{"id":2515,"date":"2020-08-26T17:29:59","date_gmt":"2020-08-26T17:29:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/article\/how-can-i-be-ok-when-the-world-is-terrible\/"},"modified":"2023-03-02T10:03:13","modified_gmt":"2023-03-02T15:03:13","slug":"how-can-i-be-ok-when-world-terrible","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/es\/content\/how-can-i-be-ok-when-world-terrible\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00bfC\u00f3mo puedo estar bien cuando el mundo es terrible?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Let\u2019s be honest: The world can be a pretty terrible place. From personal losses to national tragedies and global disasters and everything in between\u2026 It\u2019s easy to feel depressed about the state of the world.<\/p>\n<p>Just thinking about the sheer amount of awfulness around us can be completely overwhelming\u2014even paralyzing. The problems are far too big for any single person to solve them. So what can you do? Should you do anything? Should you give up? Is there any \u201cshould\u201d to begin with?<\/p>\n<h2>It\u2019s normal to feel discouraged about the world.<\/h2>\n<p>You may have heard this expression: \u201cIf you\u2019re not angry, you\u2019re not paying attention.\u201d It\u2019s not just anger\u2014the same goes for depression. Research has shown that people who feel depressed often make more accurate predictions of events than people who don\u2019t [1]. Lots of bad things happen in the world, and feeling bad about them is a normal reaction. It\u2019s okay to feel:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Grief about what\u2019s been lost<\/li>\n<li>Anxious about what\u2019s going to happen next<\/li>\n<li>Overwhelmed by how big the problems are, or how much work it will take to solve them<\/li>\n<li>Disillusioned by the people in positions of power<\/li>\n<li>Guilty for not doing more<\/li>\n<li>Paralyzed by all these feelings<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These feelings are all <em>normal<\/em>. Of course, they\u2019re not <em>fun<\/em>. And they\u2019re not always particularly <em>useful<\/em>. <a href=\"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/content\/what-is-depression\/\">Depression<\/a> may help you clearly see how terrible things are\u2014but it\u2019s also the leading cause of disability in the world [2].<\/p>\n<p>Equally unhelpful: being told to \u201cjust stay positive.\u201d Ignoring the horrible things you see around you won\u2019t make them go away, any more than getting depressed about them will. If you want to function in the world <em>and <\/em>make it a better place, you need to take care of yourself\u2014and then find ways to help however you can.<\/p>\n<h2>Is it selfish to prioritize my own mental health?<\/h2>\n<p>The desire to help make the world a better place is an incredible thing. If you notice what\u2019s going wrong in the world and feel a responsibility to make it better, that says something really positive about who you are.<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019re still one person. And your ability to make a positive difference is affected by your mental health. If you\u2019re so discouraged you can <a href=\"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/content\/i-cant-get-out-of-bed\/\">hardly get out of bed<\/a>, it\u2019s going to be hard to make a big impact.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Make time for self-care. <\/strong>Sometimes you need to drop the volunteer work and take a bubble bath. Don\u2019t feel bad about the fact that you\u2019re doing something for you. That bubble bath will help you feel refreshed and valued. When you\u2019re ready, you\u2019ll have more of yourself to give.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Make space for gratitude.<\/strong> The world kinda sucks\u2014but it\u2019s also kind of beautiful. You don\u2019t have to ignore the bad things to see the good things.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Acknowledge negative emotions without dwelling on them. <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/content\/how-can-i-manage-my-emotions\">Our negative emotions are there to guide and protect us.<\/a> They motivate us to make changes. It\u2019s when we fixate on them that they start to take over. If you\u2019re having trouble moving on, consider whether you might need some help with a mental health condition like depression or anxiety. (Our <a href=\"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/screening-tools\/\">online mental health tests<\/a> are a great place to start.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Balance being informed with being mentally healthy.<\/h2>\n<p>You can\u2019t be \u201con\u201d all the time. Thinking nonstop about the problems in the world is only going to wear you down. You need to take breaks. Here are a few ways you can do that:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Set limits on your news and social media time.<\/strong> Looking at the news for a few hours a week is a great way to stay informed. Looking at the news nonstop is a great way to get depressed.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Focus on things you can control.<\/strong> We each have our own circle of influence. There are things I can change that you can\u2019t\u2014but there are also things you can change that I can\u2019t. Your circle of influence depends on lots of things: What you feel passionate about. Where you live. What skills or knowledge you have. Whether you have more time than money, or more money than time.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Don\u2019t try to save the whole world all at once. <\/strong>Start where you are, and take one step towards making a bigger difference. That step might be starting to volunteer for an hour a week. Or donating $5 to a cause you care about. Or sharing a post on social media. Or, it might be going back to step one: <a href=\"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/content\/self-care-checkup\/\">take care of yourself<\/a>!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Find other people who care about the same things.<\/h2>\n<p>Not many things are lonelier than watching the world burn when no one around you seems to see it. Find someone else who <i>does <\/i>see it, and talk to them about it. Solving the biggest problems in the world is going to require cooperation. That starts with simply connecting over shared interests.<\/p>\n<p>There are lots of ways to surround yourself with like-minded people. The Internet is a great place to start\u2014there are subreddits and hashtags for all sorts of causes. Or look for a place to volunteer. If you\u2019re in school, find a club\u2014or start one!<\/p>\n<p>Some people are fortunate enough to find a workplace where people care about making a difference. And don\u2019t discount your friends and family. They might not understand&#8230; but some of them may surprise you if you give them a chance.<\/p>\n<p>The world won\u2019t get fixed just by talking about it, but talking about it is a great first step. And \u201cone step at a time\u201d is <em>exactly <\/em>how things get better.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"button blue round caret collapsed\" href=\"#references\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"references\" data-toggle-text=\"Hide References\">Show References<\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"references\" class=\"references collapse\">\n<ol>\n<li>Moore &amp; Fresco. (2012). <em>Depressive realism: A meta-analytic review.<\/em> Retrieved from <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.cpr.2012.05.004\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.cpr.2012.05.004<\/a><\/li>\n<li>World Health Organization. (2020). <em>Depression.<\/em> Retrieved from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.who.int\/news-room\/fact-sheets\/detail\/depression\">https:\/\/www.who.int\/news-room\/fact-sheets\/detail\/depression<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Let\u2019s be honest: The world can be a pretty terrible place. From personal losses to national tragedies and global disasters and everything in between\u2026 It\u2019s easy to feel depressed about the state of the world. Just thinking about the sheer amount of awfulness around us can be completely overwhelming\u2014even paralyzing. The problems are far too &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/es\/content\/how-can-i-be-ok-when-world-terrible\/\" class=\"more-link\">Seguir leyendo<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;How can I be ok when the world is terrible?&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"template":"","age_group":[23,100,19],"condition":[83,86,35,119],"class_list":["post-2515","article","type-article","status-publish","hentry","age_group-11-17","age_group-over-18","age_group-under-11","condition-anxiety","condition-depression","condition-loneliness","condition-trauma-ptsd"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<title>How can I be ok when the world is terrible?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/es\/content\/how-can-i-be-ok-when-world-terrible\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_MX\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How can I be ok when the world is terrible?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Let\u2019s be honest: The world can be a pretty terrible place. From personal losses to national tragedies and global disasters and everything in between\u2026 It\u2019s easy to feel depressed about the state of the world. Just thinking about the sheer amount of awfulness around us can be completely overwhelming\u2014even paralyzing. 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