Calm down dear

I came across this little story this morning, its about some research done in Canada on the subject of thinking about God; it seems that if you believe in God and think about it it reduces your stress levels, more specifically it reduces the anxiety associated with making mistakes. I can see how that might work, children exhibit similar traits when their parents are on hand to provide a safety net, i.e. increased confidence and more willingness to try things etc. Often when you remove the parental backup from situations that confidence is much reduced and stress increases.

Apparently atheists can achieve something similar, although I'm not sure thinking about a lack of something is as satisfying as a stress reliever as conjuring up a superhuman action figure in the sky; I'll probably just stick to reading a good book.