Anxiety Due To Climate Change

Identified by Dr Karl Landsteiner in 1901, the most common antigens are A and B, and a person with type O blood has neither of the antigens, while some have both of them (Type AB).

Another antigen called RhD was discovered in 1937.

Currently, we have 36 systems to categorize blood types and 346 different antigens, whose exact purpose still remains unknown.

In the Middle Age, one only needed to have reached the age for puberty in order to be able to get married.

Furthermore, the parents' approval was not even necessary. However, rules like asking for your landlord's consent or marrying only persons from the same class were given a lot of importance.

Back in the Middle Age, the consent to get married could be either verbal or physical. Sexual intercourse counted as physical consent.

On the other hand, giving your word to marry somebody or offering a gift to that person, even without having a sexual relationship, would also lead to marriage.

In Western culture, people tend to interpret current events negatively, while we tend to remember the positive experiences of the past.

Frightening things have happened in the past too and before the current pandemic, the majority of Americans already believed the country was going downhill.

• According to a 2017 survey, respondents who consumed excessive news reported lost sleep, stress, anxiety, and fatigue.
• In 1968, a study found a direct correlation between time spent watching television and the likelihood that the watcher will perceive the world more dangerous. Viewers who watch violent television shows generally believe violence is common in reality.

However, the effects of media aren't always negative. It depends on the medium of consumption and how you use it. Actively engaging in positive conversations with friends and family can have a positive effect. Lurking or scrolling through updates without engaging has a negative psychological impact.

We hate being wrong, but mistakes often teach us the most and allow us to innovate.

Think of the pros and cons of trying something and then free yourself to do it. If it doesn't work, take what you learn, and try something else. 

The persona of the fool allows the truth to be told, without the usual ramifications that might come with speaking against social conventions. Give yourself permission to be a fool and see things for what they really are.

Sticking to your commitment and progress even in the face of rejection is a good way to cope up with rejection, even if one has to blame the other party.

Blaming is not a good option, but it serves the purpose if we absorb the lesson and continue trying.

Just remember that failure in one area of life does not reflect your overall self-worth and value.

You have a lot going on. If the other person said ‘no’ to your proposal, or you got rejected in that interview, it is not the end of the world, just an obstacle that is providing you with valuable lessons.

When people know what the result of taking a pill is supposed to be, they might unconsciously change their reaction to cause that result or report that result has taken place even if it hasn't.

However, studies show that a placebo doesn't trick the brain - the brain reacts differently to a drug than a placebo. A 2004 study showed that the expectation of pain relief causes the brain's relief system to activate.

Placebos are often used in clinical drug trials to determine how well a potential medicine will work.

• There are two different groups of subjects in a placebo-controlled trial - one receives the experimental drug and the other the placebo. Neither researchers nor subjects know which group is receiving the real drug or the placebo.
• Some researchers are questioning the placebo-controlled trial. Not everyone thinks a drug is ineffective if the placebo performs better.
• Other critics of the placebo-controlled trial state it's wrong to attribute all positive outcomes to the placebo because many illnesses can resolve without any treatment.
• When a patient takes a placebo and experiences adverse side effects, it's called a nocebo effect. Patients taking active drugs have also been known to have side effects that can't be directly attributed to the drug.

We overestimate threats that are less likely but easier to remember, like terrorism, and underestimate more complex threats, like climate change.

We are very bad at understanding statistical trends and long-term changes, because we have evolved to pay attention to immediate threats. 

Evolutionary theory suggests that we care most about just a few generations of family members: our great-grandparents to great-grandchildren. 

While we may understand what needs to be done to address climate change, it’s hard for us to see how the sacrifices required for generations existing beyond this short time span are worth it.

Our existence is invaded by science and technology as never before. For many of us, this brings comfort and rewards, but this existence is also more complicated and sometimes agitated.

Our lives are full of real and imaginary risks, and distinguishing between them isn’t easy. We have to be able to decide what to believe and how to act on that.

“Science is not a body of facts. Science is a method for deciding whether what we choose to believe has a basis in the laws of nature or not.”