Tag: anxiety

Sun shining through a tree and steam at Norris Geyser Basin | Credit: Neal Herbert / Yellowstone National Park | License: CC0

Systematic Sensitization

“Have we raised the threshold of horror so high that nothing short of a nuclear strike qualifies as a ‘real’ war? Are we to spend the rest of our lives in this state of high alert with guns pointed at each other’s heads and fingers trembling on the trigger?” ― Suzanna Arundhati Roy “The Cherokee used to fear that taking a photo would make them lose their souls. Over exposure and desensitization is pretty close Read More

Title: Opening The Objectivist Drug Party - Zach Blas & Genomic Intimacy - Heather Dewey-Hagborg | Author: Hanneke Wetzer | Source: M U Eindhoven | License: CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Artificial Emotions

“The tragedy of life is in what dies inside a person while she or he lives – the death of genuine feeling, the death of inspired response, the awareness that makes it possible to feel the pain or glory of other people in yourself.” —Norman Cousins We just bought an Amazon Echo, so we would have the facts of the world at our simple command. “Alexa, what’s the weather?” “Alexa, what’s the news?” “Alexa, play Read More

Title: _MG_3044 | Author: Hugh Letheren | Source: Flickr | License: CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Courage and Creativity

It’s scary to be outside the margins of “normality.”

As any person (whether they they think of themselves as creative or not) knows, introducing newness goes hand-in-hand with disruption of established rules and expectations. But if we can find the courage to break out of rigid structures, we may be rewarded with finding a clearer path to joy, meaning, and purpose.

Tu m' by Marcel Duchamp (Photo Credit: Yale University Art Gallery)

Taming Tourette

When I was 30 years old, I was diagnosed as having Tourette syndrome (TS).

It was a huge relief to me to finally have a name for what had been tormenting me since I was about 13 years old. I was also depressed to know that I would be dealing with this neurological disorder for the rest of my life.

Bell Systems Technical Journal

Getting Distance on Our Problems

Everyone has issues.  They could be physical.  They could be mental.  They could be emotional.  Or they could be a mix of all three.  Some are minor annoyances.  Some are major trauma.  The challenge is to get enough distance on them, so we don’t get lost in them or identify with them.  Our bodies may not work the way we would like them to work…but we are not our bodies.  Our minds might not function Read More