Transcript of an interview with me, which took place on the topic of fear of the future on Czech Television 1, Studio 6, on February 24, 2025, from 6:50 AM. Supplemented with some information that wasn’t covered in the interview. After this transcript follows a brief summary of the main points of the interview in bullet points, which is supplemented with a few points that didn’t fit into the interview (particularly concerning: causes of our fear, what to do with this fear, working with media, communication with children).
Note: The transcript of the interview slightly adjusts some phrasings – e.g., word order is gently modified when it was incorrect, repetitive words are omitted. The meaning was left unchanged. The changes are kept to an absolute minimum.
Link: https://www.ceskatelevize.cz/porady/1096902795-studio-6/225411010100224/cast/1098536 (or in the complete Studio 6 from 52:10 min).
Interview of Aleš Neusar with a Czech Television reporter on Studio 6
Reporter: The Russian invasion of Ukraine that has been going on for exactly three years today, but also the conflict in the Middle East, the dynamic development of artificial intelligence, or climate change. These are all topics that can negatively affect a person’s mental health every day and bring fears about the future. At least partially, a person can seemingly fight against discomfort. Let’s say, with small things, physiological processes that lead to improved mood, such as spending time in nature. Daylight can also help, as can completing a small task that a person sets for themselves. Happiness is also increased by dark chocolate, laughter, and physical contact with people or animals. We’re continuing with this topic now, our guest is Aleš Neusar, psychologist from the Department of Psychology at the University of Ostrava. Good morning.
Aleš Neusar: Good morning.
Reporter: What kinds of pressures are currently negatively affecting people?
Aleš Neusar: Well, we have it a bit complicated now because we really have a lot of things going on. We have a war next door, something is happening in Slovakia, and also the development of AI that you mentioned. So there are really many things that are sort of collapsing, or that are changing at present, so there really is that multiplicative effect.
Reporter: And do you yourself observe in your practice that the number of people who are afraid of what is happening in the world, who simply really have a fear of the future, is increasing?
Aleš Neusar: Definitely yes, but on the other hand, we must say that these people have always been here. When, for example, the year 2000 was approaching, people were afraid of the turn of the millennium. It just changes, and really now there’s a bit more of it. Elections in America, who won, and so on. So now there’s more of it, more concerns about how things will work. So indeed, we have it a little more complicated now, and the counseling centers, including mine, are of course filling up with such people.
Reporter: It happens that the fear of the future becomes a frequent topic of some conversations among groups of friends, perhaps also on social media, so does it help to share these concerns with them? Or, on the contrary, should a person avoid such groups?
Aleš Neusar: Well, that’s a pretty difficult question, but thank you for it. Sharing certainly helps. However, the question is where we share, because precisely those groups on social media tend to rather polarize and somewhat extremize those opinions. If we share in a group where we will discuss various possibilities rationally, for example, as you just had Steven Pinker in Hyde Park, that although the world appears to be deteriorating, in reality, it’s not. Yes, we have more wars now, but most indicators have been improving in recent years. So if we talk more rationally and abandon our natural irrationality, which is, of course, very close to us, then it can even improve. Unfortunately, in those social groups or in those small groups, we tend rather to become more extreme and to confirm the opinions we already have, which often may not be helpful at all.
Reporter: How can a person recognize that they would really be helped by psychotherapy?
Aleš Neusar: Well, it’s hard to say, I myself am a therapist. Perhaps simply put, if you already feel that you can’t handle it on your own. If you feel that your life can’t continue like this, you can’t handle work, you can’t handle relationships, then at that moment it’s probably time for psychological or some other kind of help.
Reporter: As I already said in the introduction, it helps to focus on some everyday life on small, minor joys. However, how can a person measure this, if the small joys seem, let’s say in comparison with those negative news, trivial?
