7 mindfulness-based strategies to stop sinking into despair

Name your emotions. Take action. Know your limits. These seven mindfulness-based strategies can help you stay grounded while caring deeply about the world.

Keeping up with the news in a time gun violence, war and political division can become overwhelming. And in the midst of our many current challenges - the pandemic, climate change, economic uncertainty - it's understandable to feel sad, angry and anxious.

En As a clinical psychologist who specializes in giving people the tools to deal with intense emotions, I know how difficult it can be to stay positive – or just balanced – while caring deeply about our world. Some of my clients say they can't stop doomscrolling, others engage in unhealthy behaviors to disconnect, and many bounce between the two extremes.

But there is possible to ground yourself if you feel like you are sinking into despair about the state of the world. I rely on these seven mindfulness-based strategies for me and my clients to keep my feet on the ground.

1. Label your feelings.

If you can accurately label the emotion you are feeling right now, you can reduce its power in your body and brain. Name the emotion you feel, whether it's sadness, fear, anger, disgust or guilt - and how much you feel it. Say it out loud, use a mood tracker like Daylio, Reflectly, or Moodnotes, or write your feelings in a journal.

Try not to wait until your feelings have peaked, though. Get in the habit of naming your emotions as they arise. Tracking their intensity gives you a chance to slow down before you reach a boiling point and lose yourself in worry or rumination, breaking someone or reaching for a substance without thinking.

2. Allow yourself to feel emotions, too.

If you try to avoid your feelings, they will become more intense, said Melanie Harned, a psychologist at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System and author of “Trauma processing in dialectical behavior therapy.” When you are emotionally affected by a news story, take a moment to notice what you are thinking, doing, and feeling in your body. Choose what would be most helpful to you in the moment, whether it's creating a window to feel your emotions for a few minutes without trying to change them, or, if you're in the middle of a pressing task, plan to come back to painful news at a time when you can grieve.

One ​​way to improve your ability to manage your emotions is to remind yourself that they can fluctuate rapidly. One exercise that helps my clients stop worrying about getting stuck in their feelings is to watch several brief, moving scenes in succession - the deathbed scene from the movie "The Champ" followed by an excerpt from the music video for " Happy" by Pharrell Williams. “If you try that, you might find yourself in tears one moment, then dancing or smiling in your chair the next. The goal is to understand how this same transience can apply to the variety of emotions you experience when you remain present throughout the day.

C' Understandably, in the wake of a tragedy, it can also be tempting to narrow the scope of your life to avoid painful emotions. For example, after learning about mass supermarket violence, as we did in the horrific shootings in Boulder and Buffalo, it is natural to feel uncomfortable about going to the races. Keep in mind that allowing yourself to feel your emotions, including fear, when getting back into a routine will ultimately improve your anxiety, Dr. Harned says.

3. Practice of...