All posts tagged: worry

Jared Kushner’s Henry Kissinger cosplay should worry us all

Jared Kushner’s Henry Kissinger cosplay should worry us all

Published by Sam Flores

When TIME Magazine released their “100 Most Influential People” list in 2017, it stood to reason that Jared Kushner would be listed. After all, Donald Trump had brought his son-in-law into the White House and given him a broad portfolio which, as the husband of the president’s favorite daughter, made him very powerful. Kushner couldn’t be fired. But the question of whether he was up to the job was pretty well answered by the man TIME chose to write the required encomium: former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. It’s hard to read the late secretary’s words as anything but damning with faint praise.  Kissinger opened his short two-paragraph tribute by essentially saying that the presidential transition process is difficult and that a president who doesn’t know anything must depend on his advisers to help him through it. Then he wrote: This space has been traversed for nearly four months by Jared Kushner, whom I first met about 18 months ago, when he introduced himself after a foreign policy lecture I had given. We have sporadically …

The Contagion of Worry: A Tale of Collective Anxiety

The Contagion of Worry: A Tale of Collective Anxiety

Published by Jenni Sidey

Several days ago, a disturbing headline sent me into an anxious spin. From a single news story, my mind spun a dozen scary versions of what might happen next. Flooded with the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol, my brain went into overdrive, worries popping off like firecrackers, my anxious mind preparing for every “what if.” Our rational mind tells us worry is wasted psychic energy, but worry is a difficult habit to break. Psychologist Albert Ellis, creator of Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy (REBT), first used the word “catastrophe” as a verb—to catastrophize—in his 1962 book Reason and Emotion in Psychotherapy. Catastrophizing is a habit of mind. Catastrophic worriers turn minor dilemmas into worst-case scenarios. Imagining the worst arises from a protective instinct that aims to prepare us for future threats. Worry and fear are bedmates. Fear is a physiological reaction focused on a perceived immediate threat; worry is a thought process; worry is our brain thinking about what it fears.1 In this era of major rapid upheavals, we have our personal fears — worries about …

Shiver me timbers: Do we have to worry about space pirates now?

Shiver me timbers: Do we have to worry about space pirates now?

Published by Miika Tikkanen

Feedback is New Scientist’s popular sideways look at the latest science and technology news. You can submit items you believe may amuse readers to Feedback by emailing [email protected] LunAAARRRR pirates The moon looms large in the sky – and also, it seems, in the minds of future-oriented people. Right now, there is an awful lot of forward-thinking going on with regard to our natural satellite. One might almost imagine that people were trying to distract themselves. For instance, in our 21 March missive, we discussed accounting firm PwC’s ongoing attempts to forecast the size of the future lunar economy: its future estimates were all measured in billions, which is a strong claim given that the current Gross Lunar Product is, to a close approximation, $0.00. Now, via spacenews.com, we learn that some thinkers have taken it a step further. Readers may recall the existence of the US Space Force, the newest branch of the military. It seems the Space Force is establishing “a cislunar [near the moon] coordination office” to think through “the importance of …

The World Cup Worry List

The World Cup Worry List

Published by José Betancourt

On Saturday, Markwayne Mullin, the Department of Homeland Security secretary, used a speech at Kansas City International Airport to deliver an unusual message. Customs and Border Protection officers stood around him as a backdrop, and in his right hand, Mullin held the squishy pink ball he carries as a stress-management tool, gripping it as he spoke. The United States isn’t fully prepared to host the biggest, most expensive sporting event in world history—and, he wanted to make clear, it’s not his fault. Kansas City, Missouri, will be one of 11 U.S. host sites for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which starts June 11. The soccer tournament is the world’s most popular sporting event, and Mullin said the United States is expecting as many as 7 million international visitors. Although Mexico and Canada are co-hosting the tournament, more than three-quarters of the matches will be played in the U.S., and Mullin has likened the security challenge to protecting “78 Super Bowls.” Mullin said that the 76-day DHS funding shutdown this spring put the safety of the …

Why Do I Worry? | Psychology Today

Why Do I Worry? | Psychology Today

Published by Jenni Sidey

Barlow, D. H. (2002). Anxiety and its disorders: The nature and treatment of anxiety and panic (2nd ed.). Guilford Press. Borkovec, T. D., Alcaine, O. M., & Behar, E. (2004). Avoidance theory of worry and generalized anxiety disorder. In R. G. Heimberg, C. L. Turk, & D. S. Mennin (Eds.), Generalized anxiety disorder: Advances in research and practice (pp. 77–108). Guilford Press. Dugas, M. J., Gagnon, F., Ladouceur, R., & Freeston, M. H. (1998). Generalized anxiety disorder: A preliminary test of a conceptual model. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 36(2), 215–226. Dugas, M. J., & Robichaud, M. (2007). Cognitive-behavioral treatment for generalized anxiety disorder: From science to practice. Routledge. Greenberg, L. S. (2015). Emotion-focused therapy: Coaching clients to work through their feelings (2nd ed.). American Psychological Association. Hoge, E. A., Bui, E., Marques, L., Metcalf, C. A., Morris, L. K., Robinaugh, D. J., … & Simon, N. M. (2013). Randomized controlled trial of mindfulness meditation for generalized anxiety disorder: Effects on anxiety and stress reactivity. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 74(8), 786–792. Neff, K. D., & …

