In one of my last articles, we explored how the stories we tell ourselves fundamentally shape the world we live in and how we experience reality. This piece is a continuation of that idea. If we want to expand our story and actively create a better reality, we need practical, tangible tools to navigate the very real heaviness of the world around us.
Societal, political, and environmental anxieties are increasingly finding their way into the therapy room. I regularly talk with clients who feel deep anxiety for their future, the state of the world, and their own ability to afford day-to-day necessities. It doesn’t take much to reason how increased gas prices might impact mental health, or how seeing horrific violence on the news affects our nervous systems.
Yet, modern psychology has astoundingly neglected this. Mental health has traditionally focused on the individual in a vacuum, often minimizing these macro-level feelings even though they have a very real impact on our well-being.
We are living in scary, unpredictable times, and feeling anxious right now is a completely rational response. As a therapist, I believe it is essential to create a space where it is safe to talk about these realities, and to offer tangible tools for navigating them so we can begin to expand our collective story.
The Science of Overwhelm
To understand why the state of the world impacts us so deeply, it helps to look at Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. This psychological framework shows that our baseline needs—food, water, shelter, security, and safety—must be met before we can access higher emotional needs like belonging, or finally, self-actualization.
When global events or economic strains threaten that baseline, or create the perception that it is threatened, it severely impacts our ability to live into our values and feel joyful. It pulls us out of what psychologists call the Window of Tolerance.
Functionally, your Window of Tolerance is the zone where your nervous system feels capable of handling the problems presented to you. When global stressors push you out of this window, you shift into a fight-or-flight state. Your capacity to handle challenges diminishes. This is not a personal failing or a sign of weakness; it is simply how our nervous systems are wired to survive.
When you notice yourself slipping out of that window, traditional therapeutic skills like CBT and DBT are incredibly helpful, particularly if current global stressors are triggering past traumas. Bringing the body back to the present moment through somatic anchors helps signal to the nervous system that you are safe in the here and now.
Facing the Unchangeable with Meaning
Fundamentally, I believe our society is changing in ways that are not reversible. That realization brings up a lot of fear. But irreversible change does not mean there is no hope.
Viktor Frankl, a psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor, offered a beautiful lens for dealing with existential dread. His core premise is that if we can find meaning in our situation, we can survive and navigate almost anything.
Personally, I struggled deeply with substance abuse and anger when I was younger, and I have worked in addiction recovery for years. Witnessing people rewrite their stories from absolute rock bottom has shown me the true, undeniable resilience of human beings. Seeing that amazing transformation on an individual level gives me profound hope. If a person can find meaning and fundamentally transform their life from a place of darkness, we can project that capacity for transformation onto a societal level, too.
Active Hope and the Power of Community
Finding our individual meaning is the first step, but expanding our story requires us to look outward. We live in a hyper-individualistic culture, especially in how we approach healing. But the well-being of the world is inseparable from our own. Healing must be seen as a group activity.
Author and ecophilosopher Joanna Macy offers a beautiful framework for this called Active Hope. She lays the groundwork for navigating existential grief through four stages:
- Coming from gratitude.
- Experiencing our grief and pain for the world.
- Seeing our interconnectedness with each other and life.
- Going forth and taking action.
What does going forth look like on a tangible level? It means identifying your values and finding your cause. It means choosing to participate in creating a better world, whether that is volunteering to help the unhoused or finding a passion that brings you joy while contributing to the greater good.
As resources stretch thin and the day-to-day necessities become harder to manage, creating communities of mutual aid is no longer optional; it is essential. This can look like local skill-sharing, carpooling, community dinners or just showing up for a friend in need. Community is the ultimate antidote to despair.
Protecting Your Peace
Finally, holding space for societal transformation requires strict personal boundaries. We cannot be aware of everything all the time. Our nervous systems are simply not designed for a 24/7 news cycle of global trauma.
You have to protect your peace. Stepping away from the news and setting psychological boundaries is not a personal failing or an act of selfishness. Taking care of ourselves—protecting our energy and our mental health—is the absolute best way to ensure we have the capacity to expand our story, support the people around us, and ultimately, heal the world.
