Managing Stress When Current Events Are Chaotic

As therapists, we frequently help people deal with stress more effectively. One topic that affects most people at various points is current events.

While normal life stresses such as work concerns, parenting, and relationships continue to happen, trying to keep anxious thoughts and feelings under control when the outside world seems unpredictable or dangerous can be even more difficult.

Media of all types has a clear interest in ensuring you feel something when consuming its content – including social media. Think of local TV news asking ominous questions like: “What could be lurking in your water supply? Tune in tonight at 10!” It’s easy to see why advertisements like this or intense posts on social media can affect our mood and outlook on the world – it’s scary to think something dangerous may be in the water supply!

With news alerts and social media feeds continuing to allow us to see the gritty reality of issues like politics, war, or hunger, it's hard to know what to do or how to help. Giving yourself time to recharge can help ensure you manage the anxiety and feelings of powerlessness that can accompany staying engaged with the world. Let’s take a look:

1. Map What You Can Control

When an intense event or issue is making headlines, it's natural to feel worry or stress. In these situations, it can be a good practice to reflect on your place in the world in relation to the issue.

Consider: If the issue doesn't affect you personally and you’re not in a position to affect change directly, you're only one person and your ability to help will have limitations. Keeping this reality in mind can even help you more effectively engage in methods that actually can affect the issue you feel passionately about. You'll spend less time worried about things that are out of your control and can use that time to find ways to help or engage in ways available to you.

2. Do What You Can

As you map what is and is not within your control, you’ll find even the most far-flung issues bring chances for you to contribute. No matter how small or seemingly insignificant the area of contribution may be, taking action can not only help solve the issue, but also help you manage your feelings by feeling more engaged in a way that can be less draining to your overall emotional energy .

Even if you can't solve the problem directly, taking action to do what you are able to do can take care of the nagging, critical part of your mind that says "you're not doing enough".

3. Know (and Accept) Your Limits

Even if you find a good way to contribute to solving the issue you're worried about, it’s important to remember you’re only one person and your ability to help is limited by definition.

Be honest with yourself about how much of any given resource (money, volunteer time, even attention!) you can commit to what's bothering you. Giving yourself permission to set limits for your contribution, no matter the form, can help avoid the feelings of powerlessness that can come from seeing what seems like a steady barrage of problems.

Be sure to adhere to your limits as well, even when it’s hard. The key is to keep yourself able to engage with finding solutions to our larger problems without becoming so bogged down that you end up burnt out and disengaged.

Stresses from outside sources can affect anyone. Let's talk about it. Call 319-594-7201 or email to start.