Consequences Regarding a Culture of Fear

Part 2

Mother and Child, Henry Moore

"I think in terms of the day's resolutions, not the year's."– Henry Moore

What about the constant bombardment of negative stimuli? We eventually become less efficient at coping (unbalanced chemically to deal) with these life events. Further, we become susceptible to diseases such as Alzheimer’s, heart disease, cancer, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, type II diabetes, accidents, pneumonia and flu. Also, the underlying fear, anxiety or emotional states become vulnerable and easily activated and overwhelmed which can result in mental disorders such as anxiety and depression. Thus the behavior is overcompensation for an unconscious or conscious underlying insecurity or vulnerability. For example, feeling powerless gets expressed in attempting to predict and rigidly control or over control people and things (environment). Or perhaps, buying more and more killing devices with lots of ammo; relocating to a gated –“protective” community; buying a large SUV or truck; purchasing a home alarm system; installing a large fence or gate (to keep out bad); getting pets (a large dog-a pit bull or shepherd); or moving to a state like Idaho with all its ex law enforcement types.

Do these behaviors remove or resolve underlying or unconscious fears? No, they mask them. Do these behaviors result in our feeling safe and allow us protect our children in nurturing or loving ways? No, we tend to over protect them creating dependent, mistrustful and less autonomous children? How many parents do you know that transport their kids “everywhere “or give them cell phones? Do these behaviors keep their children protected and allow the children and teens to develop a sense or belief that the parent trust’s them as well as a belief in a (safe or unsafe) world?

What’s going to happen to all those Newtown children? Likely many children at the Connecticut elementary school who witnessed the event quite possibly will have symptoms similar to a diagnosis of post traumatic stress disorder. At this point in time, there is a post traumatic stress disorder diagnosis in preschool children but not elementary school-age children. How many of these children will receive treatment? What is your long-term prediction about the mental health of these children? What kind of (trusting or non-trusting) parents are they likely to be and how will that affect their children?

What about our military that have been involved in two wars over the last 10 years and have had deployment in Afghanistan and Iraq? How many are likely to have symptoms of a post traumatic stress disorder diagnosis as a result of those wars and those consequences? To complicate matters for these veterans many of them also have a post concussion syndrome from traumatic brain injury as well.

To be continued.