I had never heard of it. But, based on my own recent experiences and those of my closest friends and relatives, I was beginning to believe it was real. So I did what I always do: I looked it up.

And there it was, on the website of the American Psychological Association (APA). There is, of course, some comfort in knowing I haven’t been imagining it; but on the other hand, my fellow sufferers and I are having a hell of a time trying to deal with it.

The APA Dictionary of Psychology describes Pre-TSD as:

“a condition characterized by prolonged, significant anxiety about a potential threatening or otherwise devastating event, such as a terrorist attack or wartime violence. The individual remains in a constant state of worry and heightened stress at their perceived helplessness to prevent the expected future trauma and often mentally experiences the dreaded event again and again. . . . The resulting symptoms (e.g., fear, anger, vulnerability, uncertainty, irritability, concentration difficulties, insomnia, appetite disturbances) are so intense as to negatively affect daily functioning. Also called pretraumatic stress syndrome.”

Happily, I can’t say that I, or anyone I know, is in such bad shape that we are hallucinating specific disastrous events. (We won’t discuss my weird nighttime dreams here.) But in a world dominated by the likes of Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Kim Jong Un, Benjamin Netanyahu, and a few others, is it any wonder that so many of us are feeling fearful, vulnerable, irritable, and generally batshit crazy?

I remember a time — not that many years ago — when I would awaken each morning anticipating what the day might bring: an interesting new legal case at work, lunch with friends, a chance encounter with an interesting new acquaintance, a travel opportunity, a relaxing evening at home with a good movie and a bowl of popcorn, and finally a good night’s sleep. Nothing spectacular; just simple pleasures that told me life was mostly good.

But we now live in a digital age, constantly bombarded from all sides by up-to-the-minute news reports. And in today’s world, if it’s not bad, it’s not news. So our phones and laptops and tablets ding constantly with reports of Trump’s latest multi-billion-dollar scam; Ukraine’s casualty count from Russia’s overnight drone attack; Netanyahu’s most recent assault on Gaza or wherever; Trump’s newest tacky decimation of the Washington landscape and history; mass job layoffs; Xi’s friendly overtures to Putin; another war; the disenfranchisement and deportation of legal immigrants; the Supreme Court’s (or two-thirds of its members’) abdication of their duties; Congress’ lily-livered obeisance to Trump; the Justice Department’s amnesia concerning its proper mission; mandatory White Christian prayer meetings at the Pentagon; the rising cost of everything; Trump’s bruises, swollen “cankles,” drooping face, and midnight social media dumps; and so on, and on, and on.

And, lest we forget, there are still those three million mysteriously absent Epstein files.

So now, I awaken every day wondering what new disasters the world has in store for us. And I pull the blankets up to my chin, bury my head in my pillow, and try to go back to sleep for a couple of extra hours of blissful ignorance before facing it all again.

I may not be hallucinating (yet), but I’d say I definitely show early signs of Pre-TSD. And I’m pretty certain I’m not alone.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
5/23/26