We seem to be living through an epidemic of stress. Thousands of therapists, counselors and healers are devoted to protecting-and perhaps even saving-us from a disease that they say debilitates, and even kills.

Every year millions of dollars are committed to fighting stress. But are these efforts really combating stress? From symptoms to cure, in this brilliant reassessment Angela Patmore raises important questions about the way we treat a condition that has become central part of modern living. Its conclusions will cause us to profoundly reappraise the way we understand our own health and well-being.