Volume 33 Number 1Winter 2026

alienation, anxiety, climate change, fear, Donald Trump, oppression, persecution, political climate, psychoanalysis, psychohistory, self-censorship, violence

This article introduces the 20 articles (and poems) in this issue, which explore contemporary anxiety, anger, and fear, spanning global threats like climate change and new technology, with a primary focus on the political climate in the United States. The pieces critique toxic leadership and its effects, including self-censorship, and detail violence and oppression worldwide. A key analysis addresses the manipulation and rapid spread of “curated” fears through modern communication, while another article suggest addressing destructive emotions by combining psychoanalytic inquiry with mindful awareness.

abusive, dehumanization, Donald Trump, downsizing, empathy, good-enough leadership, organizational dysfunction, narcissism, personality development, psychohistory, sadistic, toxic leadership, trauma, unempathetic

In this article, we distinguish between good-enough leadership in the case of organizational downsizing and the brutal, even sadistic, styles of organizational leaders. The latter uses ideological and economic pretexts to dehumanize and terminate organization members, pushing them to join their colleagues in unemployment lines.

authoritarianism, conflict, conformity, contagion, moral decay, nightmares, political repression, pressure, psychic trauma, psychohistory, punishment, repression, self-censorship, shame, social, The Third Reich of Dreams, totalitarian

This essay pertains to the silent suffering of citizens living in a democracy as it deteriorates into the nightmare of a totalitarian regime. Unwitting complicity can accelerate this societal regression through the contagion of self-censorship. A recent group experience will illustrate such a process, which may begin in a subtle way. Once past the point of no return, however, those who suffer from the ultimate moral decay may express their conflicts in very disturbing dreams. Examples from The Third Reich of Dreams will be provided.

Alexis de Tocqueville, alienation, anxiety, belongingness, Bowling Alone, civic participation, despair, Donald Trump, human rights, individualism, malaise, political divisiveness, psychohistory, Robert Putnam, social distress

Our polarized political environment has exacerbated a malaise of anxiety, loneliness, and alienation that predated both the first Trump administration and the pandemic, though greatly accelerated by both. Robert Putnam’s Bowling Alone documents the erosion of social capital in the United States, showing how associational structures were already under threat. This paper suggests that fostering a sense of belongingness-a commitment to the common good-may offer an antidote to our current social distress.

anxiety, Border Patrol, Charlotte’s Web, compassion, Department of Homeland Security, E.B. White, global perspective, humanity, immigration raids, Latino community, nationalism, “Operation Charlotte’s Web”, psychohistory, The Wild Flag

The Department of Homeland Security recently sent many Border Patrol agents to Charlotte, North Carolina, targeting Charlotte’s Latino community. They called this incursion Operation Charlotte’s Web, after E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web. This incursion is antithetical to the theme of compassion that runs through White’s children’s book and to his belief in the importance of looking at the world from a global perspective.

academia, anxiety, collective response, constitutional crisis, dreamwork, environmentalism, fear, hope, political crisis, pragmatic idealism, psychobiography, psychohistory

In the face of the assault on democracy, this article explores how the process of figuring out what one can do is therapeutic, and how it helps to talk about rampant anxiety. This can form the basis for learning how to work together better-an opportunity democracy provides toward creating a better future. The view of the future being based on legitimate power is stronger and more sustainable than primitive competitiveness.

alienation, anger, anomie, anxiety, cultural crisis, fear, hyper competitiveness, media saturation. narcissism, overload, psychohistory, secularism, zeitgeist

This article explores the causes of today’s heightened levels of anger, anxiety, alienation, and despair. The 21^st century zeitgeist has been shaped by four major social trends: the destruction of the social, information overload, the dominance of secularism, and increases in narcissism, or what Émile Durkheim once referred to as “extreme individualism.” Recommended solutions to this cultural crisis are explored.

anxiety, body integrity, castration anxiety, conflict, fear, gender dynamics, miscommunication, narcissistic injury, psychohistory, self-esteem, social media

Contemporary life in the USA means living with anxiety that is often fueled by everyday interactions with family and friends, as well as with strangers and antagonists. Communication via electronic media and social media apps can be difficult to decipher, adding to the sense of unease, as disagreements escalate into explosive confrontations. Anxiety varies according to the individual, the situation, and the context, and has resonance with earlier developmental experiences that may be rekindled in the present.

collective imagination, corruption, freedom, healing, historical trauma, hopelessness, intergenerational trauma, migration, polarization, political instability, psychohistory, suicidality, trauma, youth-despair, Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is a landscape where anger and fear prevail amid political stagnation, economic collapse, broken trust, ongoing political paralysis, and youth hopelessness. These emotions are rooted in Zimbabwe’s history of liberation, repression, and trauma. Today, they manifest through political uncertainty, rising youth suicides, and a pervasive despair. Like many nations, Zimbabwe’s journey toward freedom is ongoing. Only through collective imagination and honest reckoning can we build a more just society.

