Community Corner

Ask Dr. Mike: Government Crises Weigh on the Public's Anxiety

The shutdown, an election and continue sequestration, among other things, take their toll.

Back to work. How does that make you feel?

Once again, we as a nation narrowly escaped a catastrophe. It’s been a couple weeks since the government shut down ended and everyone is back to work and happy, right? Perhaps for some, but perhaps not for many.

“I feel like a pawn on a chest board,” and “I just worked for two weeks while others got a two week paid vacation” and “the problem isn’t over, it’s just been punted forward six weeks” and “what crisis, it’s all about political posturing and ego” and “nothing is certain anymore, so why bother getting upset” and “I don’t matter, I’m non-essential.” These are just a handful of the many comments I’ve heard from clients over our most recent political emergency. 

Find out what's happening in Ashburnwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

As a psychologist in the DC area, I have directly witnessed the psychological impact of politics on those within and outside the beltway for years now. Throughout that time, the reactions and comments of my clients have changed, and for the most part, so too it seems has their hope. In 2008, the majority of my clients were understandably very upset and anxious in response to the economic crash. And when gas climbed over $4 a gallon for the first time, again, comments of upset and anxiety entered the therapy space. But with the sequestration and the fiscal cliff and now this more recent government shutdown and debt ceiling, rather than anger, comments of apathy, helplessness and resignation have been voiced most prominently.

While I acknowledge that being so close to DC may skew or exaggerate the sentiment that’s been expressed in my office, I also believe that the opinions I’ve heard largely represent how so many of us feel across the country. I would go so far as to say that as a nation, with each passing crisis, we are experiencing a process of attrition to the collective psyche where learned helplessness is becoming the new normal.

Find out what's happening in Ashburnwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In the 1960s, psychologist Martine Seligman discovered that if you expose an animal to an adverse stimulus repeatedly with no opportunity for escape, eventually that animal will stop trying to avoid the stimulus and will behave as if he is helpless over his situation. That same animal will also then not try to escape even when opportunities for escape are presented. For the animals in those studies, the belief that their own behavior could not influence what would happen to them was defined by Seligman and his colleagues as learned helplessness. 

While human beings are certainly more complex than rats and dogs, one could argue that the same phenomenon has been occurring for many of us and that we are now feeling, with each passing crisis, less and less essential and in control of our lives. For example, when someone believes that he has control over his efforts and outcome that person might think, “If I work hard at my job, I will be recognized and maybe even promoted,” or “I will have greater security and more options if I save and invest wisely over time.” To the contrary, I think many now feel less confident in the belief that hard work and devotion alone will pay off; instead, many have been left to feel that they have little control over their jobs or their savings or their future.

So, as I’ve listened to all of the media coverage, my clients and the conversational commentary of my friends and family over the past several weeks, I’m surprised that so much focus and attention has been given to the financial impact for those involved with little to no consideration on how helpless so many feel. A financially depressed America is indeed a bad thing. However, an America that has been, and continues to be, emotionally depressed is equally bad.

Dr. Oberschneider is with Ashburn Psychological and Psychiatric Services. Send questions to moberschneider@hotmail.com.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here