The Age of Anxiety 3.0
First edition (US) (publ. Random House)
In 1947 W H Auden published his poem The Age of Anxiety and I am borrowing Auden’s title for my blog this month.
Back in 1947 people had lived through World War II. Many were traumatised, the losses were enormous, there was scarcity. This was Age of Anxiety 1.0.
In 1962 The Cuban Missile Crisis threatened the world with nuclear oblivion. Age of Anxiety 2.0.
Today in the second half of 2022, sixty years on from JFK’s brush with universal destruction, it feels like we are in The Age of Anxiety 3.0.
One of the questions I put to supervisees about a client they present is ‘Why has he/she come to therapy?’. More often than not their answer today includes the word anxiety.
Some of the questions and comments I’ve heard from supervisees over the last few weeks are these…
I don’t know why she’s coming. We don’t seem to be getting anywhere.
I don’t think I’m doing anything. Is this right? Is this therapy?
I feel stuck. I don’t know where the work with her is going.
I’ve never had so many enquiries from new clients. I’m full up, I can’t take any of them.
Someone I hadn’t seen for 13 years got back in touch wanting to see me again after all this time.
I’m exhausted. I’ve never worked so hard. Thank goodness it’s nearly time for my holiday. I just can’t wait to just do nothing for two weeks.
Has it always been like this? Is there an explosion of anxiety just now? Does everyone feel anxious? Is anxiety part of the human condition? What’s going on?
The following ten points help explain what we’re seeing in our consulting rooms now.
Cost of living crisis. Fuel, food, interest rates all rising. Highest inflation rate for 40 years.
Climate change. Hottest day ever in the UK last week.
War in Ukraine. Seemingly a war with no endgame.
Unstable UK government. One law for Downing Street, another for the rest of us.
Covid numbers rising. 4th jab coming. Does anyone not know someone who has had Covid in the last month? Again, no obvious endgame.
Strikes. Railways, telecoms, NHS workers.
Brexit. Where’s the payoff we were promised? Why does every business seem to be advertising for staff? Where’s the endgame with Northern Ireland?
Inequality gap widening. Footballers earning £500k a week, more demand than ever at foodbanks.
Public services failing. DVLA, passport office, airports.
NHS. Long waiting lists, GP appointments unavailable, over 2 million people using private GP’s.
So where do we as therapists fit in amongst all this uncertainty and chaos? What can we offer our clients? What is our function in the Age of Anxiety 3.0? How can we help?
One of our tasks as therapists is to enable our clients to accept an existential reality. We live in an uncertain world and we need to be able to at least tolerate not knowing.
John Bowlby wrote about The Secure Base. At uncertain times like this these what we offer our clients is a secure base. A steady, dependable, constant, reliable place to come to week in, week out. Somewhere to be authentic, real, vulnerable, scared. Somewhere to be accepted and not judged.
In these most uncertain of times we offer our clients a refuge, a safe port in the storm, a place to make sense of themselves and all the destabilising events which are happening all around them.
Helping people cope in this hugely uncertain world is one of reasons why the work we do is more important than ever and in such huge demand.
Enjoy your well earned summer break.
Allan
Do you have any thoughts on this topic?
If so, I would really love to hear from you.