CHAPTER 1

A World Addicted to Fear

The Epidemic of Fear

If you find yourself awakening in the middle of the night with worries about theprevious day or the next day, you are not alone. How will that meeting gotomorrow? Will my boss like my ideas? Will that woman I like be as attracted tome as I am to her? I hope my kids are okay! When will the terrorists strikeagain? Is my 401(k) secure? Will there be enough left at retirement the way theeconomy is going now? What is that pain in my stomach; am I getting cancer? WillI pass my test tomorrow? These worries are all common expressions of the sameemotion—fear.

Our wonderings, worries, analyzing, projections, and obsessions have become therelentless drone of our thinking for many of us today. But is this really arecent habit, or have we always been addicted to our worrisome thoughts? Havethey only just recently grown to epidemic proportions of stress, anxiety, anddread about the future?

As a psychologist and addictions counselor for the past thirty years, I havewitnessed one underlying constant in the litany of addictions and mentaldisorders in my patients, and in the worries and anxiety of my colleagues andmyself—fear. The specific thing each of us fears and the level of intensity ofthat fear varies from person to person and from time to time. Nevertheless, fearis the constant, whatever its form or intensity.

Fear is so commonplace that it seems necessary, normal, and in some cases a signof true caring, awareness, responsibility, and maturity. For example, oursociety sees worrying about our kids as a sign of being a loving parent. Fear issuch an accepted part of life that we even brag about our fears: Who is moststressed? Who has more to worry about? What's fascinating is that we don't thinkof stress or worry as fear, but that is all it is—fear in a socially acceptableform. Fear appears normal, but is it just so commonplace that it only seemsnormal? Is it simply part of our collective (un)consciousness? I believe it is.

Aside from our everyday personal fears concerning safety, having enough, beingsuccessful, child rearing, performance, finances, and relationships, we alsoworry about the "big stuff." The news is full of daily reports of ever-more-violentdeaths from terrorism. Government intelligence sources promise thatattacks by the invisible enemy on our sovereign soil could happen anywhere,anytime. The future of the economy seems more uncertain, with the national debtat record levels, our currency devalued, and rampant corruption in ourcorporations and financial institutions. The environment is also cause for fear—globalwarming, climatic catastrophes, deforestation, extinction of animals andplant life, and pollution of our air, water, and soil. Who wouldn't be afraid?There doesn't appear to be a choice.

Is fear the logical response? If so, shouldn't it motivate us to do somethingabout all the problems? One would think so, but the opposite is often the case.Fear has gotten so intense that we often feel almost immobilized by it, evennumbed. This numbness is a defense against our feeling overwhelmed by the numberand magnitude of personal and societal problems.

The other day I was visiting my ninety-eight-year-old friend in her nursinghome. Though she was very glad to see me, she didn't even turn off the TV when Icame into her room. She could not risk missing the latest on the terroristsituation, which is why she is glued to the cable news station all her wakinghours. She feels she cannot risk being caught off guard.

My friend had always been an example of courage, whether it was climbingmountains in Glacier Park or fighting for a political issue. She had been aninspiration to me all my life. I have seen my friend transform from a vibrant,alive, aware person to one who is trapped by her fearful thoughts.

The illusion that safety comes from being informed of each detail has many of usaddicted to cable news. It is like a scary mystery novel that we can't put downtill we see how it ends. Unfortunately, in real life the story never ends, so wenever get to put the novel down. Following the news, reading the never-endingnovel, becomes our life.

It is no accident that following the news has become our life. Advertisers, themedia, movie producers, and politicians know that fear captivates an audienceand motivates them to stay tuned, buy the product, vote for the politician whois pushing the greatest fears, and join the group that promises the mostprotection. Fear is addicting, and the policymakers of all organizations knowit. The pushers of fear are selling a product, and we have bought it wholesale.

Addicted to Fear

Worry, anxiety, dread, obsession, where do they come from? Throughout time,humankind has sought peace and safety by trying to outguess the unknown. We havetried to anticipate and prepare for the unexpected, the imagined, theapparitions of our minds. Our efforts to control the unknown and thus keepourselves safe have led to a collective as well as a personal sensation of fear.Individually and as a society, we have become addicted to fear.

Instead of preparing us for an unknown future, fear locks us in an illusionarysand castle of protection, a false sense of security from demons, dangers, andall that we dread. Each day the tide of reality and truth sweeps in and destroysour tentative hold on security, and the sand castle washes back into the sea ofcreation. Yet no matter how often the sand castle of illusory control isdestroyed, the ego rebuilds it with fearful, vigilant thoughts that keep us fromexperiencing true peace of mind and the ultimate comfort of truth.

This cycle of fear has all the trappings and symptoms of any addiction: denial,rationalization, projection, increased tolerance to the substance (in this case,fear), imbalance that seems normal, and increased harmful and fatal consequencesthat we minimize and blame on others. We have come to grips with many ofhumanity's addictions and brought them out of the closet of denial. Alcoholism,drug addiction, compulsive gambling, and sex addiction are the most common.Fear, however, is the last bastion of our collective denial of a self-destructivedisease. Furthermore, fear is at the very core of all the otheraddictions and negativity in our world.

Fear is the cause of all war, greed, material and spiritual poverty, destructionof the planet, and inhumanity to ourselves...