Full Frame CGTN America

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental disorders worldwide, affecting about 300 million people, according to WHO. The good news is they’re also among the most treatable disorders.



This is a fundamental misunderstanding about social anxiety. It is not about a preference. When we think about preference for socializing, it’s more akin to introversion … Anxiety is about a fear of the social interaction, a fear of the evaluation and rejection,” said Dr. Fallon Goodman, an assistant professor of psychology at the George Washington University and director of the Emotion and Resilience Laboratory.



People do get better with exposure, practicing social skills, and challenging their thoughts, Goodman added. “On the other side of that is a life that’s rich and filled with positive experiences and wonderful social relationships that can lead to a life that feels so much more full than a life of isolation or fearing those social relationships,” she said.

When archaeologists started excavations in Anyang, China in the 1920s, they found artifacts that had survived thousands of years buried in the ground. They included bronze pots, clay jars and jade jewelry. They also discovered the early stages of the Chinese writing system. 



Keith Wilson, curator at Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art, organized an exhibit featuring these objects in Washington, D.C.



The city of Anyang, which is about 300 miles south of Beijing, existed for just two centuries. But in that time, it grew to cover over 14 square miles, about half the size of Miami. The exhibition gives a glimpse into what life was like in ancient Anyang. 



"One thing about Chinese material culture is that it's all primarily functional objects. They're made for use," Wilson." I think people are much more accustomed to ancient Egypt and the Mediterranean world. Ancient China ... is still not as well-known. So I hope that through a project like this, people can see that China had this incredibly important prehistoric and historic culture."



 



 

Returning to society after serving time in prison comes with many hurdles. According to research from the Prison Policy Initiative, formerly incarcerated individuals are ten times more likely to become homeless. This struggle is even more pronounced for people of color and women. Moreover, the FBI warns about a troubling rise in street gangs, numbering around 33,000 nationwide. These gangs, known for their brutality and organization, target young recruits, some as young as ten, fueling their growth.



In a recent interview with Full Frame, Antonio Fernandez, a former gang leader who has since transformed his life, shared his journey. Through candidly recounting his personal struggles, Fernandez serves as a cautionary example for young people. His narrative not only highlights the challenges but also underscores the potential for redemption and second chances in life.

Today, the world is producing twice as much plastic waste as it was two decades ago. Plastics take anywhere from 20 to 500 years to decompose. According to the United Nations, only about 9 percent of plastic in the world is recycled.



Jesse Meiller is a marine ecologist and environmental toxicologist who studies microplastics, tiny bits of plastic that have been found everywhere, from the bottom of the ocean to inside human blood.



“Microplastics are made from almost everything that we use everyday that is plastic. …They’re ubiquitous because they’re being shed from so many different types of plastic,” said Meiller, a professor at Georgetown University’s Earth Commons Institute.



Meiller said single-use plastics are a big contributor to the plastic problem. From bags to water bottles, individuals can take action by eliminating single-use plastics in their lives.



“Our individual choices make a difference. We need to carry that forward though, and affect change at higher levels as well in order to have systemic change,” Meiller said.

Dr. Alfiee Breland-Noble is the founder of the AAKOMA Project, a nonprofit with a mission to meet the mental health needs of young people of color. The organization offers workshops, virtual counseling and consulting. 



Youth and young people of color experience barriers to accessing psychological care for reasons beyond economic disparities.



“People worry about how they’re going to be treated when they get into that mental health professional’s chair because there are different outcomes by different aspects of identity,” Breland-Noble said. “We also know that our research literature has not done the best job of developing interventions and understanding mental illness across all different types of populations.”



The AAKOMA Project is working with researchers and institutions to collect data about youth of color on mental health, which can help drive policy changes.

By 2050, we will need 56 percent more food to feed 10 billion people, according to the World Resources Institute. But our global food system is challenged by climate change. How can we create a sustainable food system without using more land? Florence Reed works with farmers in Central America to restore degraded farmland and introduce regenerative farming practices. She is the founder of Sustainable Harvest International. “If all 500 million of those smallholder farmers around the world made this transition, they could get us 53% of the way to the United Nations goal for greenhouse gas reductions,” she said.