“The only thing we have to fear… is fear itself” — Franklin Delano Roosevelt
From the beginning I’ve tried to keep politics out of this blog, and I hope it can be recognized that I am still trying to do so with this post, though I’m sure some will see an issue one way or another. I feel what I have to say isn’t political, but it will be controversial.
This blog was intended to explore a lot of things, but one of the main points of focus was the aftermath of life change, specifically the loss of employment. One of the land mines to avoid in that aftermath is fear. So many of us live life fearing one thing or another. Losing a job — your only source of income, having a mountain of debt hanging over you and no income to throw at it, looking for an answer to your problem and coming up empty; those things can strike some real fear into a person.
The truth is people are filled with fear — fears of failure, rejection, loss, emptiness. Fears of change, judgement, and uncertainty swarm around us. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 18.1% of the U.S. population or 40 million adults are affected by anxiety. In the UK Mental Health Today reports 49% of young people ages 18 -24 years old claimed high levels of stress. While 36% of women claimed anxiety related to self-esteem, body image, and appearance.
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