Free Republic

Terrorism. Chaos. Fear of the future. In the age of Obama, America is undergoing a “fundamental transformation” – that much everyone knows. But what few seem to realize about this transformation is that the sheer stress of living in today’s America is driving tens of millions to the point of illness, depression and self-destruction. Consider the following trends: Suicide has surpassed car crashes as the leading cause of injury death for Americans. Even more disturbing, in the world’s greatest military, more U.S. soldiers died last year by suicide than in combat; Fully one-third of the nation’s employees suffer chronic debilitating...

Remember all those who denied that firearms confiscation as a result of New York’s new gun laws was too “insane” to even consider? That it was strictly in the realm of paranoid conspiracy theorists and the “it cant happen here crowd”? Those were and remain some of the standard replies to anyone who even thought about the possibility, let alone gave voice to it, despite the fact that Gov Cuomo and numerous other officials made public comments about such a plan, as I discussed in my article “Feinstein & Cuomo Admit Planning Australian Style Government Gun Buy Back” . Elected...

Are You Worried About The Future? Read This… Feb 19th, 2013by Gary Zimak. One of the biggest fears that people have is the fear of the unknown. “What if’s” are a frequent source of anxiety in the world today. How will I survive if this, that or the other thing happens to me? In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus explicitly warned against being anxious about “tomorrow” (Mt 6:34) and pointed out the uselessness of doing so. In spite of that, however, we still waste a lot of time worrying about the future.When I give my “Pray, Hope and Don’t...

Do you bite your nails? For 30 years, I did. We nail biters can be "pathological groomers" — people for whom normal grooming behaviors, like skin picking or hair pulling, have become virtually uncontrollable. But psychiatry is changing the way it thinks about pathological grooming, and these changes will be reflected in the American Psychiatric Association's DSM, short for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. A new version is coming out early next year, and it puts pathological grooming in the same category as another disorder you've probably heard of: obsessive compulsive disorder, or OCD. This rethinking gives pathological...

The NFL is finally putting expert referees back on the job. If only American businesses could do the same. Unhappily, while the U.S. economy teeters on the edge of recession – again – the White House continues to spin out red tape and tax uncertainty that is casting a pall over employers. The results are in: Bad calls from the sidelines and rogue penalties are dampening growth and stifling hiring. America: We need a new coach! The U.S. economy grew far less than expected in the second quarter, with expansion of 1.3 percent falling far short of the 1.7 percent...

Restrictive policies aimed at undocumented immigrants have pushed them underground, fostered negative perceptions of law enforcement and created anxiety around mundane activities such as walking their children to school and driving, according to a report released Monday that focuses on North County. Supporters of those measures said they are intended to make life difficult for the undocumented, with the goal of spurring them to return to their native countries or at least leave this region. Escondido’s police chief also disputed the study’s findings, saying that public safety in his city has not been undermined. ((snip)) “Nothing justifies breaking the law,”...

Women who have abortions are at risk of severe mental health problems, new research has found. The study showed that those who undergo abortion face nearly double the risk of mental health difficulties compared with others and that one in ten of all mental health problems was a result of an abortion. The findings come as Tory MP Nadine Dorries, backed by Labour’s Frank Field, has put down an amendment to a Health Bill which requires women seeking abortion to see an independent counsellor first. Currently organisations which provide abortions offer counselling, but critics say the advice given can often...

Does your job make feel fretful? You're not alone. According to management consultant Robert W. Goldfarb, writing in The New York Times, feelings of fear and trembling are as common in the workplace as inane memos and idiot bosses. The result is a fear-based culture committed to avoiding great new ideas and making sure that bad ones never change. It's our overpaid overlords who are responsible. Scared silly that some new idea could bomb out and cost them their caviar breaks, the terror of the top managers is trickling down to their underlings. "Accustomed to hearing about budget cuts and...

McMaster research finds link between gut bacteria and behaviorHamilton, ON (May 17, 2011) - For the first time, researchers at McMaster University have conclusive evidence that bacteria residing in the gut influence brain chemistry and behaviour. The findings are important because several common types of gastrointestinal disease, including irritable bowel syndrome, are frequently associated with anxiety or depression. In addition there has been speculation that some psychiatric disorders, such as late onset autism, may be associated with an abnormal bacterial content in the gut. "The exciting results provide stimulus for further investigating a microbial component to the causation of behavioural...