Aleš Neusar: Well, this is kind of a soldier’s syndrome, or when someone comes to my counseling center, which I can’t name of course, and they’ve experienced war in Afghanistan or Kosovo, then it seems to them, for example, that their wife buying a handbag is completely nonsensical. But we actually have to consciously try to force ourselves to see the good as well and actually to somewhat give up media, to go on a bit of an information diet, to check the media less. Maybe once, twice a day and not eighteen times, because, of course, the world and news, you know, are focused more on the new and negative. Consider that the world is constantly improving, as Steven Pinker says, for instance, but it typically improves in small steps, so over 30 years. Take, I don’t know, child mortality, a lot of diseases, mortality from certain types of cancer. That has improved incredibly, but the big disasters like wars, regime changes, and so on, that happens very often, very quickly, or very unexpectedly, so we also need to change our perspective a little bit and force ourselves to somewhat deceive our system, which is, of course, evolutionarily set to fear the new. However, how many times in life have we feared a regime change, or that fascism will come, or God knows what. In most cases, it didn’t happen. Please, I’m not saying that it can’t happen this time. Definitely not. I’m not a false optimist.
Reporter: What good habits could a person incorporate into everyday life to actually bring that joy through those small things and maybe even set themselves up for it?
Aleš Neusar: Well, one of the things is, for example, the selection of media. I, for instance, do it so that I select various media, each a bit different, and so I piece it together. And at the same time, I don’t overdo it. Another thing apart from the media is, of course, to detach from them as well. Breathing exercises. Going into nature to quiet the organism. Consider that our organism, our soul is constantly tormented by what’s happening in Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, America, COVID, and so on. We’re not capable of handling this. So we need to distance ourselves from it as well. Of course, some meditation exercise, mindfulness helps with this. Or Daniel Siegel talks about “Awake” (D.S.’s book), that there are various techniques for increasing some distance from what is happening. Focus more on our body. I don’t know, relaxation and so on. Give yourself some rituals during the day, that, let’s say, when we get up, we don’t follow the news for half an hour to an hour. We think about what we want to do that day, because even if there’s a war in Ukraine, we still need to take our children to school. I still have to go here to Ostrava, to work at the university, where I’m teaching today. Then I’ll be returning to Olomouc, to my counseling office and home. So life simply continues.
Reporter: Is it important to be aware of, let’s say, things for which a person can be grateful?
Aleš Neusar: Definitely, sure, so that’s one of the most classic exercises that Martin Seligman, the founder of positive psychology, came up with. The one where before you go to sleep, you say three things that went well that day and you also say how you perhaps contributed to it. Yeah, a small exercise, but it turns out that in the short term it has no effect, but when you do this for, let’s say, 3, 4, 5 months, you find that you have a slightly better view of the world. And being a moderate optimist, I’m not saying to overdo it, simply helps us, because we can’t constantly pessimistically see only the bad things, because there are, of course, and will be a terribly lot of them. The world is neither good nor bad, and it’s up to us what we will choose from it.
Reporter: Reminds psychologist Aleš Neusar. Thank you very much for the interview, for your advice, have a nice day, and goodbye.
Aleš Neusar: Thanks, goodbye.
Brief, Slightly Expanded Summary of the Main Points of the Interview in Bullet Points
Some Causes of Concerns
Multiplicative effect of current crises
- People are not experiencing just one crisis, but their overlap – geopolitical tension, economic uncertainty, climate change
- This overlap creates in many people a feeling that “everything is suddenly collapsing”
- The brain tends to create catastrophic scenarios when it sees multiple threats simultaneously
- AI, VR, etc. development, which we don’t know where it will continue, whether machines will replace us, etc.
Loss of predictability
- The human brain needs a certain degree of predictability for a sense of security
- The current era brings rapid changes in many areas
- Traditional certainties (democratic and somewhat liberal institutions, the role of the USA in NATO, peaceful Europe) seem to be threatened
Information overload
- 24/7 news cycle creates an impression of constant threat
- Social media amplify negative news and emotions
- Algorithms often show us the most alarming content
We are concerned because we know many things
- We know that during a long stay we can get skin cancer (previously this was not known)
- We know that even moderate drinking of alcohol harms our body
- We know that smoking harms us
- We know that using cars contributes to climate change and doesn’t even improve air quality – yet we often drive cars
- Many things were previously not addressed at all, whether out of ignorance, or simply because we didn’t have the capacity for it
“Tribal behavior”
- In reality, we often don’t deal with evidence of “how things are.” Rather, we look for something that supports our group and our opinions, despite reality. We often don’t look for facts. This way, we reinforce many misconceptions and unhealthy attitudes (Daniel Kahneman writes nicely about this – both bestsellers are also in Czech).
