Fear and anxiety are sky-high right now in America. Obviously this has a lot to do with the pandemic. However, fear was rising fast even before the coronavirus. This is creating misery and conflict. How can we deal with it? (1/5)

People often suppose that the answer to fear is to rid ourselves of threats. But that is not possible. We can and should work for progress, but there’s always something to be afraid of. We need a force to protect us from fear. That force exists. (2/5)

The force is love. As Lao Tzu wrote in the Tao Te Ching, “Through Love, one has no fear.” Millennia later, neuroscience has validated his claim, showing that the neuropeptide oxytocin—the so-called “love molecule”—blunts our fear response. (3/5)

Our problem is not too many threats; it’s too little love in our lives. We are in a love crisis in America. Fear is a symptom of this. Fortunately, there are solutions for each of us as individuals, and for our country. (4/5)

Read and share my love prescription in this week’s “How to Build a Life” column in @TheAtlantic. I hope it helps you. (5/5) https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2020/07/how-fight-fear-love/614227/