It may also be worth noting that if we’re filling ourselves with toxic waste, no amount of mindfulness is going to help. As the mass media is nothing more than a constant stream of mental detritus, one of the very first steps on the road toward better mental health is avoiding mass media altogether. Videogames, Hollywood “entertainments,” “news” and social media — cutting back from 15 hours a day to perhaps, at most 15 minutes per day will make a tremendous difference. Not only will it choke off the endless stream of negativity and fear-mongering, but it will permit time for far more valuable activities.

Our modern world seems purpose-built to make us both physically and mentally ill, with McSlop and Kentucky Fried Cancer on every street corner and Faux News and its equivalents on every screen. This is no way to live, and it’s no wonder most people are fearful and unhappy.