Anxiety is certainly one of the worst human afflictions any of us can possibly contend with, since it is functionally a constant battle with fears grounded in uncertainty. Classical philosophers and academicians have debated about how best to conquer (or at least better control) the demon of anxiety that gnaws at so many of us. Looking at myself truthfully and without shame, I determined early-on that I was an anxious individual and that this was most likely a vestige of certain circumstances undergone and endured during early childhood. But strangely enough, I denied this knowledge of myself throughout most of my adult life…until I experienced a full-blown panic attack one day. As a medical professional, I misinterpreted it and diagnosed myself as having some sort of cardiac event (it felt that dire!). Wrong! My physician, after putting me through exhaustive diagnostics, confirmed that the only logical explanation was a classical ‘panic attack’. This was a shock to me…someone who had managed over the years to deceive myself into thinking I was a fearless rock-climber, martial arts student, aviator, etc. This rude awakening prompted me to return to early academic studies in philosophy, particularly to Epictetus, Aurelius, and the Stoic School. Fortunately, I was able to do a lot of self-healing of my free-floating anxiety state, thanks to the insight of the ancient Greek Stoics. This certainly won’t work for everyone and there are as many ways of attempting to heal free-floating anxiety as there are democratic leftist progressive opinions on how to save the nation from President Trump (LoL). Your suggestion of decluttering is an excellent one, as is adopting a less materialistic mind-set (eschewing the accumulation of consumer ‘goodies’ and living a simpler lifestyle, uncluttered by…’clutter’). Another recourse that also worked for me was immersion in classical Japanese ‘BushiDo’ and Zen (the Japanese ‘warrior-way’, not unrelated to Marcus Aulelius’s Stoic philosophy of the warrior), since the core essence of that discipline is denial of the fear of death (which lurks behind all of our general anxieties). Once the warrior no longer fears death, he/she no longer fears to LIVE fully. Fear is, of course, our worst enemy. As you also noted in passing, getting beyond one’s self and one’s egocentric concerns is another path towards conquering fear and in this, perhaps some reading in ancient Chinese Taoist literature is helpful. Further, love for all things and genuinely embracing the fact that we (pitiful human creatures) are but motes of dust set against the vast backdrop of an unknowable Universe is a positive step forward. There are so many things that need and require love in our lives that do not involve romantic attachments (the Platonic ideal): love for this marvelous planet we seem to bent on destroying, love for all creatures we share the Earth with, and an appreciation that all creatures benefit from love. Finally, a return to my Hawaiian ancestry also helped me immeasurably, given the ancient wisdom of ('befo-time’) Hawaiian culture. I am not a conventionally religious person (regard me as a ‘non-believer’, if that helps), but I truly believe that a major resource in conquering fear is in going beyond our myopic daily concerns and embracing a philosophy of love for all things. Your words in this piece are well chosen and articulately expressed, Lefty. Thanks for sharing your insights with us!