americans and and anxiety: why choices AND misconceptions about choices make us feel so nuts in the atlantic

play is the exultation of the possible -martin buber

An article in the most recent issue of the American Journal of Play details not only how much children’s play time has declined, but how this lack of play affects emotional development, leading to the rise of anxiety, depression, and problems of attention and self control. (in The Atlantic)

how perfectionism might make you stupid in wired

anxiety, gothic literature, and tabloid tragedy in the nyt

Jonah Lehrer interviews Davi Johnson Thornton on her new book Brain Culture: Neuroscience and Popular Media

“All of the time you have to constantly think “How is this affecting my brain? What is this going to do to my brain, and hence my future self?” and at the same time you also have to think “How is my brain influencing my current mood, behavior, state? Is my brain functioning optimally, or am I failing to live up to my fullest potential–and hence need to work on my brain?” You are always diagnosing your brain based on your mood or behavior, and at the same time always trying to mold your brain by giving it the appropriate inputs. It really seems exhausting.”

the psychological benefits of dangerous playgrounds in the new york times

“The glory of the disposition that stops to consider stimuli rather than rushing to engage with them is its long association with intellectual and artistic achievement. Neither E=mc2 nor ‘Paradise Lost’ was dashed off by a party animal.”

Why we need introverts in the NYT

Are women really more anxious than men? Eventually, yes.

Parents coddle girls who cry after a painful scrape but tell boys to suck it up, and this formative link between emotional outbursts and kisses from mom predisposes girls to react to unpleasant situations with “negative” feelings like anxiety later in life. On top of this, cultural biases about boys being more capable than girls also lead parents to push sons to show courage and confront their fears, while daughters are far more likely to be sheltered from life’s challenges. If little Olivia shows fear, she gets a hug; if little Oliver shows fear, he gets urged to overcome it.

Slate magazine

“But the 19th baby was different. She was distressed by novelty — new sounds, new voices, new toys, new smells — and showed it by flailing her legs, arching her back and crying. Here was what Kagan was looking for but was not sure he would find: a baby who essentially fell apart when exposed to anything new.”

Anxiety and Temperament in the New York Times

Spheres (by Anka Zhuravleva)