>BRIAN DEAN - ANXIETY CULTURE
What is Anxiety Culture all about?
AC began as a magazine, in 1995, exploring the anxieties hidden beneath the smiling mask of so-called 'normal' society.
What can Anxiety Culture do for me? It could vastly increase your prosperity, your life expectancy and your sexual allure.* (*Subject to an estimated 43 billion billion other factors which you have absolutely no control over).
What are the main ideas behind Anxiety Culture?
-We live in a crazy work-obsessed society driven by puritanical fear and guilt (in case you hadn't noticed).
-There are psychological gimmicks to bring fun and pleasure back. All perfectly legal (currently). AC contains many such gimmicks.
- Most of us spend our lives in pointless, boring jobs due to our financial fears. We then delude ourselves that the work is 'enjoyable' or 'useful'. It's really no joke. Better to take the day off. Call in sick. You can never get enough security, no matter how rich or successful you are. So why strain yourself trying? You deserve to relax.
- We are being led into having lower expectations that we should work harder for less reward, that life is about toil & paying tax, etc. This won't last, the puritan is no match for the hedonist.
- Laziness motivates efficiency.
- Fear sells. The most common advertising technique is to exploit psychological insecurities.
- A main function of the media is to deliver psychologically insecure audiences to advertisers.
- 'Spiralling crime', a media-perpetuated myth? The climate of fear surrounding crime seems out of all proportion to the real threat of crime for most people. Statistically, you are more at risk from congested roads and stress-related illness.
- Team spirit means mob mentality.
- Our beliefs program our realities. If we believe that the universe is fundamentally unsafe, then we're going to experience perpetual anxiety which isn't a good way to operate our brains.
- Avoid meetings, stupidity is contagious.