World View Anxiety, and Just What the Hell Are We Supposed to Do About It
- Brainz Magazine
- Jul 17
- 6 min read
For nearly 14 years, I've helped individuals navigate the complex landscape of addiction in order to achieve recovery. Nicknamed "The Casual Counselor", my approach is unconventional but undeniably effective.
Take a look at the landscape of the world right now. Current events. The never-ending news cycle. The doom-scrolling. The constant barrage of absolutely terrifying possibilities with respect to the stock market to the possibility of the destruction of our democratic republic, the horrific wars happening overseas, the violence and vitriolic rhetoric from those in seats of power. The people with the nuclear codes and the power to absolutely reshape and wreak havoc on a world that looks much different today than it did just a couple of decades ago.
Is there ever any good news? I mean, it’s out there, if you poke around for it. Feel good stories. Local heroes doing heroic things, and so on. But those stories seem very outnumbered and very overshadowed by all the big-time topics that have the vast majority of this world’s citizens feeling very confused, worried, frightened, anxious, and powerless to do anything about any of it.
What can we do? What is within our power when it comes to these world issues? The answer, unfortunately, is: not much. As individuals, we don’t have the power to sway the pendulum back in the direction of peace and prosperity, equality and equity, and the guarantee of safety for ourselves, our loved ones, our neighbors, and our friends.
When you think about powerlessness, when you really examine how powerless we are over other people, places, things, events, and so on, the list is long. It’s so long, it seems never-ending. To those of us who live with a higher-than-average baseline anxiety, these last several years have been very difficult. In my own practice, I’ve seen people completely decompensate and regress after working their asses off to build healthy and sustainable lives, and it’s been heartbreaking to witness. They come, in large part, from already marginalized communities: people of color, LGBTQIA+, and those who live with substance use disorders and the stigma that comes with being branded an “addict”.
I cannot stop the war in the Middle East. I cannot stop the war in Ukraine. I cannot stop the many wars in African countries, or in Syria, or anywhere else. I’m just one man. I can’t even sit down and have a conversation with those in positions of power who might have some influence to enact real change amidst these terrible conflicts. I’m also a news and politics guy. I’ve always been interested in history and world events, and so I want to stay informed, but the relentless news that seems to only worsen with each passing day? It often feels like it’s too much to consume, too much to carry.
It scares me. It scares my clients. I think it scares most people. The simple notion that there are people who are not scared by what we’re seeing in the world today scares me. Talk about denial. That’s like denial on a superpower level. Even worse are the people who seem to be enjoying it, as if it’s some kind of imaginary, fictionalized serial series on TV. Well, it ain’t. It’s real, and the landscape of world events now, if we’re being honest with ourselves, is scary. Full stop.
So, the question is: How do we cope? It’s an important question, and one that has several answers, thank goodness. I always start with what I call “my little corner of the world”. What is “my little corner”, you ask? Well, I’ll tell you. It’s a small corner. It’s my family and my friends and my cats and the home we share. It’s my practice, and the clients I serve. It’s the neighborhood I live in, and the neighbors who occupy the homes that surround mine. I do my best to make sure I’m doing my best in “my little corner” in order to make sure that I’m safe, my family and friends are safe, my clients are safe, and my neighbors are safe. And the cats, of course.
As much as I like to keep my finger on the pulse of current events, it’s been a commitment to scaling back and pulling away from the amount of content that I consume that is related to all of the ills of the world at present. I don’t need to know everything. And in not knowing everything, I can still know enough to have a pretty good idea of what is worth paying attention to, and what is not. Avoiding the salacious and uber-biased clickbait articles in either direction, left or right, has been helpful. More than my smartphone, I find myself gravitating toward public radio for news consumption, and in stories that just report on the facts, rather than the opinions.
I play my guitar and write songs more often these days, and many of those songs are reflective of the feelings of the world-view anxiety that I’m feeling,and my beliefs about whatever the issue might be, and I find it to be a cathartic experience. It’s taking something awful and ugly and turning it into something beautiful and creative as a kind of counterattack of sorts, but one of a peaceful nature.
I have more one-on-one conversations with actual people about some of these world-view issues going on, and I find that the interactions that stem from these conversations are more substantive than just listening to other strangers sound-off, in addition to creating a deeper bond with people I know I can already trust to hear my thoughts and my worries and my angst, and that those people are going to receive those feelings with love and support.
I spend more time outside, away from the news cycle. The news cycle outside is the path I’m walking on, and the breeze and the temperature. It’s the sunshine, and the guy racing down the street on his motorized scooter going off to who-knows-where. It’s the sunshine or the rainfall. Sometimes, it’s meeting a stranger and just finding myself in a random conversation about some random thing or another, but nothing that is emblematic of war or destruction or impending doom.
Anxiety hurts, but it is not going to cause us literal harm. It’s very important to remember that. It can compel us to want to do something to make that uncomfortable feeling go away, and right quick! So, for those of us in recovery, it is important to remember that a quick fix in the form of a drink or a drug is going to be akin to putting a Band-Aid on a bullet wound when it comes to any form of anxiety. If we need medication to help us cope with our anxiety, we should always receive consultation from a medical doctor we trust and with whom we feel safe.
I’ve been writing more. That’s been helping. It just helps me to get “it” out. Whether in the form of an essay, an article, a poem, or a song, the format is irrelevant. It gives the angst and anxious thoughts a safe place to go and live. Hell, just a few days ago, I wrote a pirate shanty song about a group of smugglers who get busted with barrels of contraband by the harbormaster when they land at the port. It didn’t have anything to do with current events. But, you know what? It was fun to write, and it made me feel good. It made me feel better.
It’s just a made-up story that I created in my imagination and then set to a melody. It came out pretty good, and that was pretty good. There is no right or wrong way to cope with anxiety. There are healthy ways and unhealthy ways. Appropriate ways and inappropriate ways. Helpful ways, and unhelpful ways. Effective ways, and ineffective ways. When we consider our powerlessness regarding world events, we must also examine what we do have power over, and that’s how we respond to our feelings. Finding the way that works best for us.
It’s a game of trial and error, really. But those who try are bound to stumble upon something that, even if it doesn’t eliminate the anxiety, it makes it feel just a bit more manageable, and helps us to get through what might otherwise be a fearful and paralyzing day. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. The moral of the story? We need to try to do whatever we can in our little corner of the world to ensure that our little corner is as okay as it can be.
Read more from Joshua Bennett-Johnson
Joshua Bennett-Johnson, Licensed Addictions Therapist
After working for 7 years in an amazing clinic, I launched into private practice in 2018. I love my job. I can say that without reservation. Watching people rebuild their lives is something that is worth more than any dollar amount.
