Rhetorical Analysis Of Panic Attacking Your Way To A Better Sleep

In present times, we have been struck with the overwhelming epidemic of anxiety and depression. It has begun to be realized as an issue all over the United States and thousands of Americans are suffering from the disorders everyday. Although it takes on a harsh tone, out of the three satires chosen, “Panic Attacking Your Way to a Better Sleep” by Matt Ott is the most effective satirical piece because of the use of enumeratio, rhetorical questions, and apophasis, its paradoxical structure, and it’s ironic analysis.

Anxiety disorders are the most common illness in the United States. These disorders were first recognized in the 1980’s as a mental disorder by the American Psychiatric Association. With the new rise of this problem, it was predicted

Matt Ott directly addresses his intended audience of people suffering from anxiety with a harsh biting tone to the realities of the disorder. The satire explains how to create a better sleep for yourself by having a panic attack and basically knocking yourself out from your own emotions. The set up of the article as an enumeratio emphasizes the insanity and stupidity of giving yourself a panic attack in order to fall asleep by listing the steps to do so. Matt Ott specifically uses this when he says, “Watch a scary movie and drink some coffee before bed. The caffeine can help jump-start the anxiety. Do something that should be enjoyable like hanging out with my significant other or calling a friend. Take all the love you know is there and flip it on its head. Really aim to ruin that moment.” He uses sarcasm in order to show how anxiety is illogical in the way it trinkets with the way of thought. In addition, Matt Ott uses several rhetorical questions with obvious answers as they create persuasiveness to the spastic thought process anxiety causes. More specifically Matt Ott says, “Ask yourself: What if everything goes wrong? What if they secretly hate you? What if that one thing you said two months ago is still on their mind and they’re just waiting to get back at you?” These questions seem like unintelligent

This was the most effective satirical piece because the article itself seems to be a hyperbole, but it shocks the reader with something that beneath the surface, isn’t hyperbolic at all. In order to do this, the author uses various helpful satirical devices which makes the article stronger in irony and sarcasm. The use of rhetorical questions, enumeratio, and apophasis allowed for Matt Ott to bring intensity to the subject with sarcastically rigid statements. It is especially strong due to the Juvenalian approach, which uses harshness to express the degree to which anxiety affects our society. Both “Depression Land” by Gemma Correll and “Anxiety” by Crayon Elyse struggled to be as effective in their presentation of satirizing the the lack of focus on the anxiety epidemic. “Depression Land” was potent in the use of sarcasm in order to satirize, but failed to express how vastly anxiety affects the nation. It was also successful with its use of irony and charged words. The “Anxiety” magazine cover was massively ineffective in its ways of satirizing the topic. The cover mostly relied on rhetorical questions in attempt to emphasize the point to the reader, but lost its message with a lack of information for the reader to understand the overall exaggeration intended and its