How to Protect your Mental Health During Uncertain Times
- Mary Bicknell
- Jul 8
- 8 min read
How to Protect Your Mental Health During Uncertain Times
In the Spring of 2025, in the United States of America, there are a number of things happening that might make it difficult for you to find peace of mind. Each day, it seems, the news includes reports of flooding, fires, and hurricanes somewhere in the US. We are also hearing about changes in many areas of the government, some may affect your job or your health care, they say. Then, to make things more confusing, some people think things are getting much better while others think things are worse. How do you sort all of this? Is your attempt at sorting making you more confused and stressed?
I just received a text that 61% of the American public think that America is going in the wrong direction, do you get texts like this? Is it true, is it false, is it partially true, how do we know. No one can deny that there are many things going on in America and across the globe. No matter what your opinion is, or how you view the current events, being able to handle your mental wellbeing is crucial for you, your family and your community.
Knowing that is true, how do you use this knowledge to your benefit in this time of societal worry? It is important to build some basic mental health practices that allow you to care for yourself, no matter if your worry is personal or global, bigger than any you have ever known or day-to-day worry. It is important to discover how to keep what you think about the world around you, and how much you think about it, from leading you on a path that is not healthy, mentally. We will explore ways to order your day and your mind to help you achieve a workable level of peace in your life.
Understanding the Mental Health Impact of Societal Unrest
Psychology Today, 2024, pointed out that all elections have an impact on our minds, bodies and spirits, and the most recent election was ‘uniquely stressful’. These effects do not go away as soon as the election is over. With the diversity in belief systems in our country, it is likely that you know someone, in your neighborhood, work life, or family who believes very differently than you. This can add to the distress you are feeling.
The human body is designed to prepare for risks that seem likely. Uncertainty of what is to happen next causes the body to respond with a fight or flight response, which many people know about. There is a third option which you might not be as familiar with, that is the freeze reaction, (Psychology Today, 2024). If you have read about grief or have known someone who has gone through grief you are probably aware that one stage of grief is denial. What that means is that the person who may have lost their loved one, at first cannot believe that it is real. They can become frozen. This same reaction can happen when events in the world around you feel dangerous.
A current term that has been coined to describe this feeling is ‘post-election-stress-disorder’ according to Teen Vogue,2024. This means that even though the election is over, you may still be feeling the distress you had going into the election.
Means to Ground Yourself for Daily Stability
When things are feeling overwhelming, or you are feeling numb and can’t seem to reconnect, there are ways to help yourself. Knowing that you are experiencing emotional stress and admitting the presence is seen as one way to decrease the ability of that stress to impact your emotional health. Naming it does give you back some control.
Another important step is something called ‘grounding yourself’. Dr. Saltz, Teen Vogue, 2024, compares this to bringing awareness to your feelings again. She suggests, in your numbness, you are not feeling. Grounding yourself allows you to feel again. You don’t have to feel only anger or fear; you just need to feel life again. We have five senses, hearing, touch, smell, taste and sight. Do something that feels positive to your senses. Go to a park and look at the trees, hear the children on the swings, feel the wind and sun on your face. Do you like sour things, have some lemonade and enjoy the sour sweet taste as it trickles down your throat. Do something each day, noticing that you are not numb as you concentrate on your senses.
Involve Your Physical Body
As mentioned in Psychology Today, major distress affects the physical body as well. Be sure that you are paying attention to your physical well-being. Drink water, eat healthy food, and get some exercise. You may not be in the mood to go for a walk in the morning but once you get out into nature and move your body, you will be more aware, you will be using your senses, and you will be giving yourself a shot of endorphins. Healthline 2023, states that one of the major benefits of endorphins is a reduction of stress, anxiety, and depression.
An added benefit of exercising is that your mind will be occupied in completing the task you are doing, not concentrating on the latest news. For example, if you are riding your bike, you will need to watch out for bumps in the road and traffic you may encounter. Even if the exercise you are doing takes less conscious attention, this time in physical activity gives your brain time away from worry.
Psychology Today states that control of our emotions is not the goal. The goal is to be sure that we are not controlled by our emotions.
It is Healthy to Create Boundaries for Time Spent on Information Consumption
A general sense of worry is damaging to one’s health. Scientific American, 2025, tells us that fear affects the human mind in two ways. One is cognitive or having to do with the mind and thinking. The second way fear affects us is emotionally, affecting our ability to pay attention. So, fear makes it hard to think well and to pay attention. When these two things intersect, it is more likely that we will accept someone else’s opinion, finding it hard to know what our opinion is. We really do not process the information coming in at that time.
