Anxiety and society: here’s the link between them and how to deal with it.
Never before in human history have we faced so many problems that we’re so powerless to solve. The majority of us watch, wait, and listen without the ability to defend ourselves or create justice in the world. Naturally, there is a mental health crisis as many of us cling desperately to what’s left of the illusion of personal security. Anxiety is a normal response to the knowledge of today’s world combined with the powerlessness that most of us feel.
Humanity entered an era of deep connectedness when the internet was invented. Yet, paradoxically, we entered a period of lack of connections as the world appears impersonally to us at our fingertips on the screen of a phone or computer. We instantly learn of atrocities, cruelty, and suffering happening on the other side of the globe.
This access to information initially inspires compassion which then fades into apathy, for we have become numb to problems we feel powerless to solve. There seem to be an insurmountable number of problems in the world and when we have no defense against them, anxiety and hopelessness set in.
We’re paralyzed by information about events that we can’t stop. Anxiety and a “fight or flight” response is a natural reaction to such immense threats to our mortality. Alternatively, guilt about living an abundant, safe existence pervades the minds of those of us who are sensitive. Choosing to stay ignorant of humanity’s problems seems like a good way to take a mental health vacation, but this can’t last forever, especially as humanity’s once-distant problems creep up upon our doorsteps. Eventually, we’re all affected in one way or another.
In the 1950s, the average American was living in constant fear of annihilation because of the invention of the atomic bomb. We felt defenseless against a faraway threat that seemed to want to destroy our way of life out of pure, blind hatred. This felt like an evil that regular citizens could do nothing to prevent.
Nowadays, we watch in real-time as world leaders decide the fates of millions of people. We are both connected and disconnected at the same time. We get the information about the news, and yet, we have no power to change or redirect it. We’ve devolved from the panic of an instant holocaust to the complete breakdown of the nervous system while we watch others suffer on our screens from the comfort of our living rooms.
Even if the majority of us wanted world peace, it wouldn’t matter because we are not the ones in control. Only a very small number of human beings have the power to begin or end a war that can affect large communities of people and cause incredible amounts of suffering.
We’re told that the democratic system allows us to choose these leaders and advocate for what we want, but as election after election goes by, we have less and less faith in that system. There is mass disillusionment. People simply want to be healthy, have the freedom to pursue happiness, and create security for their families, but the giant egos of politicians and dictators around the world are at odds with these basic human needs.
In ancient times, there were also threats. Humans faced different problems then. Living in smaller communities, they could be attacked by outside forces or suffer problems that they could at least do something about. Perhaps the odds were often against them, but they had choices about what to do in response.
They could build a wall around their village, fight, or run away. If they wanted their voice to be heard, they had a better chance of being listened to by those making decisions. Every person had choices — though, perhaps, terrifying choices. But there was a sense of some control over their fates or participation in them, at the very least.
Now, we have few choices. We sit and watch, hoping for the best. We rely on the protection of our governments. Society has locked us into a certain way of life and taught us that we need to stay in our lanes and build a life for ourselves without worrying about others.
We are told to trust those in charge to have the answers for us. When a threat comes to our community now, we must follow a set of rules that were decided by people who don’t even know any of us personally. Our participation in the world’s problems is merely as a receptor of information, and many times, a pawn of the media to manipulate. We’re almost completely at the mercy of the system and told that this is normal.
Only the most brave of us ever think to stand up for what we believe in to create justice.
We all have the ability to do something, even if we’ve been programmed to forget this. There’s always something we can do.
What can we do about this crisis of anxiety? There is an inner answer. We must ground ourselves in the truth we each have within us.
There is hope, still. Listen to your intuition. That little voice or nagging feeling is there to guide you to where you need to be, and you can trust it. It gives you messages you need to live without anxiety. It tells you that you are safe and secure, and things are unfolding the way they need to be. But to hear this voice, we must have clarity.
Your task is to do whatever is needed to calm your nervous system enough to start a practice of deep inner reflection.
Then, maybe this voice will begin to lead you to great things to help the collective achieve peace. We’re all important participants in this world, and never let anyone tell you otherwise! You could change things if you really wanted to, and sometimes that requires doing things unconventionally. You don’t have to be a sheep in a herd.
At the very least, you can start today by radiating peace from within you. Send love to those around you. Your thought vibrations are powerful.
Your inner voice knows the way. You have to trust it. And you must also have the strength to follow through.
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