Emotional Entropy: Coping with Psychological Strain in the Entropy AgeHost Leslie Poston of PsyberSpace introduces a five-episode series on the 'entropy age,' focusing on the psychological impact of living in an unstable world marked by late-stage capitalism, technological upheaval, and rising authoritarianism. This episode explores the concept of 'emotional entropy,' comparing it to physical entropy to describe the fraying of our inner lives. Key topics include existential anxiety, mortality, freedom, isolation, meaning, ontological insecurity, and anticipatory grief. Poston aims to validate the feelings of uncertainty and confusion that many experience, framing them as rational responses to current conditions rather than personal failures.00:00 Introduction to the Entropy Age01:01 Signs of a Fraying Future02:04 Emotional Entropy Explained04:50 Existential Psychology and Modern Life07:12 Coping Mechanisms and Responses08:56 Ontological Insecurity and Anticipatory Grief11:56 Validating Emotional Reactions13:43 Conclusion and Next StepsResources:Becker, E. (1973). The denial of death. Free Press.Greenberg, J., Pyszczynski, T., & Solomon, S. (1986). The causes and consequences of a need for self-esteem: A terror management theory. In R. F. Baumeister (Ed.), Public self and private self (pp. 189–212). Springer.Laing, R. D. (1960). The divided self: An existential study in sanity and madness. Penguin Books.Pyszczynski, T., Solomon, S., & Greenberg, J. (2015). Thirty years of terror management theory: From genesis to revelation. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 52, 1–70.Rando, T. A. (2000). Clinical dimensions of anticipatory mourning: Theory and practice in working with the dying, their loved ones, and their caregivers. Research Press.Campos, R., & Martins, J. C. (2024). Ontological insecurity and urgency as a political value: Discourses of youth climate activists in Portugal. Globalizations. Advance online publicationYalom, I. D. (1980). Existential psychotherapy. Basic Books.Yalom, I. D. (2008). Staring at the sun: Overcoming the terror of death. Jossey-Bass.Lindemann, E. (1944). Symptomatology and management of acute grief. American Journal of Psychiatry, 101(2), 141–148.Lifton, R. J. (2019). Losing reality: On cults, cultism, and the mindset of political and religious zealotry. The New Press.von Wirth, T. (2025). Ontological (in)security and sustainability transitions: A theoretical perspective and future research prospects. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, 57, 101042.Kübler-Ross, E., & Kessler, D. (2005). On grief and grieving: Finding the meaning of grief through the five stages of loss. Scribner.Solomon, S., Greenberg, J., & Pyszczynski, T. (2004). The cultural animal: Twenty years of terror management theory and research. In J. Greenberg, S. L. Koole, & T. Pyszczynski (Eds.), Handbook of experimental existential psychology (pp. 13–34). Guilford Press.Hobfoll, S. E. (1989). Conservation of resources: A new attempt at conceptualizing stress. American Psychologist, 44(3), 513–524.Bonanno, G. A. (2004). Loss, trauma, and human resilience: Have we underestimated the human capacity to thrive after extremely aversive events? American Psychologist, 59(1), 20–28.Baumeister, R. F. (1991). Meanings of life. Guilford Press. ★ Support this podcast ★