The Next Meal

We don’t have much to be anxious about in our modern society. If you’re an anxious person like me, you are probably rolling your eyes and composing a reply for the comments box.

Cave people took anxiousness to another level. An early morning stroll to find the next meal focuses the senses. Avoiding the wild animals so you don’t become the next meal leads to an overactive amygdala.

Our modern society throws other anxiety-causing issues at us: interest rates, inflation, and, yes, where is the next meal?

Whatever the causes of anxiety, you can be sure there is someone out there who offers ways of coping with it.

A psychologist I was seeing thought music therapy might work. His idea was to create some calm around my panic attacks. I sat in a darkened room and listened to discordant chants, bells, wind, and ocean waves through headphones. After an hour, he said, I would be so relaxed as to be on the verge of sleep.

I wasn’t. When he returned, he found me sitting bolt upright, staring at the wall. I had ditched the headphones because the racket was far from calming. I heard no music, none that fitted my definition. Heads up: I have a broad definition of music.

The whole experience made me more anxious. Did I come away with a strategy for dealing with anxiousness? Not really. I did resolve not to make a return appointment.

I live with anxiousness every day. I have ways of coping, which involve music.

The whole point is we can manage it. If the anxious person is a child (your child), we can support them through it.