A profound insight on the modern condition comes from Italian documentary film Futura (2021), in which a cross section of contemporary teenagers are interviewed, offering comments on life and society. In a remarkably sage assertion, one young person claims that, in our time, ‘fear isn’t what it used to be; fear nowadays has become anxiety’. It’s an idea so obviously true, it is begging to be realised.

Fear is a basic human instinct; we are hardwired to feel it in response to known threats. But what happens when the threats—of disease, war, political and social disintegration, climate change—become so real and constant in the media that one never stops perceiving them? Fear is useful when a danger is imminent. But what happens when dangers are unfolding and worsening daily—only slowly over time? Anxiety is nervousness in response to uncertainty. But what happens when the uncertainties accumulate? Anxiety replaces fear when perils seem ever-present. Anxiety is when fear becomes a default state of mind.

Observing these distinctions can help us unpack modern anxiety and see it for what it really is: chronic, faux fear. That is not to say the threats aren’t real, but in reality they are often projections preoccupying the mind—and ones we have a chance to impact with our work, if we aren’t crippled by a constant fear of them.