As a psychologist, I often tell my patients that the human brain is a remarkable machine, but it wasn’t designed for 24-hour combat. Whether we are looking at the literal conflicts abroad or the metaphorical “TrumpWar” currently saturating our news feeds and social circles, we are living through a period of intense cognitive and emotional chaos.
When the environment around us becomes polarized and loud, our internal “Security Guard”—the amygdala—goes into overdrive. We start to experience what I call “System Overload”: a state where our ability to think logically is hijacked by a constant flood of adrenaline and cortisol.
In my work, specifically in Anxiety: An Owner’s Manual, I talk about the importance of knowing when your alarm system is misfiring. Today, I want to offer a blueprint for maintaining your equilibrium when the cultural noise feels like it’s drowning out the music.
1. Practice “Cognitive Hygiene”
In an era of digital warfare, we have to be as careful about what we put into our minds as what we put into our bodies. “Doomscrolling” is more than a bad habit; it’s a repetitive stress injury for your soul.
The Strategy: Set “operating hours” for your news consumption. If you wouldn’t let a shouting match happen at your dinner table, don’t let it happen on your phone at 10:00 PM. Give your brain a chance to return to its “Baseline State.”
2. Identify the “Static” vs. the “Signal”
Chaos thrives on ambiguity. The current political climate is designed to make everything feel like an emergency. However, when everything is an emergency, nothing is.
The Strategy: Use the tools of Mindfulness. When you feel that spike of agitation, ask: “Is this a threat I can act on right now, or is this just static?” If it’s static, practice the Vagus Nerve Brake—deep, diaphragmatic breathing that signals to your body: “I am safe in this chair, in this room, in this moment.”
3. Return to the “Small Circle”
The “TrumpWar” narrative operates on a global, abstract scale that makes the individual feel powerless. Powerlessness is the primary fuel for anxiety.
The Strategy: Shrink your circle. Focus on your Micro-Habits. Tend to your garden, pick up your banjo, or spend five minutes in Contemplative Stillness. By reclaiming mastery over your immediate environment—your home, your studio, your relationships—you counteract the feeling of external chaos.
4. The View from the Easel
When I paint, I realize that I cannot control the weather outside the studio, but I can control the composition on the canvas. Your life is your composition. Even in a season of national shouting, you have the right to a quiet heart.
Kindness, presence, and a well-regulated mind are not “retreats” from reality—they are the most powerful forms of resistance against chaos.
References
Jones, F. (2024). Anxiety: An Owner’s Manual. [KDP].
Jones, F. (2024). Be Still: A Progressive Path to Christian Mindfulness. [KDP].
Haidt, J. (2024). The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness. (On the impact of digital polarization).
Porges, S. W. (2011). The Polyvagal Theory. W. W. Norton. (On the biology of safety).
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