longer, focus on taking a walk each day.

Instead of worrying about whether your child will get a college scholarship, focus on how much time they spend studying today.

Instead of worrying about losing enough weight for the wedding, focus on cooking a healthy dinner tonight.

The key insight that makes this strategy work is making sure your daily routine both rewards you right away (immediate return) and resolves your future problems (delayed return). 7

Here are the three examples from my life:

Writing. When I publish an article, the quality of my life is noticeably higher. Additionally, I know that if I write consistently, then my business will grow, I will publish books, and I will make enough money to sustain my life. By focusing my attention on writing each day, I increase my well-being (immediate return) while also working toward earning future income (delayed return).

Lifting. I experienced a huge shift in well-being when I learned to fall in love with exercise. The act of going to the gym brings joy to my life (immediate return) and it also leads to better long-term health (delayed return).

Reading. Last year, I posted my public reading list and began reading 20 pages per day. Now, I get a sense of accomplishment whenever I do my daily reading (immediate return) and the practice helps me develop into an interesting person (delayed return).

Our brains didn't evolve in a Delayed Return Environment, but that's where we find ourselves today. My hope is that by measuring the things that are important to you and shifting your worry to daily practices that pay off in the long-run, you can reduce some of the uncertainty and chronic stress that is inherent in modern society.

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The Evolution of Anxiety: Why We Worry and What to Do About It

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Humans are the only animal that experience chronic stress and anxiety. Read this article to learn why we worry and what to do about it.

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This book is about a teenage girl struggling to balance her life and her physiological problems. This book is very similar to Turtles All the Way Down in the plot, theme and characters.

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About the author

Sophie Kinsella has sold over 40 million copies of her books in more than 60 countries, and she has been translated into over 40 languages.

Sophie Kinsella first hit the UK bestseller lists in September 2000 with her first novel in the Shopaholic series - The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic (also published as Confessions of a Shopaholic). The book's heroine, Becky Bloomwood - a fun and feisty financial journalist who loves shopping but is hopeless with money - captured the hearts of readers worldwide. Becky has since featured in seven further bestselling books, Shopaholic Abroad (also published as Shopaholic Takes Manhattan), Shopaholic Ties the Knot, Shopaholic & Sister, Shopaholic & Baby, Mini Shopaholic, Shopaholic to the Stars and Shopaholic to the Rescue. Becky Bloomwood came to the big screen in 2009 with the hit Disney movie Confessions of a Shopaholic, starring Isla Fisher and Hugh Dancy.

Sophie has also written seven standalone novels which have all been bestsellers in the UK, USA and other countries around the world: Can You Keep A Secret?, The Undomestic Goddess, Remember Me?, Twenties Girl, I've Got Your Number, Wedding Night, and My Not So Perfect Life, which was a Goodreads Choice Awards finalist for Best Fiction in 2017.

In 2014 she published a Young Adult novel Finding Audrey about a teenage girl with social anxiety and her madcap family, and in January 2018, Sophie published her first illustrated book for young readers about the charming adventures of a mother-daughter fairy duo, Mummy Fairy and Me (also published as Fairy Mom and Me).

Sophie's latest novel, Surprise Me, published in February 2018, presents a humorous yet moving portrait of a marriage-its intricacies, comforts, and complications. Surprise Me reveals that hidden layers in a close relationship are often yet to be discovered.

Sophie wrote her first novel under her real name, Madeleine Wickham, at the tender age of 24, whilst she was working as a financial journalist. The Tennis Party was immediately hailed as a success by critics and the public alike and became a top ten bestseller. She went on to publish six more novels as Madeleine Wickham: A Desirable Residence, Swimming Pool Sunday, The Gatecrasher, The Wedding Girl, Cocktails for Three and Sleeping Arrangements.

Sophie was born in London. She studied music at New College, Oxford, but after a year switched to Politics, Philosophy and Economics. She now lives in London, UK, with her husband and family.

Visit Sophie's Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/SophieKinsell...

Series:
* Shopaholic

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Read 9,841 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. Audrey can't leave the house. she can't even take off her dark glasses inside the house....

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"I had people saying 'it's all in your head'. Do you honestly think I want to feel this way?" -Sonia Estrada

This quote sounds like something Aza would definitely say because in the story she gets in an argument with her best friend Daisy about why she is acting so self-centered and distant (this is because of her anxiety).

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In the book Aza finds herself seconded guessing in situations in fear of the worst possible outcome coming true. This picture accurately captures the way these actions look to the outside world.

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This article provides 20 tweets that show what living with anxiety really feels like. Thought the entire story the author gives you not only Aza's story but what is going on in her mind, which gives you insight to what living with anxiety would be like. Just like these tweets.

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20 Tweets That Capture What Anxiety Feels Like

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“And you? When will you begin that long journey into yourself?” -Rumi

This quote reminded me of the book because in the story Aza is trying to find herself, and who she wants to be. She digs deeper into her anxiety and struggles to open up to people about the real Aza.

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This video really goes in depth about anxiety and how to deal with it. I feel that this relates to the book because it not only would help Aza in her life but it also teaches what anxiety is like to live with just like the book does.

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Be The Warrior Not The Worrier - Fighting Anxiety & Fear | Angela Ceberano | TEDxBedminster

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“Anxiety is love’s greatest killer. It makes others feel as you might when a drowning man holds on to you. You want to save him, but you know he will strangle you with his panic.” -Anais Nin

This quote reminded me of of the character Aza because she suffers from anxiety. This quote talks about what it feels like to have these internal battles, such as anxiety,  just like it does in the book.