Written on January 4, 2026
The results
I am very surprised by the results. I only gave four answers, Never, Rarely, Usually, and Always. I did not expect this distribution! I thought most people would be spread between Never and Rarely, but Rarely and Always were tied for second, and Usually won!
But I wonder how much people were exaggerating. I wonder if they just wanted to feel heard, to have their anxiety recognized, so they emphasized the existence of their anxiety.
Bonus Question
I added a bonus question of how you solve being anxious, to anyone who wanted to answer it. These are their conversational answers.
One young man said when he was feeling anxious, he would tell his friends about whatever was making him anxious, not to burden them with it, but to let it out of him, to let it escape. I think this is why it's calling venting.
The first person to put Never was a rather flamboyant young man, who said it was because he just has great confidence.
Another young man, who wrote Always, said that his way of coping with it is to call 911, which increases it for a little while, and then it goes away for a bit.
One person said they would draw as an outlet to calm them.
Others said they listen to music to reduce anxiety.
Some said they would exercise or go for a walk to calm down.
One young woman's answer was that she reminds herself that it doesn't really matter what other people think of you in an interaction, because they're going to forget about it shortly after anyway. Or at least this is what I remember from our rather long conversation.
An old woman asked if I ever asked anyone why they are anxious. When I asked her why, she said mostly because of politics. She said her solution is to donate to political causes and do her part.
One thing she said that stuck out to me is that most people have a sense that God is watching them but not that God loves them. This gives us a sense of fear of judgment, a constant anxiety. In my experience this is all too true. And it makes sense theologically, since that's the point of this life, is to be tested and see whether we will do good trusting that God loves us while knowing that he judges us. I am glad I met her.
Where today's idea came from
This morning, as I was sitting at Panera, I suddenly had strong anxiety. It gave me the idea for today's survey, as I wanted to know how many other people felt the same way.
Anxiety is something I have always struggled with, and so it's something I think about all the time. I especially feel very anxious after a particularly bad social interaction. When it gets very bad, I utter short prayers, even in public sometimes, which I suppose some people may have noticed. The other answers above have helped me, too.
It seems that anxiety is really just fear. We're afraid of certain things. Some people's answers today helped distinguish the types of anxiety we have. We're anxious about finances, or relationships, or we have social anxiety, or just general anxiety.
Strange thrift find
Perhaps it's relevant to share a rather strange thrift find from a few weeks ago. I found a diary or journal that was mostly empty. But the first maybe 3 pages were filled with diary entries from 2015, about an anonymous person who was struggling with heroin addiction and recovery, possibly as part of rehab. The last entry was just a reminder not to miss a 10:30 am appointment.
I bought it just to get it off the shelf of the thrift store. I've met some people who I think might like to have this book from an artistic perspective, and I was planning to offer it to one of them. But each time I saw them, I forgot about it. So I think it's a sign from God that I should use it somehow. I have an idea.
Book update
For a while now, I've wondered if I should turn this into a book, and I have decided to go forward with it.
It will be a compilation of my surveys, their results, the conversations, and my own thoughts on the subjects, along with stories of the people who tried to mug me while I stood out there, along with other odd people, bizarre interactions, and dangerous situations.
Here's the tenative cover, though I might have to change it due to copyright laws:
