Keep calm and carry on
Prioritize self-care and limit negative news to diminish stress
April is Stress Awareness Month and, coincidentally, many of us are super stressed.
We are living in a time of anxiety as financial and political turmoil causes rampant uncertainty in our lives, and it’s taking a toll on our mental health. A new Omnibus Survey reports that half of Canadians have experienced heightened anxiety over the past month as rising living costs, trade tensions and global conflicts top our list of worries.
Our brains are struggling with the 24/7 onslaught of negative news, posts and pings. It can feel like we’re drowning in bad news. Stress and anxiety surge as the body’s natural reaction to danger, and it’s all utterly exhausting and depletes our positivity and productivity.
“When the brain is bombarded with excessive negativity, it can enter a state of shutdown – a temporary paralysis of our decision-making processes,” says Ottawa psychotherapist Joshua Peters. “With global uncertainty at a peak, in my practice I’m witnessing an increasing number of clients entering this state. They feel overwhelmed by unfolding global events while also feeling powerless to take action.”
Make time for healthy habits
As human beings, we can’t stand uncertainty but right now it’s unavoidable so it’s important to take care of our mental health and emotional well-being. Taking time to promote inner peace and look after yourself will help you better cope, and calm your mind and lift your overall mood.
Interrupt the downward spiral by disconnecting often with your devices and engaging in activities that help you relax and recharge. “Soothe the body. When we can’t control the world around you – focus on your body,” recommends Peters, director of Clinical Training Programs at the Centre for Interpersonal Relationships at cfir.ca.
Prioritize self-care including regular physical fitness – 30 minutes 4-5 times a week – along with healthy food choices, and relaxing activities including warm baths, massages and proper sleep. “Ensuring we prioritize these tasks first helps energize us to engaged in the more difficult and complex tasks of life.”
Combat negative news overload by reducing your intake and prioritize the issues that are most important to you, says Peters. “I usually suggest containing your intake of news to a specific time of day for about 30 minutes. Think back to when we would get a daily newspaper, read it for 20 or so minutes, and then go about our day.”
Take small actions
He adds that this isn’t an avoidance strategy but instead a recognition that our minds have only evolved to take in so much negativity at once. Take small (and sometimes large) actions on specific topics that are important to you. “If you have the energy and passion to engage in bigger actions like attending protests or organizing politically do so. However, oftentimes small and consistent actions are just as important to social movements.”
Connect and talk with others who share your concerns. Discuss with each other actions you can take together in solidarity to reduce feelings of isolation and loneliness.
Seek out multiple perspectives on topics, suggests Peters. All too often, we get caught in “echo chambers” within the news and hearing other options gets lost in the process. Learning about how others make sense of situations can help us better understand our own.
It’s also common in times of instability to struggle to understand the experiences of others. “Try your best to understand how opposing sides may themselves be trying their best to survive even if their motives appear nonsensical. This type of reflection isn’t meant to excuse the actions of others, but it can help create better understanding. Most often it leads to greater empathy, compromise, and more creative solutions.”
Seek intergenerational dialogue
Connect with individuals from across the generations to better understand their experience and share your own, suggests Peters. Numerous studies have consistently demonstrated that engaging in this type of intergenerational dialogue fosters mental well-being.
Do your best to keep calm and carry on. “On a positive note, seniors are particularly well suited to understand that history tends to be cyclical. In doing so, they can offer hope to future generations with the wisdom that the world has always experienced periods of chaos and relative stability.”
Recognizing this as a fundamental truth can help both empower individuals to advocate for change, while reducing the pressure they feel to respond to every single news event, he adds.