Not Gifted (Yet)? Don’t Worry

Not Gifted (Yet)? Don’t Worry

Published by Jenni Sidey

When schools or psychologists identify some kids as gifted, they’re implicitly identifying a whole lot more kids as not-gifted. This artificial distinction can do a lot of damage, both for those who are identified as gifted and for those who miss the cutoff. Missing a Gifted Cutoff Doesn’t Mean That a Child Isn’t Gifted A child who misses the cutoff for the gifted label may be just as capable as another child who’s made the cut. Some kids are better test-takers and enjoy performing well on the kinds of problems that IQ tests provide. Other children are slower and more careful in their responses, or do better in real-world contexts. Some kids, meanwhile, haven’t yet had the learning opportunities required for high scores. Still others have learning disabilities or other challenges that interfere with their ability to do well in a test-taking situation. And sometimes kids are sick, hungry, tired, or grumpy at the time of the test. A high score on a test of intelligence is a narrow and highly controversial method for identifying …

The sneeze secret: how much should you worry about this explosive reflex?

The sneeze secret: how much should you worry about this explosive reflex?

Published by Sam Flores

How worried should we be about a sneeze? It depends who you ask. In the Odyssey, Telemachus sneezes after Penelope’s prayer that her husband will soon be home to sort out her house-sitting suitors – which she sees as a good omen for team Odysseus, and very bad news for the suitors. In the Anabasis, Xenophon takes a sneeze from a soldier as godly confirmation that his army can fight their way back to their own territory – great news for them – while St Augustine notes, somewhat disapprovingly, that people of his era tend to go back to bed if they sneeze while putting on their slippers. But is a sneeze an omen of anything apart from pathogens, pollen or – possibly – air pollution? “It’s a physical response to get rid of something that’s irritating your body,” says Sheena Cruickshank, an immunologist and professor at the University of Manchester. “Alongside the obvious nasal hairs that a few people choose to trim, all of us have cilia, or microscopic hairs in our noses that …

Over-70s ‘will have no ID’ worry after licences removed after new law

Over-70s ‘will have no ID’ worry after licences removed after new law

Published by Sam Flores

Over 70s could lose their licences if their eyesight isn’t good enough (Image: Getty) New rules for over-70s drivers have sparked concerns that it could leave people without crucial forms of identification. The Department for Transport is consulting on plans which could see people forced to have mandatory eyesight tests at 70. Currently, people self-declare they are fit to drive, but the number of crashes and also concerns raised by opticians have led to it being looked at as part of a new Road safety strategy launched by the government. The DfT is looking at a mandatory test at 70 and every three years – and those failing would lose their licences. Opticians said they were  concerned at the number of people who were in this age group who are still driving but do not have good enough vision to do so. Data showed nearly one in four (24%) car drivers killed in 2024 were aged 70 or older. However, people need IDs to access all sorts of services – and with older people potentially …

Tony Dokoupil’s viral first week should worry Bari Weiss

Tony Dokoupil’s viral first week should worry Bari Weiss

Published by Sam Flores

As Tony Dokoupil himself put it on his chaotic first official day anchoring the “CBS Evening News,” “First day, big problems here.” He was supposed to start his new gig as anchor on Monday, but his debut, in a kind of preview appearance, was moved forward to Saturday, Jan. 3 following the breaking news of Donald Trump’s invasion of Venezuela. Hand-picked by CBS News editorial director Bari Weiss, herself plucked for the position by parent company SkyDance Paramount CEO David Ellison, who has ties to Trump, Dokoupil’s first week as anchor was hyped as a coronation of sorts. Instead, his carefully stage-managed rollout — a 10-day private jet tour to promote a new ideological era at CBS News — was derailed by reality in Trump’s America. When the U.S. government abducted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, suddenly Dokoupil’s “reinvention” of the evening news had to contend with actual breaking news. In his first week on the job, and in the bizarre publicity blitz that preceded it, Dokoupil has attempted to position …

How to Worry Less and Be Happier

Published by Miika Tikkanen

Want to stay current with Arthur’s writing? Sign up to get an email every time a new column comes out. Everybody has worries. In early 2023, according to the market-research firm Ipsos, the five most common worries of people worldwide were inflation, poverty and social inequality, crime and violence, unemployment, and corruption (financial and political). Such surveys ask respondents to choose from a list of typical global problems. In that regard, they no doubt diverge from your personal worries, which might be even greater: a perceived change in your partner’s affections, perhaps, or your child’s rather mixed performance in school, or that sore spot on the back of your leg. Although worrying a bit is normal, for some people, worrying can be a dominant element of a generalized anxiety that steals their peace and sucks up valuable time. “I have been worrying and fretting myself, and I don’t know what I am doing,” says Rodion Raskolnikov, the protagonist of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel Crime and Punishment. “Yesterday and the day before yesterday and all this time …