Knowledge and understanding can overcome fear and anxiety

If you believe all of social media or follow politically-aligned media outlets, we live in a scary world. Yet, many people throughout history have felt the same at the times they lived. War, disease, natural disasters, famine, political upheaval, economic crashes, and on and on. It may seem to us that we are living in especially perilous times with the world literally at a knife’s…

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Into the future with COVID: stress, depression, endemic/pandemic … will there ever be “normal” again?

Will we ever return to the world of 2019? A time before COVID-19 dominated the education, work, mental and physical health–the very existence of billions of people. Globally, millions have died, hundreds of millions have tested positive, and those estimated numbers are surely all undercounts (Johns Hopkins University, Coronavirus Resource Center). The coronavirus is still with us and will continue to be into the future….

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Why do we fear change?

“Fear of change is a natural impulse; the desire to pull up the drawbridge follows. But as we have repeatedly reported, that response is irrational and self-defeating” (New Scientist, 18 June 2016, volume 230(3078), 5). Why do human beings fear and resist change? Every day in our lives, more things change than stay the same. Change is the most stable and enduring condition of life…

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E-mail and work: enhancing productivity or source of stress?

E-mail … we hate it, we love it. We use it, we have to use it. Or, do we? Is it essential to work? Does it really enhance productivity? Or, does it ramp up stress, cause health problems, and actually reduce work productivity? Is there a better way to do work? What does the research say? Featured articles (these articles have been added to the…

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Oscar Wilde quote

Revisiting: Understand the context of information important to you; reduce the fear and anxiety

Knowledge brings understanding; understanding reduces fear and anxiety.  Understand the value of the information that is important to your life; use that understanding to make your own decisions.  Do not let others make important decisions for you! To gain understanding, to reduce fear use these guidelines — Seek information, not affirmation: are you looking just to find people who agree with you?  Be honest with…

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Revisiting: Politics and Fear

Whipping up fear is a common tactic in politics. Providing stark, seemingly life or death choices, us versus them, scapegoating, creating a false bogeyman to distract from real problems, using lies and disinformation … fear is used because it often works. The invoked fear is often based on racism and bias. It’s those “other people”–with a different skin color, from another place, who follow a…

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