How You Can Fight Anxiety by Writing and Reaching out to Your Community

The next video chat for paid subscribers is scheduled for Thursday, December 19th at 2PM

Hello Friends!

Today I have the opportunity to give a presentation on the Inca trail at my daughter’s high school. I’m looking forward to it, it’s been about a year since I’ve given a formal talk to a group of people. It’s for Spanish class, so I’ll get to practice my extemporaneous speech in Spanish. It will be interesting to see how much the kids understand.

Later tonight, I have to attend both my younger daughter’s basketball practice and my eldest daughter’s piano recital.

I’m happy to stay busy because I’m still feeling a ton of anxiety about the election result. Thankfully, I’m having longer periods where I feel somewhat normal. But then I still get moments when I feel physically sick, or I want to cry.

There are a lot of things about what we’re facing that bother me on a profound level. It’s heartbreaking the number of people that are going to be made to suffer if the administration goes through with the mass deportation plan they’ve been floating around in the media. I understand they like to “make jokes” about human suffering, so our only hope is that they don’t actually intended to put into practice the horrible things they’re saying.

But we deserve leaders who are more responsible with their words. The horrible things they’re saying are causing a lot of anxiety.

Threats to platforms

I’ve also spent a lot of time thinking about the threats to free speech. I’m far down the list in terms of people who have been critical, or have spoken out against concepts like white supremacy and racism. Isn’t it sad to think that making a stand against those injustices could make you a target of the U.S. government?

A more present fear is that a billionaire who wants to control all narratives will purchase Substack and shut me down. I’ve spent my whole life as a writer, but until I found Medium and Substack, it was a tremendous struggle to find an audience. I landed my first book contract when I was around 35, but small presses never have a marketing budget.

It disturbs me how much the narrative is already controlled in our country. I know there are a lot of people out there longing to hear a thought that they agree with. Instead, we get blasted by the same three or four talking heads who try to browbeat us with the same nonsensical, contradictory message.

I often feel like Evey Hammond in V for Vendetta. She finds a scrap of writing on a piece of toilet paper hidden in the wall, and it completely changes her life. That meager piece of evidence becomes the seed of confidence which allows her to believe she’s not alone and that she’s not wrong.

That’s the sentiment I wish to express to my readers: YOU’RE NOT ALONE. YOU’RE NOT WRONG!

Believe me, I consider it a great privilege to get up in the morning and have the ability to write to all of you. Right now my subscriber count stands at 4,764. Thank you!

I feel as if I’m settling into a nice rhythm right now. Substack has nice growth features, and I feel compelled to get as much as possible out of them as quickly as possible in case this platform gets shut down.

I’ve already had discussions with my writer friends about what we’d have to do if either of the platforms we work on get shut down by a hostile government or hostile billionaires. In that case, I’d likely have to import my email list into another platform.

I’m taking as much of my anxiety as possible and turning it into writing and expansion. If I have to jump platforms, I hope you’re all able to come with me. I really want to keep doing this, and frankly I don’t want to live in a world where people aren’t afforded the benefit of alternate perspectives.

However, if my work should be reduced to nothing more than words written on a scrap of toilet paper shoved into the wall, I’ll be content if the right person finds those words and feels empowered.

“Your account is being investigated”

Sometimes bots steal your profile picture to try and scam people

A writer I worked with recently forwarded me a message that said Medium was investigating her account. This is the second time I’ve seen something like this, so I want to say a few words to help you manage your anxiety should you get that notification.

One of the things I really love about Medium is that they are excellent at removing fake accounts. But even with their diligence, I see cloned accounts frequently. People or bots will take my profile picture and create a fake account. Then they’ll leave comments pretending to be me and direct them to a link. You can tell these are fake because they have zero followers, but it’s still easy to get drawn in.

Medium shuts them down usually within a day. The problem is that in order to have a security system that can quickly address these accounts, sometimes real accounts get caught up in the net.

Yes, it can make you go into a panic if you see a “your account is under investigation” notification. But my advice is that you sit tight, and you’ll likely get a follow up message containing an apology within a day or two.

If the platform was less secure, we’d have more bots. From my perspective, Medium is better than almost any other platform at removing fraudulent accounts. In order to enjoy the benefit of having fewer bot accounts, we have to endure the extra diligence of the platform. It’s a trade-off.

Video chat for paid subscribers

The next video chat is scheduled for Thursday, December 19th at 2PM Central time. As always, I’ll send the link via chat on the Substack app. This will be a question and answer session. I’m mixing up the time because a few readers have mentioned Thursday would be more convenient. If you want to come to the chat, please upgrade to a paid sponsorship at any level and you’ll have access to the link.

Thanks so much for your support! I appreciate being able to share my thoughts with all of you!

All of these discounts are forever.

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