How To Manage Anxiety While The Planet Is On Fire

One of the things I have to address — in speaking about the Digital Detox — is the fact that you and I are not in control of our decisions.

Not all of them, anyway.

That's why people who say "managing your privacy is entirely a matter of personal responsibility" are wrong.

Decades of studies involving human biology, neurology, and psychology say otherwise.

The facts are:

1. People copy what other people do, because humans are hardwired to be social creatures. Ones that yearn to be part of a group. A lot of the anxiety we feel comes from not being accepted. Or not necessarily being in the group we think we should be in.
2. People can, and often are, heavily influenced by advertising, their food supply — think about all the sugar and caffeine in the American food system for example — and the chemical reaction occurring in their brains and bodies.

For These Reasons, We Can Get Addicted To Things Easily

And that addiction can impact how you behave no matter how smart you think you are.

Whether that addiction be to sugar, gambling, or your smart phone. It doesn't matter.

Biochemically, it's all the same.

One thing I've heard, countless times, in writing and researching online security and offline safety is that if you think you can't get bamboozled, you're exactly the person who's going to get bamboozled.

And these biochemical reactions are often why.

We've all been bamboozled.

By tech companies.

By pharmaceutical companies and by all those weirdos selling unregulated supplements.

And By politicians pretending to represent you while actually representing the wealthy and the well-connected.

So, there are no judgements here at Stupid Sexy Privacy.

We love and accept you for who you are.

Although, if you're into wearing a Wonder Woman costume for fun in the bedroom, it's true I'd probably love you slightly more. This should be taken as proof that we're not saints, and we have our vices too.

I'm not looking to cure you of these vices.

I am looking to help you better manage them.

But.

This isn't a free pass to do and say terrible things.

I'm telling you all this because I want you to understand that telling people "That's your problem" does not actually solve a lot of the problems we now face.

Like Climate Change.

You're not going to recycle your way out of that one.

It's going to take collective action on a global scale, and part of that collective action is going to involve creating pressure to:

1. Get rid of the Fascists & Weirdos, because most of them are Climate Deniers.
2. Keep the money out of our politics, because the money is usually what's funding those fascists and weirdos in the first place.

We're only going to get to that point if we can learn to manage our anxiety.

If we don't, our anxiety will prevent us from getting offline, connecting with our community, and organizing the resistance.

Privacy Tip: Take 5 Minutes to Center Yourself

I think in 2025's America, it's fair to say we all have something to be anxious about.

And that anxiety is often a trigger to take out your smart phone.

The bad news is, you're never going to get rid of your anxiety.

The good news is, you can learn how to manage your anxiety.

We're going to spend a lot of time in this Digital Detox series talking about how to best manage that anxiety.

My recommendation today is going to be for you to download the free Plum Village app.

There's no subscription plan. You don't pay per meditation. The app is completely free.

If you like it, you can donate to them.

Once you've downloaded Plum Village, you're going to tap on Meditations.

Tap on Guided Meditations.

And then tap on Short Meditations.

I recommended starting with the "5-Minute Practice For When You Feel Overwhelmed" by Sister True Dedication.

I also really like "Device Meditation" by Brother Phap Luu.

If you prefer something quieter, you can tap on Meditations and then tap on Quiet Meditations.

They don't have a five minute Quiet Meditation, so you'll just need to set a timer to stop at five minutes.

(Don't immediately try doing a long meditation. Our goal right now is just to get you comfortable and trying this.)

Now, there's no right or wrong way to do these exercises, but I'm going to describe the ideal scenario.

Do the best you can to make sure you are:

• Seated in a chair.
• Sitting up straight.
• Keeping your feet on the ground (Don't cross your legs.)
• Then close your eyes and take a couple of deep breaths before you begin. If you're listening to the guided meditations, follow their advice.

One more thing ...

Before we go, there's this question in the beginning of Dr. Forsyth and Dr. Eifert's The Mindfulness & Acceptance Workbook for Anxiety that I'd like to ask you to answer.

I'm going to refer to this book a lot.

So, if you'd like to get yourself a copy and fill in the blanks for your own purposes, I recommend doing so.

The question they ask is:

"What have you missed out on in an effort to solve your anxiety problem — that is, to avoid feeling anxious or afraid? Think about something you really care about, however small or big. Perhaps it's work, finances or family. Maybe it's travel, exercise, a hobby, or your health. Or it may involve relationships, intimacy, your freedom, peace of mind, or spirituality. Take a moment and write that one important thing below."

And here, I'm going to give you their fill in the blank:

"Because of my anxious thoughts and feelings, strong fear and panic, worry, or disturbing memories. I have missed out on or am unable to __________________________________________."

Everyone's answer is going to be different, but I'd like to encourage you to take a moment and write down your answer somewhere, preferably offline.

Keep it somewhere accessible though — Like say, the Privacy Notebook we're about to talk about in the first episode of Stupid Sexy Privacy — because you'll want to keep that answer front and center as we proceed through this Digital Detox series.

-BJ