Considering this, it is important for you to find a way to regulate how much of the news you are exposed to daily. In this time of up-to-date news at your fingertips 24/7, it may feel a bit unnerving to not know the latest story. However, to be emotionally healthy, it is important to give yourself permission to not always know the latest on every event. This may feel uncomfortable at first, you might have been the one who could always tell your friends about the latest story coming out. Check yourself, though, if you are dealing with feelings of FOMO. Scientific American suggests that you set limits to the amount of time you listen, for your emotional health. Rather than listening all day, set a couple of times each day, when you give yourself permission to watch for a established amount number of minutes.
Giving yourself an alternative is a positive way to go forward, filling those hours you would have been watching the news. Find a book about something you would like to read and lose yourself in a good story. Grab a pen and paper, try writing down your thoughts. Writing not only takes you away from the news but also allows you to process feelings. You don’t like writing? Draw something, paint something, or go out in your yard. Doing something creative not only takes you away from the news but it also allows you to explore your thoughts and feelings in a less stressful activity.
Focusing on What You Have an Ability to Control
None of us can control all things around us. We wish we could make sure that every child in the world had enough food. We wish we could rebuild every house that was washed away in that last flood. We wish we could tell those people who are worried about their jobs that they don’t need to worry, they will have plenty of work. But we know it is not a reality for us to be able to do all those noble deeds.
We accept that we cannot solve all these issues, but we do have the ability to make a difference with the person next to us. That is an important first step toward finding our own mental health. Reaching out, even in small things, allows us to connect with the people around us. Taking the garbage can to the street for your elderly neighbor, who has a political sign showing their beliefs are different than yours, allows you to look at the person, not which side they are on.
Fostering Relationships and Community
Knowing you are in a community is of great value. It is healthy to accept that your neighborhood may look different than what you once knew as your community. Looking around and accepting the people beside you as your community leads to your own mental health and improved health of the public. This likely is not the way you grew up, I know it wasn’t for me. I grew up in a small farming town, in an area of the country that was not very diverse. I have come to accept that the community I understood as a child was only one very small piece of America.
If you have not volunteered before, this may feel like a strange time to start. However, lending a hand in your community brings good to you and to those you serve. Volunteering will give you something to concentrate on other than fear. Also, you will be among other people who care and those who need help. According to FHE Health Restore, 2025, volunteering can “deflect feelings of helplessness”.
There is Professional Help
If you are considering harming yourself, call the national suicide prevention hot line at 988.
After trying the steps suggested in this article, if you find you are not able to move past your distress, there is professional help available. Many places of employment have an Employee Assistance Program. This program provides a person for employees to talk to, when they feel they have a need. Check with your place of work to determine if you have that benefit with your job.
Psychology Today has a directory of therapist for all 50 states, if you feel you need someone to help you talk through your distress. Through Psychology Today you will be able to request the therapist that will fit you best on their contact form.
There is no Rating Scale for Worry
Working in medicine one thing that you learn is that there is no rating scale for worry. While working in the NICU, I remember a mom who could not stop crying as she looked at her baby. Jeff, the doctor asked her why she was still crying, he had just been telling this mom how well her baby was doing. The mom said she was crying because her baby was so small. Jeff turned to me and said, “Mary, go get some smaller diapers”. His point was to help this mom picture how small a truly small baby could be. We had three sizes of diapers that were smaller than her baby was wearing. Jeff thought if we could show this mom that we took care of babies much smaller than her baby it would make her feel better. It didn’t work. The morale of that story is not that there is always someone who is worse off, it is, your worry does not stop because there is someone worse off.
Javanbakht with Scientific American asked us to remember that we are living in one of the safest and most prosperous times. Things will become more manageable. Take care of yourself and your community and use the resources listed to keep yourself from becoming stuck. Volunteer and give to your community but be sure that you are not over committed.
What one thing will you start today for your mental health? Remember you taking time to be healthy is part of the solution. You will be part of the solution, for yourself and for your community.
Endorphins: Functions, Levels, and Natural Boosts, Healthline, 2023
Feeling Overwhelmed by the News? Here’s How to Protect Your Mental Health | Scientific American, 2025
When to Limit News for Your Mental Health - Restore Mental Health | Inpatient & Outpatient Treatment, FHE Health Restore, 2025
Assessed and Endorsed by the MedReport Medical Review Board
