This is the first in a series of articles about self-control. In this article I describe the loss of impulse control in our ability for civilized discourse. This is a description of what it feels like to me when so many in society lose self-control.

There is a word that my spouse’s family uses (from a Disney movie) to describe the morass of color that happens when you mix up all of the paint colors of the rainbow: skillagamink. It’s that unappetizing brownish greyish mud of color that lacks vibrance and clarity with miasmic properties that is off-putting although not necessarily upsetting.

Too many times I read posts, ideas and articles that espouse a vision of the world that is simplistic and black and white. Extreme ideas seem intuitively inviting, and yet on in-depth inspection are often found wanting. Ideas that sometimes lead to endpoints that are harmful and dehumanizing, especially toward a person holding an alternative opinion or belief. This article looks at the psychological benefit of extreme thinking.

The pandemic has not only affected many of us physically, but it is impacting on many more of us emotionally. We are scared of the uncertainty, of not knowing when this will end. What can we do during this time to more easily cope with our anxiety?

One of the most challenging aspects of the how we are being asked to deal with Covid-19 is the emphasis on “social distancing”. As we know, the idea here is that we are meant to physically separate ourselves in order to reduce the likelihood of becoming infected.