Elections are mirrors of a nation’s consciousness, so it makes sense — sad sense, unfortunately — that the 2010 election reflected fear and confusion.  Many analysts disagree. They call it an election about anger. But anger is the surface expression of deeper anxieties.  Recent polls show that 65% of Americans believe that they will not be able to maintain their current standard of living, around the same number who believe that America is on the decline.  This doesn’t mean that each of these people watched an intelligent balanced news program or read an informed book. Quite the opposite. They were not aware of what was outside themselves. Instead, they were focused almost entirely on what was inside themselves. Since the primary thing that was inside amounted to deep confusion born of fear, that’s how the election turned out.

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Sometimes life’s everyday stressors can send you into a tailspin. But if you always let your emotions rule, your body won’t remember to calm down. Get Deepak Chopra’s strategies to overcome those fears that keep you up in the middle of the night.

Fear is a natural reaction built into the mind-body system triggered by danger. After the danger is past, so is the fear response. But when fear spreads out into a general condition, it becomes a mysterious thing: anxiety. Anxious people are afraid even though there is nothing “out there” to be afraid of. Others overreact to triggers that ordinarily should be fairly easy to handle, such as being left alone for a day on their own. Still others are nearly paralyzed by highly specific phobias such as fear of heights, open spaces or insects. What is going on and what can we do about it? Continue reading  at Oprah.com