129: The Reasons Why Everyone Feels More Anxious Nowadays

In this episode, I cover why chaos feels so familiar and why we keep getting pulled into it even when it makes us anxious.



Today’s uncertainty from news, politics, money issues, AI, and climate change mirror the unpredictability many of us grew up with. That early wiring can make us attracted to chaos, even as it increases our alarm. The pull of distraction, overstimulation, and loneliness keep the body’s alarm system activated… but what helps? Reconnecting with the younger version of ourselves who didn’t feel safe, meeting their needs now, and finding ways to calm our alarm from the inside, no matter what’s happening in the world — this is a good place to start.

You’ll Learn:

• Why uncertainty in world events can spike old childhood anxiety
• What happens when distraction and overstimulation become your nervous system’s default state
• The link between growing up in chaos and feeling drawn to global chaos today
• Why financial stress often triggers a survival-level alarm in people raised with scarcity
• How AI and not knowing what’s real can recreate the same insecurity you felt as a child
• The quiet damage of loneliness, even when you’re surrounded by people
• Why accepting love and connection can be harder than you think
• How climate change anxiety taps into early feelings of helplessness and grief
• The specific practices that help you reparent the part of you that never felt safe
• Why real relief comes from changing your inner world, not waiting for the outer world to calm down

Timestamps:

[00:00] Introduction

[02:00] Why uncertainty fuels anxiety by mirroring childhood chaos

[07:36] How childhood scarcity shapes money anxiety and safety beliefs

[09:41] How AI fatigue and overstimulation trigger old childhood fears

[12:19] How healing loneliness through self-connection reduces anxiety

[15:11] How climate grief and ancestral trauma mirror childhood powerlessness

[18:43] How connecting with your inner child creates peace in a chaotic world

Resources Mentioned:

Anxiety Rx by Russell Kennedy | Book or Audiobook

Find more from Russell:

Russell Kennedy | LinkedIn

Russell Kennedy | Facebook

The Anxiety MD | Website

The Anxiety MD | Instagram

The Anxiety MD | YouTube