You have done well to hide ( rest ) from the forces of darkness in My love .(Deut 33:12) Now I shall raise you up into the Majesty of My Fullness by placing you as a lampstand for others , for I have hammered you out of one talent and shaped and formed you into the Mennorah of My manifold witness , bathed in My Glory yet this oil shall not lack or perish for "I AM" The Oil Of Gladness in you that no longer drips but now pours ~ for you are My Honey Comb of Cornucopia (...

A young Tauranga man wants "legal weed" banned, claiming an addiction to it drove him to steal and left him riddled with anxiety. Student Robert Moore, 23, (pictured) says he smoked up to $80 of Kronic each day and claims the marijuana alternative has had damaging psychological and physical effects on him. But Kronic has rejected the claims, saying its products are not addictive and are harmless unless used irresponsibly. The R18 synthetic cannabinoid is made from a mixture of dried herbs and is available at about 20 outlets across the Western Bay. The product usually contains the 1,1-dimethyloctyl homologue...

CINCINNATI—All those salty snacks available at the local tavern might be doing more than increasing your thirst: They could also play a role in suppressing social anxiety. New research from the University of Cincinnati (UC) shows that elevated levels of sodium blunt the body's natural responses to stress by inhibiting stress hormones that would otherwise be activated in stressful situations. These hormones are located along the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which controls reactions to stress. The research is reported in the April 6, 2011, issue of The Journal of Neuroscience, the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience. "We're calling this...

The data are in. The science has spoken. The proof is conclusive: Conservatives are cowards. No, really. We learned this fact from Prof. Geraint Rees of the University College London, who says that after studying the brain scans of two politicians and 90 students, he stands confident in declaring that in conservative minds the brain’s amygdala, which is associated with anxiety and emotion, tends to be larger, whereas the anterior cingulate, which is associated with courage and optimism, tends to be smaller. So conservatives are — bwock-bwock-bwock! — chicken. Wussies. Namby pambies and nervous Nellies, every one of us. Well...

Today, I want to discuss stress. We live in a time and age where stress is common, rampant, and so intense that it has become a tremendous challenge sometimes to simply maintain composure. Stress is a draining mechanism that can easily take our focus off of the Lord and dwell on our own troubles. Now, to us Christians, there are three major types of stress we should examine....... Work-Related Stress: Back in June, a friend of mine and I went to a restaurant we both like. When the waitress came to our table, she had a “brain freeze” for a...

Part One Calming Troubled Hearts Don’t you wish you could turn anxiety on and off like a faucet? Wouldn’t it be great if you could worry from 9:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. and then shut it down so that you could get a good night’s rest? Unfortunately, we cannot control anxiety; anxiety arises from within and is not subject to reason or the dictates of the human will. Rather than playing the role of a humble servant, it comes to take charge over the whole person. Like most dictators, it refuses compromise. We need a power greater than ourselves to...

TOKYO — The drizzly weather didn’t dampen the excitement at the annual spring imperial party last month as the royal family strolled along Tokyo’s Akasaka Palace grounds. Mao Asada, the Olympic figure skating silver medalist, was so overwhelmed when Emperor Akihito spoke to her that she managed only to repeatedly reply “yes,” and “thank you very much.” It was a typical reaction that shows the magnetic hold the emperor and empress have over the Japanese people. Missing as usual from the festivities was Crown Princess Masako who suffers from a stress-related disorder that causes anxiety and distress and only occasionally...

People are afraid to lose money and an unusual study released on Monday explains why -- the brain's fear center controls the response to a gamble. U.S. | Science | Health | Lifestyle The study of two women with brain lesions that made them unafraid to lose on a gamble showed the amygdala, the brain's fear center, activates at the very thought of losing money. [...]

As the years have gone by and I have grown in my journey with coming to God, I have encountered many days that started off surprisingly depressing. I have fibromyalgia and part of that is coping with anxiety. Anxiety is an ugly monster if you let it get a hold on you.

I ask that the community please remember me in your prayers over the next few days. I totally unexpectedly lost my job this morning. It was totally unforeseen, so I am in quite a state of shock and anxiety. I had thanked God many times during the day over the past two years for this job, I believed it was his gift to me for the many challenges I've had in life. I am alone, so I will appreciate your remembering me.

Psychological State of the Union Many Americans don’t feel the thrill associated with President Obama’s “Change” as it has an adverse effect on their “Psychological State of the Union”. They liked their country the way it was before it lurched to the political Left. For those who mourn and grieve the loss of their Country there needs to be some consideration of their emotional, psychological and mental health. After all, these are the people who bought into the “American Dream”. They fought in wars and went to a job they may not have enjoyed to put sustenance on the table...