"The universe is made of stories, not of atoms."
—Muriel Rukeyser
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Help, we're stressed out! Election stress and anxiety in America

 Feeling a little stressed? Anxious? So are we!

Psychologist Meg Van Deusen on understanding existential stress and anxiety and how to deal with it.

Seattle's Meg Van Deusen, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist, mindfulness practitioner, and the author of Stressed in the US: Twelve Tools to Tackle Anxiety, Loneliness, Tech-Addiction and More helps us deal with our feelings of stress and anxiety around the election, the pandemic ... everything!

She also fills us in on how stress is impacting different parts of the population and what role technology might play.




Stressed in the US Book Cover

Stressed in the US: Twelve Tools to Tackle Anxiety, Loneliness, Tech-Addiction and More

Stressed in the US addresses the relevant cultural phenomena that are contributing to stress in the US since the turn of the millennium, such as tech addiction, loneliness and anxiety. Meg Van Deusen talks about what we can do to mitigate this pervasive problem.

“In this compelling book, Meg Van Deusen delivers on her promise of sharing effective navigational tools to help us make our way safely across the troubled waters of our times.”

 Dr. Vincent Atchity, President and CEO, Mental Health Colorado

About the Book

Seventy-five percent of Americans are moderately stressed. Seventy-five percent of Americans are lonely. More than 33 percent of us sleep less than six hours a night. In addition, 77 percent of us use social media daily and 81 percent of us own a smartphone. Why are these statistics important? Because loneliness, sleep-deprivation, social media use, tech use, and even gut-imbalance—which the Huffington Post refers to as “the modern plague”—are all causes and results of stress. Stress is the reason for at least 75 percent of today’s doctor’s visits, costing the US billions per year in employee absenteeism, accidents, and illnesses. 

9/11, climate change, a historic economic crisis, numerous mass shootings, an inordinate amount of school lockdowns, a foreign attack on our election, a politically divided country, tech-induced anxiety and addiction, and information overload: since 2000, these unique-to-our-time phenomena have created a petri dish of stress in the US, causing a host of emotional and physical ailments.

Here’s the problem: while the well-researched, psychological theory on attachment tells us that secure attachments to each other and to our nation create resilience to stress, our current American culture is creating barriers, not pathways, to human trust and closeness. Stressed in the US: Twelve Tools to Tackle Anxiety, Loneliness, Tech-Addiction and More investigates current, cultural phenomena that are causing a convergence of increased stress with decreased interpersonal connection from an attachment theory perspective.

Dr. Van Deusen explains why and how our relationships are breaking down at a time when we need them the most. The good news? As a clinical psychologist, psychotherapist, and mindfulness practitioner, she offers insights and solutions to a complex, pervasive problem.

• Restorative practices protect us
• Nature calms us
• Mindfulness connects us 

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