Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

Our nervous system is overworked

Collapsed bridge

The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed after being hit by a cargo ship on March 26, setting off the writer's nervous system.

Sha Hanting/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images

Molineaux is the lead catalyst for American Future, a research project that discovers what Americans prefer for their personal future lives. The research informs community planners with grassroots community preferences. Previously, Molineaux was the president/CEO of The Bridge Alliance.

The day the Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed, my nervous system went on high alert, ready to burst into action to assure my safety. Before I heard the news, I was calmly and happily going about my planned activities for the day. After? Not so calm. Less happy.

A quick, personal assessment was called for.


  • Was I in immediate danger? No.
  • Was anyone I loved in immediate danger? No.
  • Did I know anyone who needed my help at this moment? No.
  • Were the appropriate people responding to the tragedy? Yes.
  • Did they need my help? No.

My nervous system began to calm down and I turned on the news to get more information. Immediately, my nervous system went into high gear again. I learned that up to seven people were missing and rescue operations were underway. The uncertainty of what happened and why would keep my nervous system agitated. I turned off the news. Thoughts of 9/11 crossed my mind.

I redid my personal assessment of danger and response needs. I ate a cookie for good measure.

Then it was back to work. My heightened awareness wanted to watch the news as the story unfolded, as if it were an action-adventure story. But real life moves more slowly. It would be hours or longer before a cause was known. Waiting was required.

Our nervous systems have been overworked these last few years while navigating increasing uncertainty so perhaps it is wiser to take a step back to think about our reactions and our emotions, even think about our thinking. How might a willingness to reflect on our reactions, rather than rushing to judgment, improve our mental health and society as a whole?

During Covid, we (health care workers, policy makers and everyday people) were forced to make life and death decisions before we had the information needed to choose wisely. How did that impact the nervous system of us all?

And now it is another presidential election year where we (the American public) will once again be subjected to influence operations and conflict profiteers. These campaigns twist and undermine accurate or partial information, developing conspiracy theories to "explain the real story." In actuality, there is most often a kernel of fact surrounded by speculation. Conflict profiteers sell certainty, which calms the nervous systems of some, but agitates others. How will this mis- and disinformation impact our collective nervous systems?

With the increase in extreme weather events, people are traumatized, losing everything. Others are traumatized by watching folks lose their homes and their hope, thinking, "I could be next." How does this impact us all emotionally?

The feeling of uncertainty spreads between people like wildfire. Especially if we have been or felt harmed by others or situations and have not been able to process and heal. We tell ourselves to get over it and move on without stopping to actually heal the emotional wound. To grieve what was lost and comfort what hurts.

Our nervous system tells the truth about what needs to be healed. When uncertainty arises in your life, what is a healthy response? And how can our/your response offer healing for past, unhealed wounds?

Prayer and meditation practices can help. So can conversing with friends and counselors. Exercise or dance is another powerful way to ground ourselves, leaving less room for uncertainty. Gratitude, for what we have at this moment, is another way to heal.

And of course, good information also helps. Within a few hours, the governor of Maryland, Wes Moore, announced that the ship which hit the Key Bridge had lost power, leaving the crew unable to steer the ship. It was not a terrorist attack.

In a world where we're experiencing a lot of uncertainty, it was a relief this accident was just an accident. May we grieve alongside the families for the loss of six men who came to the United States looking for a better life.

Let's be gentle with ourselves and with each other. Our nervous systems are overworked.

Read More

Two speech bubbles overlapping each other.

Political outrage is rising—but dismissing the other side’s anger deepens division. Learn why taking outrage seriously can bridge America’s partisan divide.

Getty Images, Richard Drury

Taking Outrage Seriously: Understanding the Moral Signals Behind Political Anger

Over the last several weeks, the Trump administration has deployed the National Guard to the nation’s capital to crack down on crime. While those on the right have long been aghast by rioting and disorder in our cities, pressing for greater military intervention to curtail it, progressive residents of D.C. have tirelessly protested the recent militarization of the city.

This recent flashpoint is a microcosm of the reciprocal outrage at the heart of contemporary American public life. From social media posts to street protests to everyday conversations about "the other side," we're witnessing unprecedented levels of political outrage. And as polarization has increased, we’ve stopped even considering the other political party’s concerns, responding instead with amusement and delight. Schadenfreude, or pleasure at someone else’s pain, is now more common than solidarity or empathy across party lines.

Keep ReadingShow less
Two speech bubbles overlapping.

Recent data shows that Americans view members of the opposing political party overly negatively, leading people to avoid political discourse with those who hold different views.

Getty Images, Richard Drury

How To Motivate Americans’ Conversations Across Politics

Introduction

A large body of research shows that Americans hold overly negative distortions of those across the political spectrum. These misperceptions—often referred to as "Perception Gaps"—make civil discourse harder, since few Americans are eager to engage with people they believe are ideologically extreme, interpersonally hostile, or even threatening or inferior. When potential disagreement feels deeply uncomfortable or dangerous, conversations are unlikely to begin.

Correcting these distortions can help reduce barriers to productive dialogue, making Americans more open to political conversations.

Keep ReadingShow less
Divided American flag

Rev. Dr. F. Willis Johnson writes on the serious impacts of "othering" marginalized populations and how, together, we must push back to create a more inclusive and humane society.

Jorge Villalba/Getty Images

New Rules of the Game: Weaponization of Othering

By now, you have probably seen the viral video. Taylor Townsend—Black, bold, unbothered—walks off the court after a bruising match against her white European opponent, Jelena Ostapenko. The post-match glances were sharper than a backhand slice. Next came the unsportsmanlike commentary—about her body, her "attitude," and a not-so-veiled speculation about whether she belonged at this level. To understand America in the Trump Redux era, one only needs to study this exchange.

Ostapenko vs. Townsend is a microcosm of something much bigger: the way anti-democratic, vengeful politics—modeled from the White House on down—have bled into every corner of public life, including sports. Turning “othering” into the new national pastime. Divisive politics has a profound impact on marginalized groups. Neither Ostapenko nor Donald Trump invented this playbook, yet Trump and his sycophants are working to master it. Fueled by a sense of grievance, revenge, and an insatiable appetite for division, he—like Ostapenko—has normalized once somewhat closeted attitudes.

Keep ReadingShow less
Hand blocking someone speaking

The Third Way has recently released a memo stating that the “stampede away from the Democratic Party” is partly a result of the language and rhetoric it uses.

Westend61/Getty Images

To Protect Democracy, Democrats Should Pay Attention to the Third Way’s List of ‘Offensive’ Words

More than fifty years ago, comedian George Carlin delivered a monologue entitled Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television.” It was a tribute to the legendary Lenny Bruce, whose “nine dirty words” performance led to his arrest and his banning from many places.

His seven words were “p—, f—, c—, c———, m———–, and t—.”

Keep ReadingShow less