Anxiety on the Rise in Shanghai, China

To say 2020 has been a rocky start to the new decade would be an understatement. Between the global coronavirus pandemic, travel restrictions, quarantines, economic instability, social unrest, and political polarisation, there has been no shortage of things to worry about. Unsurprisingly, these tumultuous times have coincided with a significant uptick in clients seeking support from Community Center Shanghai for anxiety-related issues.

In 2019, 18 percent of CCS clients cited ‘anxiety’ as their presenting issue.¹ As of July this year, this figure had almost doubled, reaching 34 percent. Stress-related concerns are also up, having increased from 3 to 8 percent. Finally, ‘grief & loss’ entered the top 5 presenting issues of 2020, replacing marital problems.

Feelings of anxiety are often linked to future events. Anticipating a future negative outcome can stimulate discomfort in the present. This discomfort is usually short-lived, but can sometimes fester, becoming chronic. Chronic anxiety can be debilitating and even lead to physical health problems.

Where is Your Mind?

We can divide life into three parts: past, present, and future. Seneca, the Roman Stoic philosopher, claimed that ‘[o]f these, the present is short, the future is doubtful, the past is certain.’² Establishing whether a thought pertains to the past, present or future, can help us determine its utility.

Since the past is certain, we can exercise precisely zero control there. Zero. It’s done. Literally, passed. Therefore, thoughts about the past are only useful to the extent that they inform our present and future actions.

The present, that which is unfolding right now, moment by moment, is where we have the greatest amount of control. It’s hard to be anxious when fully engaged in the present. But as our minds wander into the realm of future uncertainties, unease creeps in.

Here, we allow our minds free rein to concoct all manner of disaster scenarios. If left unchallenged, we may begin acting as if our visions were true. Incredibly, this certainty about the future is sometimes coupled with hope that the past can be rewritten. This is completely backwards. What would happen if this were reversed? In other words, if we accepted the finality of the past, whilst adopting a sceptical attitude toward the future?

A simple game you can play with your mind, is to log your predictions (especially the catastrophic ones) and then review them, later, for accuracy. You may be chagrined to discover that your batting average is pitifully low. And likely undeserving of the respect it currently demands.

Now and Then

Our goal is not necessarily to become indifferent to the future³ but rather, humble in the face of uncertainty.

We can affect the future (at least, to some degree). But only via the present. Establishing what can be done now entails accepting that many of our hopes about the future depend on factors beyond our immediate control. What can the average person do to encourage airlines to resume their normal operations or universities to reopen? Not a whole lot. But let’s say you’re unemployed, eager to find work, but disheartened by a lack of opportunities. In this case, you likely have plenty of free time on your hands; free time that could be spent raising your human capital, ensuring that when opportunities arise, you’re a shoo-in for your desired position.

This is how we affect the future. Through making conscious choices in the present, we maximise our probability of success later. Here, I emphasise the word ‘probability’. There are no guarantees. Sitting on the couch eating Cheetos isn’t likely to increase the probability that you will one day run a marathon. But you can do everything ‘right’ and still fail. It happens. And it’s in these moments that a sense of humility is needed most.

Relative to today, we don’t know how 2020 is going to look by year’s end. Who knows what’s next? Cataclysmic asteroid? Alien invasion? World peace? We simply don’t know. What can be said with confidence is that living life inside a self-made web of dire doubts probably isn’t the best use of our time.

An alternative? Living consciously in the only time and place our choices truly matter: here and now.

This article was originally published in Community Center Shanghai’s Fall Guide Magazine.

1. This percentage has been fairly stable for years.
2. Seneca. (1997). On the shortness of life. (C. D. Costa, Trans.) London: Penguin.
3. Although, for some Stoics, cultivating indifference certainly was the goal.