Great article in Slate about anxiety here in the US (the most anxious country in the world, as it turns out: “people in developing-world countries such as Nigeria are up to five times less likely to show clinically significant anxiety levels than Americans”). The article, written by Taylor Clark, whose upcoming book “Nerve: Poise Under Pressure, Serenity Under Stress, and the Brave New Science of Fear and Cool” will be published in March, posits three reasons for the anxiety that permeates our lives: first, lack of community, second, information overload, and third, a negative attitude towards, well, negative emotions. The good news? With intention (and attention), this is all manageable.
More good news? Washington DC does NOT rank amongst the 10 Most Stressed Out Cities in the US, according to an article in Forbes. Surprised? I was – pleasantly!