Episode 479 - Living with Emotional Upheaval

Mar 18, 2026

Intense global conflicts and the flood of raw emotions they spark are explored. The conversation names 'political depression' and the despair tied to world unrest. Strategies for holding, feeling, and transforming overwhelming anger, fear, and grief are offered. Poetry and ritual are shown as tools to channel emotional energy toward renewal and deeper connection.

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INSIGHT

World Events Invade Personal Psyche

Political actions by leaders leak into personal psyche so we can't separate inner despair from external violence.
Meade argues emotions flood us from media and atmosphere, forcing us to find context so the self isn't lost.

ANECDOTE

Outrage Over An Unconsulted Attack On Iran

Meade describes the U.S. starting a massive attack on Iran without congressional consultation as a trigger for raw public emotions.
He frames part of the outrage as the perception the attack was avoidable and not planned with predicted consequences.

ANECDOTE

School Bombing And The Double Tap Tragedy

Meade highlights the bombing of a girls' grade school, noting over 150 girls and teachers were killed and a 'double tap' struck rescuers.
He cites former intelligence officials who identified American Tomahawk missiles and criticise cover-up attempts.

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This episode of Living Myth focuses upon the extreme emotions generated by the war in Iran and the many other conflicts and divisions in the current world. Michael Meade addresses the increasing flood of raw emotions that we are all subjected to and what psychologists are now calling "political depression." Although political depression can present the same sense of hopelessness and despair as traditional depression, its source is different. It does not simply come from within; but rather from the violence and upheaval, the corruption and unjustness in the world around us.

According to recent studies, this sense of political depression has affected the psyches of most people, and along with issues of anger and outrage, increasingly appears in the offices of therapists and counselors. The human psyche cannot simply be separated from the conditions of the world. Whereas emotional responses can be eruptive and disruptive, emotions are also "the necessary and mysterious turbulence without which we cannot truly tell if we are alive or not."

Emotions move us because they carry massive amounts of energy that can be used to change life from within. The natural inheritance of the human soul includes an ability to "feel the feelings" and shift raw emotions to being sources of increased vitality and creativity. Ultimately, emotions are intended to connect us to our deeper sense of self and to the world as it is. In that sense, emotions would have us engage life more fully and live life more meaningfully, especially in times of crisis when a transformation of life actually becomes more possible.

Thank you for listening to and supporting Living Myth. You can learn more about connecting to the deep self by taking Michael Meade's new course "Rites of Passage" that explores how timely and timeless practices of rites of passage can help us navigate a changing world and connect more deeply to inner wisdom and our unique genius.

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