How to cope when it feels like the world is falling apart
It's terrifying out there, here's what you can do
Hi friends,
I’m sending this week’s newsletter two days early because of what’s going on in the world, or more precisely in Ukraine. And because of what’s going in the world, this won’t actually be a proper newsletter. The piece I had scheduled for Monday feels trivial in the face of war, just as any other piece would.
So instead, I just wanted to hop into your inboxes, say that you’re not alone if you’re terrified and also share some tipps of how to manage this situation on a personal level. These days, it feels really hard to find a balance between shutting yourself off from the news completely and being overwhelmed by fear and sadness from taking in too much at once.
Here’s how I try to cope. Take what works for you, leave what doesn’t.
Stay informed. Democracy is under attack. You have to know what’s going on and, just as importantly, WHY it’s going on. There’s lots of propaganda out there, make sure you only consume news from trustworthy sources.
However, don’t doom scroll. Take it from someone who did just that for all of Thursday. Now my thumb, brain and heart are sore. Check a trusted media outlet once or twice a day (e.g. morning and evening) and stay away from social media.
Donate. If you’ve got any money to spare, consider making a donation.
Shut up. I say this very lovingly, but unless you’re on the ground in Ukraine or Russia, or are a qualified expert, the world doesn’t need your take on the matter. You’re clogging up the networks. I see a lot of uninformed Tweets and a flood of performative activism on Instagram. We’re not in a competition of who is the saddest, who is best informed and who cares the most.
If you care, donate. If you care, protest. If you care, make sure you vote people into power who will protect our democracies. People who don’t cozy up to, or are intimidated by, autocratic maniacs.
Take care of yourself.
How? Some things that help me break an anxiety spiral:
Unclench your jaw, relax your tongue, forehead and shoulders.
Take five to ten deep breaths.
Shake it off. Animals literally shake off stress and trauma and it works for humans, too. Jump around, shake your limbs, have a dance-off.
Related: Get into your body (and thereby out of your head). Lift heavy weights, run until your mind goes blank, go all-out for a six minute HIIT. Chase that dopamine.
Pet an animal. I went to the barn yesterday and at one point I found myself petting the horse with my left hand and the barn cat with my right hand, and trust me, this is what heaven looks like for me. It lasted for five seconds, until the horse scared the cat away.
Occupy your hands, so that you can’t scroll. Cook. Bake. Do a jigsaw puzzle. Knit. Play an instrument. Paint your nails. Do a deep clean of your apartment. Sort through your basement. Read a book. Pet more animals.
Watch your comfort shows. For me, that’s Modern Family and Schitt’s Creek, both are shows which make me laugh and promote kindness.
Get sucked into a gripping story. For example, have you listened to the podcast “Sweet Bobby” yet?
Trust in the power of Yoga to calm your mind. My two favorite Adriene videos for times like these are this one and that one.
Eat. The lower your energy, the lower your mood.
Go outside. Daylight and oxygen are underrated.
Put your phone on flight mode for extended periods of time, if you can.
And if you have to be on Twitter, make sure you lighten up your feed by following pages like @WeRateDogs, which in itself is 15/10.
None of this is rocket science, but sometimes, when we get overwhelmed, we forget the basics. Or as the German author Daniel Schreiber recently said: When we’re suffering, we often don’t do the things we know would help us.
Alright pals, I hope you’re safe, I hope you take good care of yourself and I hope you reach out to your friends who live alone.
Until next time,
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