Rational and irrational sociopolitical anxiety: Fear of cancellation

Fear of cancellation, whether rational or irrational, is a contemporary psychopathological and sociopolitical condition. While social ostracism and exclusion have always, to some extent, been a deeply human fear, ties to innovations like the internet and social media make fear of cancellation a uniquely modern phenomenon. Fear of cancellation presents across diagnoses, including generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and social anxiety disorder, and can include excessive review of prior content for potentially offensive material or even abstaining from social media use altogether. Psychologists must grapple with fear of cancellation on two fronts: how to treat the clients who present with these fears, as well as how to confront cancel culture's reverberations on the field via professional self-censorship, potential concealment of personal identity, and professional alienation when endorsing legitimate political viewpoints that are counter to the prevailing culture. The interface between social and political polarization and resultant anxiety experiences embodied in the fear of cancellation represents a significant new research direction.