We were formed by a world without science
- As Steven Pinker mentions, historically, we have not been shaped by science for most of the time. Science is therefore strange, unintuitive for most people, and for big questions, we often rely on how other people have it, or on intuition, instead of thorough analysis. Then we would find out that, for example, many things are improving. However, our soul may feel that everything is going down the drain. Perhaps just because our youth has ended, and what was in youth is “always great, after all.”
Therapeutic Recommendations
Working with an alternative “story”
- Helping people identify how the current “crisis story” affects their life
- Looking for alternative stories of resilience and coping, of a good world
- Example: “When you say you feel helpless – remember situations where, despite difficulties, you managed to act.”
- Personally, it helps me to meet with older, wise people who have experienced a lot. Perhaps even witnesses of World War II. Some of these people have survived so many regimes that they already know that most people will manage this regime as well. They actually give us perspective, distance.
- We don’t live in a perfect world – and it would be a huge problem to strive for it, as S. Pinker says. A perfect world – that’s a world in prison, an autocratic regime, something perfectly certain!
Naming that “bogeyman”
- Naming the “bogeyman of uncertainty” – what it looks like, when it comes, what influences it, what improves it?
- Mapping the influence of fear on various areas of life
- Finding “territories of life” where fear has no access (looking for sparkling moments, looking for exceptions)
Strengthening the preferred story
- Documentation of moments of coping (we often forget what we have already managed; photos help, for example)
- Reading. For instance, the mentioned S. Pinker nicely shows that in reality, we are still doing relatively well in almost all areas. Of course, there is a war, and it’s not good, but many areas function multiple times better than 50, 100, or 200 years ago.
- Creating a “life club” – let’s connect with people who share similar values and will strengthen our “good, healthy story.”
Practical Recommendations for Everyday Life
Structuring the day
- Morning routine without media (first hour after waking up)
- Fixed times for news consumption
- Evening routine for quality sleep
- Regular “digital detoxes” (even a few hours is fine)
Physical techniques
- Breathing exercises (4-7-8 technique: inhale for 4, hold for 7, exhale for 8)
- Progressive relaxation before sleep
- Regular movement in nature
- Various techniques for calming, anchoring (various things can be found on YouTube)
Social strategies
- Creating a “support team” of trustworthy people
- Regular personal meetings (not just online)
- Sharing concerns in a structured and safe environment
- Involvement in the local community
Setting Media Consumption
Creating an “information diet”
- Maximum twice-daily check for news
- Selection of two to three trustworthy sources (which is very difficult)
- Moderate use of social media – less involvement in aggressive discussions
- Setting a “news block” for approximately 20-30 minutes per day
Active work with information
- Distinguishing between facts and interpretations
- Looking for different angles of view
- Monitoring long-term trends instead of daily fluctuations
- Focusing on areas where we can influence something
Digital hygiene
- Removing news applications from the home screen
- Turning off push notifications
- Using applications for tracking time on social media
- Creating “media-free” zones in the house (it’s easier to not use media in a certain room than to prohibit them globally)
Working with Children and Family
Age-appropriate communication (with regard to the specificities of the given child, not just age)
- 3-6 years: basic reassurance about safety, minimal exposure to news
- 7-11 years: simple explanation of the situation, space for questions
- 12+ years: more open discussion, help with interpreting news
Practical strategies
- Family rituals
- Joint activities without technologies
- Creating a “crisis plan” for anxious moments
- Supporting children’s interests and hobbies
Building resilience
- Teaching critical thinking
- Developing empathy and helping others
- Strengthening family bonds
- Creating positive memories
- Educating children towards wisdom (e.g., that mistakes are possible and will definitely happen; a good person is not infallible and neither is science)
Prevention
Building psychological resilience
- Regular reflection on one’s own values
- Development of coping strategies
- Investment in relationships and community
- Working with one’s own limits
Active approach to the future
- Planning in various time horizons
- Creating “backup plans”
- Development of practical skills
- Financial and material preparation (having a financial reserve; diversification of risks)
Social engagement
- Involvement in local initiatives
- Support for democratic institutions
- Building bridges between different groups
- Sharing positive examples of change