The Anxiety Crisis

It may be a sign of an improving society to see that anxiety itself is rising as a concern and an opportunity.  Anxiety affects anyone who pays attention to life around us, and it adversely affects almost all of us at some time or another either acutely (immobilizing us) or chronically (nudging us to self-administered reactions).  Many will accept the “just get over it” or the “it’s a normal part of life” thoughts about burdensome anxiety.  And any of us will self-medicate our way through anxious times with comfort food, social alcohol, or natural or pharmaceutical “remedies.”   Surely it is… Continue Reading

Alex’s Story

My son Alex did not live a tragic life.  But he also did not live an easy life.  From his early years, Alex struggled for three decades with an invisible and progressive illness that was as deadly as an undiagnosed cancer.  Alex excelled in physical activities, particularly skateboarding and dancing.  And Alex excelled verbally with an incredible vocabulary and a fantastic ability to mimic the voices of cartoon celebrities.  Marge Simpson was one of his funniest.  Alex was a fun and funny guy to party with.  He could get people to laugh.  His apparent social ease and apparent openness and… Continue Reading