The Quiet Crisis: AI, Emotional Dysregulation, and the Rising Tide of Anxiety: A White Paper

Artificial intelligence is transforming how we work, communicate, make decisions, and seek emotional support. But what happens when technological advancement begins moving faster than our ability to emotionally adapt?

In The Quiet Crisis: AI, Emotional Dysregulation, and the Rising Tide of Anxiety, Aleasa Word examines the hidden psychological costs of everyday AI use, including dopamine-driven dependency, technostress, emotional exhaustion, cognitive outsourcing, workplace instability, relationship strain, and the growing attachment to AI as a substitute for human connection.

Created for mental health providers, coaches, HR professionals, organizational leaders, and others invested in human wellbeing, this white paper offers practical indicators and assessment questions for recognizing AI-related emotional strain in individuals and workplaces. It also challenges the responsible AI conversation to move beyond productivity, privacy, and security by making emotional safety a central ethical priority.

AI is not the enemy; however, unexamined use is the concern. The question is no longer simply what AI can do for us, but what it may quietly be doing to us.