Anxiety as the new ‘depression’ – Pastoral perspectives

Anxiety has been described as the ‘official emotion of our century’. Where depression was once at the top of the list in terms of mental health disorders, anxiety has now replaced it, and is even described as epidemic. Contri-buting factors to this are, for example, the traumatized society in which we find ourselves with its high crime rates, political unrest, the pace of society that is getting faster, and especially the role of the Internet and social media. Increasing physical and emotional problems are some of the critical consequences of this situation. Healing and long-term solutions are only possible through a multidisciplinary approach of which the Pastorate is an indispensable component. The focus in this course is especially on the last mentioned aspect.