Freedom From Fear: A Book Review
If you have only four books in your “Covid Nonsense” library this has got to be one of them. Dr. Mark McDonald’s new tome on the disintegration of the American psyche due to the epidemic of fear addiction that has hit this country (and many others) is not only a superb exposé on the cause of what we have been drop-jawed observing, but also presents steps toward personal and national healing—a sheep’s handbook toward recovery.
Dr. Mark McDonald is a psychiatrist with a thriving practice in Los Angeles. He has been on the frontlines fighting this Covid travesty since day one, spending much of his effort on saving children from the adverse effects of masks, social poisoning, and of course, potentially deadly, and purposeless, vaccination. One thing for certain about the good doctor, he has balls—steel ones.
This book is not only deeply informative, but is exceedingly entertaining. It is fun to read, and hearing about McDonald’s exploits as he confronts the “delusional psychotic” public as well as the patients he is trying his best to help through these troubling times, is not only empowering, but sobering. A shrew’s delight for sure! Buy it here…
The book starts with an introduction that explains the basic premise: America is gripped by a pandemic of fear addiction. He identifies “fear” in this specific context as the fear of Covid and disease, but of course this addiction to fear can include the fear of just about anything. It is a psychological state of dependency, much like being addicted to drugs, alcohol, or gambling.
He opens the chapter with a little story to set the tone:
I went to dinner at a restaurant recently and walked past a mother and daughter waiting for the restroom. Both were wearing masks. I turned to the daughter, no more than ten or twelve years old, and asked, “Why are you wearing that on your face?” Unable to answer, she looked up at her mother for help. What came out of her mother’s mouth was an incoherent, hysterical tirade—a jumbled mess of nonsensical phrases like “observing safety,” “closing schools,” and “ensuring compliance.” Nothing she said sounded rational or well-considered in any way. She ended with this: “You have no right to interfere in our lives and intrude into the decisions of our family.” She then dragged her daughter into the restroom, clutching her to her chest for dear life, and locked the door behind both of them.
McDonald goes on to explain more. “Fear can become an addiction. Just like gambling, sex, drugs, and video games, fear-based behaviors can spin out of control and damage the addict, as well as those close to him. Simply put, an addiction is an out-of-control, recurring behavior that causes harm.”
He also has a word to say about how this current fear pandemic formed in the first place:
As for those who have orchestrated the fear pandemic, these individuals suffer from a sociopathic personality disorder. Overcome by their own narcissism and absence of conscience, they press forward with their campaign to addict every living human being to unmanageable fear. They desire to put a needle of fear in every arm. They are the drug dealers whose only concern is growing their base of users. They have brought evil upon the world and can be stopped only by physical and judicial compulsion. The project of individual and national recovery that is so urgently needed today threatens their power because it offers their customers an exit from the endless cycle of fear they are peddling. These people are not misguided, nor are they victims. They are evil. And amorality cannot be remedied through education.
The doctor doesn’t mince words—steel.
Once McDonald finishes with his very thorough and scientific (imagine that, actual science) explanation, the following chapters occupy the reader with the 12 steps toward recovery. Here they are:
Face the Mirror: Admit You Are an Addict
Don’t Be a Sheep: Reject the Collective
Live in the Real World: Choose Reality Over Fantasy
Reject Narcissism: Your Fear Doesn’t Matter to Society
Cut Off the Dealer: Eliminate Media Fear Junkies
Think for Yourself: Or Others Will Think for You
Accountability: Acknowledge the Harm Your Fear Has Caused Yourself and Others
Embrace Adulthood: Find a Proper Way to Care for Those You Love
Overrule Your Emotions: Act in Spite of Your Fear
Find Perspective: Develop a Sense of Humor
Pay Attention: Give the Gift of Your Full Presence
Display Fearless Leadership: Grow Your Courage by Mentoring Others
He wraps it all up with a final chapter on national recovery.
How could you resist a book with these compelling and fascinating chapter titles? Each one is rich in information and is a useful guide to personal healing. A perfect book for friends who are “half way sheep”—probably too harsh for dyed in the wool sheep who aren’t going to flip even if the world burns down around them. But for those who realize there is a problem and are seeking an explanation and even a solution, this is the book.
Throughout the book McDonald presents commentary on what makes a culture susceptible to this sort of “mass delusional psychosis.” One of the most frustrating aspects of this Covid phenomenon that I, as a psychologist, have grappled with is the psychology of the situation—why are people doing what they are doing? Very few people have made intelligent and informed discussion about the deep layers of psychology that are responsible for this spectacle. Dr. McDonald, as a medical doctor psychiatrist, is both intelligent and informed. His views on the social and psychological foundations that have led to this insanity, in my view, are right on. If anything, they are insightful and intriguing. I think anyone on our side of the fence (shrews) would resonate with his views and insights—and would enjoy his wonderful “super-shrew” stories. Man of steel! Balls!
Buy Dr. McDonald’s Freedom From Fear HERE
To read more from Dr. McDonald, please visit his substack, “MarkMcDonaldMD.substack.com”
I will certainly add this book to my list. In the meantime, I wonder what anybody else thinks about the following situation:
After moving to Southern California, I noticed that the lack of inclement weather also meant the lack of chances to "bond" with neighbors. In other words when an August storm smacked into Michigan, people were forced to go into their basements, maybe even board up windows, repair roofs....but whatever it was, this gave everybody something to *talk* about the next day. It provided a reason to borrow things from neighbors, request help from neighbors, like shoveling snow next door after a winter storm, etc... None of this really seems to happen in San Diego, unless there is a wildfire (knocking on wood).
Anyway, when I was child and a snowstorm hit Michigan, I remember a very strong sense of "bonding" with neighbors. And in this excitement to bond and provide meaningful help, if there was one person who didn't help or even worse, said the storm wasn't worth talking about and no big deal, that person was *despised* in a deep way. It's like some atavistic human pack instinct.
The reason I bring all this up (and probably could have said it much more succinctly) is I wonder how much Covid felt like a "storm" for people, and something over which people could bond...and this is why we had so many campy nurses-dancing videos and omg the Late Show with Colbert and the ridiculous dancing syringes, etc... It's like it was a 16-month snow day (if you were fortunate enough to not lose your business or career). And everyone could BOND, unless you were the outcast who called BS, in which case you were *despised*.
CJ Hopkins said it perfectly (paraphrasing): We need to be the asshole who answers a cellphone call during a Macbeth production, and breaks the illusion that we are in C11th Scotland.
So, yes, there is certainly the addiction to fear. But I also wonder if people are so lonely that they're desperate to find excuses to come together and fight a common foe.
What are the other three books on the shrew's "Covid Nonsense" shelf?