Future Shocked

By the time I read Alvin Toffler’s book, Future Shock, I had spent over 150 hours in therapy. I had been suffering from panic disorder with agoraphobia and major depression, and my weekly sessions, which began in 1973 with a psychiatrist who eventually showed himself to be a predator, did nothing to improve my mental health. As a matter of fact, I continued to deteriorate, especially as my life continued to fall apart.

Toffler wrote his book in 1970, and it ended up hitting a lot of nerves. The premise of Toffler’s book was that, as he argued, the rapid advancements in technology would be too much for humans and would cause anxiety and other mental health issues and social ills.

“To survive, to avert what we have termed future shock, the individual must become infinitely more adaptable and capable than ever before. We must search out totally new ways to anchor ourselves, for all the old roots - religion, nation, community, family, or profession - are now shaking under the hurricane impact of the accelerative thrust. It is no longer resources that limit decisions, it is the decision that makes the resources.”
― Alvin Toffler, Future Shock

He gained much monetary reward when his book hit the bestseller lists, and, in reading about his life post-publication, I got the feeling he didn’t sit around worrying too much about the future. It seems he thoroughly enjoyed the money he made.

But his book increased my own symptoms of anxiety. I was sure I would be one who would not be able to cope with the changes in technology that were coming for all of us at lightning speed. And this was twenty-five years before the Internet ended up in ordinary households.

When I first read Toffler’s book, I was a new convert to evangelical Christianity. I believed attending church helped me make meaning of the trauma I had experienced thus far in life, but, at the same time, it also hindered any gains I might make in my personal mental health. I write about that in my Substack pieces in Another Think Coming, and I also wrote about it for The New Evangelicals on Substack. You can click to read one at the bottom of this post.

I did eventually overcome my symptoms and enjoy life again. Still, I was surprised when the 1990s hit, and I actually fell in love with all the latest innovations. The Internet! A dream! The ability to have phones in our pockets! In love with that one! I went all in. I designed a few websites. I began blogging. I became available for phone calls no matter where I was and what I was doing. In the middle of a class? I simply stepped out of the room. In the grocery store? How fun to have a friend “walk” the aisles with me as we caught up on our “cells.”

I don’t think my ancestor Huldah Prior dealt with quite the same things, although she must have had her share of things to be anxious about.

Eventually, due to brain surgery, I had to stop my education at brick-and-mortar schools, and I finished a master’s degree online. Oh, I loved technology…it allowed me to fulfill my dreams. I fell head over heels with all of it. I’m still using it to fulfill dreams. I have learned how to use Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator in online courses. I’ve learned how to paint in watercolor and oils by taking classes on the Internet. Since I have lived in rural communities with no access to learning these things in any of the towns I’ve lived in, the Internet is something I’ve really used and enjoyed.

For many years, once I overcame my initial symptoms, I lived without too much anxiety plaguing my psyche. During the anxiety-free years, I learned to windsurf, mountain bike in the hills of Montana D’ Oro, and took sailing lessons. I drove the California freeways, and spent time living by myself. I felt truly free for the first time in my life. Eventually, I met and married a wonderful man.

Even so, eventually, the anxiety crept back in.

First, six years into the marriage, a major accident and serious health issues caused me to lose much of my independence. Then COVID hit, and we were all put on lockdown. My husband and I lost four friends to Covid, while old friends in other states insisted it was a conspiracy meant to control people. We were ready to retire and put our business up for sale, only to inadvertently sell it to a crook who stole from the business and almost ruined us (thank God for an iron-clad contract).

We took the business back, but then had to continue running it and sell it again. That took a few more years.

Then the ceiling in our family room caved in when the pipe between the upstairs bathroom rusted out (the house was built in 1886…no telling when the bathrooms were added). We lived in our driveway in our 5^th wheel as an unethical contractor took months and a lot of our money fixing it. Then we put our house up for sale so we could move. We finally got all moved in to our new place when the water pipes broke, and the county forced us to build a new septic field. We fixed that, and soon after, I found out that my brain tumor started growing again and that the second brain surgery I had had was probably unwarranted in the first place.

Then, Donald Trump won a second term.

It was all too much. My anxiety issues went through the roof. I wasn’t having the same problems I had during my twenties. I do not suffer anxiety attacks, agoraphobia, or depression. But there’s an underlying feeling I can’t shake. I am constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop.

I think about why I am feeling so much more anxiety these days, and it’s all pretty obvious, but there’s also the issue of future shock. All the talk about AI, and how I’ve seen it used so far, the environmental impact of building the data centers, the talk of UFOs, ICE raids, Palantir, Project 2025, another war, and the list goes on. Things are truly scary. I’m no longer afraid for myself and my own life. My life is almost over. I worry about my grandchildren and my great-grandchildren…those sweet kids who are growing up in this new world. I fear for them. And there is not much I can do about any of it.

But I have been doing “all the things” I can think of. I limit my news and don’t read any corporate news at all. I rest. I cook. I read. I make art. I allow myself to be quiet. Even so, when I wake in the night, I think, “ When is the other shoe going to drop?”

There are some basic things to concentrate on. The most important are the people in my life. My family and friends. It’s important to help people less fortunate. I need to continue to do my part in helping the planet…no matter how small my efforts may seem. I can spend more time outdoors (summer in Montana is coming!) Most of this I already do.

Some other things will help. I can cultivate resilience by learning more about the technologies that cause me fear and pinpoint ways to make any difference I can.

Even though there are things about technology I love, I can purposefully limit my time behind screens and move towards experiencing “real life” in ways I may be neglecting.

I can spend more time with real people instead of so many online friends, even though I love those dearly too.

I can identify my own personal values and strive to live within them.

I can begin to talk about these issues with my adult children and help identify ways that they can help build resilience in their own children and grandchildren. I think this will be increasingly important as time marches on.

I have been reading about a movement towards slower living. People are getting off their screens as much as possible, unplugging from the news, going back to analog letter writing, and some are getting “dumb phones.” I have thought about all of this and tried some of it. I wrote several longhand letters months ago, but I haven’t received any answers. This is a busy time for everyone. Something like that may not catch on enough to make a difference, but the sentiment is a good one.

I’ve thought about things like our personal gas consumption (but since I can no longer drive, my control is limited in that regard). I could quit buying on Amazon, but I am a disabled woman living in a town of 1000. There are no book stores, and not much in the way of clothing. Most important to me, there are no art supply stores. Many doctor appointments are an hour away. It’s challenging. But there are small things I do. No one-off plastic water bottles. No big plastic laundry detergent bottles. Refill where I can, etc.

I wonder if the most important thing, right now, is to have conversations with our family. Asking questions to check in with the younger generation about how they may be experiencing future shock within themselves, and having helpful conversations about how we can choose to live our lives in ways we can feel good about, may be the most important contribution we can make.

Here’s the article I just wrote for The New Evangelical about faith and mental health: Click here

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