ambivalence, anger, anxiety, emotional displacement, fear, Iran–Israel war, media influence, moral ambiguity, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), psychohistory, trauma, Twelve-Day War

This essay seeks to provide an analysis through a narrative account of the days and nights of the Israeli war against Iran, commonly referred to as the Twelve-Day War (June 13-25, 2025), to illustrate how my immediate social circle and I experienced the emotions of anger, anxiety, and fear in Iran. Furthermore, it demonstrates how these emotions have persisted within this climate of global apprehension, remaining latent yet primed to re-emerge at the slightest provocation.

activism, attachment, brutality, exile, geopolitical forces, grief, immigration, Iran–Israel war, political consciousness, psychic contiguity, psychobiography, psychohistory, resentment, split-level psychology, survivor’s shame, war

This essay traces the psychic reverberations of watching one’s homeland at war (Iran-Israel war [June 13-25, 2025]) from a distance. Anchored in a single moment of rupture, it reflects on how memory, exile, and unformulated experience collide in the body and mind of the immigrant.

anger, apathy, collective trauma, corruption, dissent, emotional numbness, fear, media sensationalism, militancy, Philippines, political psyche, projection, psychohistory, split consciousness, suicide

Informed by psychoanalysis, the article attempts to navigate the Filipino split consciousness concerning the nature and consequences of anti-corruption protests and to investigate how the psychological reactions to the alienating conditions bred by corruption and state repression are historically determined. Anger and fear are interpreted as historically conditioned emotions driving public responses, revealing psychohistorical dynamics surrounding the anti-corruption protests and the government’s reaction to public dissent.

anxiety, burnout, collective grieving, cultural numbness, educational pressure, empathy deficit, healing, identity, psychohistory, psychosocial, psychotherapy, social apathy, student suicide in India, therapeutic vision

This article argues that the alarming rate of student suicides in India is not merely an individual psychological crisis but a symptom of a deeply troubled and apathetic society. The author offers a therapeutic vision, emphasizing the need for a shift from a culture of emotional numbness to one of empathic attunement and collective grieving, advocating for communal rituals of healing that have been lost to the modern world.

civil liberties, counterterrorism, crime, demonization, Donald Trump, exaggeration, fear, fearmongering, gun violence, military industrial complex, psychohistory, World War II (WWII)

This paper examines the many consequential events driven by fears that are either exaggerated or fictional. Some historical examples, from World War II to the present, are discussed.

algorithmic amplification, anger, collective anxiety, curated fear, emotional regulation, fear, healing, manufactured fear, neurobiology, polarization, psychoanalysis, psychohistory, reality testing, resilience, The Truman Show

This article examines fear as a psycho-neuro-historical phenomenon that has shifted from an adaptive biological signal to a manufactured and curated condition of contemporary life. Drawing on The Truman Show as a central metaphor, it analyzes how modern media ecosystems, technological amplification, and selective information flows overwhelm the nervous system regulation, distort reality testing, and fuel individual anxiety and anger, and collective polarization. Integrating neurobiology, psychoanalysis, history, and lived examples, the article explores how recognizing curated fear enables resilience, self-regulation capacity, and pathways toward individual and social healing.

childhood lessons, coping techniques, critical thinking, death rehearsal, emotional processing, fear, free association, frightening information, healing, intrapsychic process, interpersonal relationships, manipulation, mass hysteria, misinformation, political fears, psychohistory

The author describes “death rehearsal,” an anguished intrapsychic “dry run,” in which catastrophic outcomes are imagined in vivid detail to manage fear, seek meaning, and mobilize action. Drawing on a war-baby sensibility, clinical experience, and the “Chicken Little” fable, she contrasts critical thinking and reality-testing with panic, misinformation, and manipulation. The essay maps interpersonal and self-regulatory pathways, from free association to coping techniques, toward healing, hope, and dignity amid real threats.

autobiography, fear, ghost stories, poetry, political terror, psychobiography, psychohistory, trauma, World War II (WWII)

In the Italian Dolomites-once Austro-Hungarian-Peter Petschauer spent a postwar summer watching over five cows at the mountain hut of the family who sheltered him during WWII. The frightening ghost stories told by a wandering old man, trading tales for food and shelter, never left him.

advertising, anger, anxiety, artificial intelligence (AI), childhood, Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Donald Trump, economic uncertainty, Elon Musk, family history, job insecurity, media influence, personality, policy instability, psychohistory

The speed of change today leaves people overwhelmed and frightened. Technology such as AI disrupts society and causes uncertainty as people now must question the difference between fantasy and reality. The attack by Trump and Musk on the Civil Service has further disrupted society and created enormous anxiety and fear as well as anger. The author relates the increase of these feelings to Trump’s childhood, family history, personality, and policies.

conscience, Dutch World War II (WWII) resistance, ethical conflict, fearlessness, Freddie Oversteegen, Hannie Schaft, moral courage, poetry, psychohistory, transgenerational transmission, Truus Oversteegen, underground movement

Inspired by Freddie and Truus Oversteegen and Hannie Schaft, teenage members of the Dutch WWII resistance, this poem reflects fearlessness as moral formation. Raised by a mother who hid Jewish families, the girls learned early how conscience, courage, and history are transmitted across generations.

Canadian politics, Donald Trump, despair, fear, hatred, hypervigilance, identity, mental health, National Identity, outrage, populism, prejudice, psychoanalysis, psychohistory, punitive, rage, vindictive

This article captures a Canadian psychoanalytic response to Donald Trump’s 51st state threats. It identifies Canadian rage as reflective of despair and efforts to assert power against a vastly outsized aggressor. Key themes include loss of a cherished friendship and permanently damaged trust, burgeoning hopelessness in the face of looming chaos south of the border, and fear that American populism will inspire similarly exploitative politicians in Canada seeking to consolidate authority.

abandonment, clinical psychoanalysis, collective violence, emotional meaning, extremism, humiliation, identity formation, interpersonal violence, meditation, psychic annihilation, psychic injury, psychohistory, scapegoating, trauma

This article explores hate as a psychological response to injury rather than solely a moral, political, or ideological failing. Drawing on clinical material and psychohistorical examples, it argues that hate often functions as a defense against unbearable emotional states such as humiliation, abandonment, and psychic annihilation. Integrating psycho-analytic and meditative perspectives, the article examines how unacknowledged suffering can fuel cycles of interpersonal and collective violence and how disciplined attention to meaning may help interrupt them.

American gun culture, abuse, bullying, childhood neglect, early-onset schizophrenia, gun violence, isolation, marginalization, mental health care, psychohistory, psychosis, radicalization, school shootings, undiagnosed psychiatric illness

Our team’s research suggests the importance of using early mental health care to appropriately treat children who are suffering from undiagnosed mental illness, abuse, and isolation. There is a need for more of an interdisciplinary approach involving families, school counselors, law enforcement, mental health workers, and lawyers to secure appropriate psychiatric treatment for children with mental illnesses who are marginalized and may have a higher risk of violence.

bullying, Columbine, gun violence, mass shootings, poem, psychobiography, psychohistory

The inspiration for this poem came from the tragedy of Columbine and the writer’s experience of being bullied throughout his school years.

academic research, cultural fragmentation, existential anxiety, gun control, identity construction, intervention, mental health services, psychohistory, safe environments, serial shootings, violence prevention

While serial shootings dominate public concern, violence takes many forms-stabbings, beatings, and bombings among them. Yet response efforts have skewed toward intervention over prevention. This essay argues for a preventative approach: safe households, schools, workplaces, and communities, supported by mental health services, research, and education.

cultural continuity, cultural rhythm, food culture, identity, individualization, modern self, psychohistory, psychology of eating, ritual, scarcity, tradition, transnational experience

The collapse of food traditions in modern Western societies fragments the self. Drawing on personal experience across Bulgaria, Italy, and the U.S., this essay examines how food rituals-once inherited, now self-managed-reveal the fractures in identity, memory, and belonging.

book review, deradicalization, destructive behavior, D. W. Winnicott, extremism, identity conflicts, Nina Cerfolio, psychoanalysis, Psychoanalytic and Spiritual Perspectives on Terrorism: Desire for Destruction, psychological motivation, radical ideologies, trauma

book review, case studies, cultural patterns, empathy, Jeffrey B. Rubin, mindfulness, moral imagination, psychoanalysis, psychohistory, Psychotherapy Case Studies: Escaping the Prison You Didn’t Know You Were In, self-cure, transference, trauma

Jeffrey B. Rubin’s Psychotherapy Case Studies bridges psychoanalysis, mindfulness, and moral imagination. Through 13 luminous cases, Rubin shows how empathy and meaning release patients from “self-cures” that once protected them but now confine. His ten principles form an ethic of listening and presence that speaks not only to therapy but to psychohistory’s deeper task: exploring the why of human behavior-how private adaptations echo collective ones and shape history’s recurring dramas.

book review, David P. Celani, developmental arrest, dissociation, identity defense, mindfulness, moral defense, object relations, psychoanalysis, psychohistory, psychological defenses, Ronald Fairbairn, Ronald Fairbairn: A Contemporary Introduction, trauma

David P. Celani’s Ronald Fairbairn: A Contemporary Introduction reintroduces the Scottish object-relations pioneer to psychohistorians. By weaving Fairbairn’s biography with an accessible exposition of his relational model, Celani shows how early relationships, trauma, and developmental arrest shape personality and offers a framework for exploring individual and collective motives in history.