With the enviable position of having a cocktail of three mental health conditions: Autism, General Anxiety Disorder and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, it's come to my attention that trying to cope with mental health conditions with the state of the planet as it currently is is very, very, very difficult. I've seen a few guides on how to cope on the Internet but not a lot and not a lot of them included all the things that have helped me cope with the current state of our world, so I thought I'd regurgitate things that have helped me specifically in the hope that I can help other people going through the same experience. Also, disclaimer, I am in no way a trained professional and my life is by no means perfect so take this advice as... someone's advice. So, in no particular order:
1 - Explore Nature:
Humans, collectively, are idiots. Groups and individuals of them are fantastic, but if we look at the bigger picture, we're not doing particularly well at the moment. Animals, on the other hand, just do their thing. They're just carrying out their natural behaviours, being super chill, looking pretty, smelling nice and generally just being lovely to watch and be around. Animals are good. Find animals and be with them. Find trees and sit under them. Nature is just fabulous, it really is.
2 - Filter Your Inputs:
With things being as interesting as they are, the news can be a constant bombardment of everything awful in the world. If you're going to get anything done without breaking down under the weight of awfulness you'll have to filter said news. Get trending off of your Facebook and Twitter, you can open Facebook up in the message tab on the computer so you don't see it, look at it on your phone or get a browser extension. With Twitter you can do the same things except for the message tab or you could get TweetDeck, which I highly recommend (you will have to copy and paste emojis though). Follow people that make you feel happy, don't follow those that make you feel bad. Mute words, phrases and accounts that trigger your anxiety. If you have to check the news, try and check it as little as possible, once a day I find's best if you feel a need to check, and check it from matter-of-fact sources, not those that are going to sensationalise topics in order to get views. I mainly find that you'll overhear or someone will tell you big news anyway. I also find watching satirical shows about the news is a good idea, so you can kind of offset your outrage/fear/sadness with laughter. Shows like Have I Got News For You, Saturday Night Live, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver are all great for this.
There is an absolute tonne of stuff out there to help people with mental health conditions. There are charities, books, websites, podcasts, vlogs, the list is endless. Ones that have helped me are this website that basically gives you Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for free (which is great because the waiting times are ages, although this is NOT to be used as a substitute for actual treatment if actual treatment is available), Headspace - guided meditations (although you do have to pay for most of it, but it is worth it if you have the cash), the podcast Anxiety Slayer and the book How To Survive the End of the World (When It's In Your Own Head) by Aaron Gillies (@TechnicallyRon on Twitter) which I cannot praise enough.
4 - Shift Your Focus:
When your brain is sending you a lot of worrisome thoughts, the best thing you can do is accept that they exist, pause and then shift your attention to something else: what you're doing, what you can see, hear, touch, smell. It can help people to set up worry times or rationalise their irrational thoughts but I find a lot of the time that just shifting the focus helps. It's important, though, that you accept the thought and pause first because if you just stop it and skip to something else, trying to get rid of it, then that reinforces the worrying behaviour in the first place... or so scientists or whatever say. Thoughts are like clouds, they come and go. Sure you can think some thoughts yourself but a lot are just your brain being random.
5 - Take Action:
If you're not happy with the state of the world, act. Things only change if people change them, so join a group that fits your ideals, contact your representatives, sign petitions, march, and, yes I'm gonna say it, even tweet about it. Tweeting at least brings attention to a subject, even those that are adamant that signing petitions and tweeting can't save the world have to accept that. So do something. It may not change anything, it may change everything, at least you can say to yourself that you did all you could to stop whatever you vehemently disagree with from happening. As Ghandi once said: "Be the change you wish to see in this world."
6 - Communicate with Humans:
Yes, humans are awful, but some aren't and those are your friends and family (that you like). Talk to them, even if only through text. They can help you through difficult times, give you a fresh perspective on things and, most importantly, just make you laugh and be happy.
7 - Do Things You Enjoy:
Pretty much what it says on the tin for this one. Not much more to say really. Have fun!
8 - Stay in the Present:
This one's from the school of Mindfulness (as well as shifting your focus actually), which is supposed to be really good for mental health according to people that know things. It makes sense really. You can't change the past, you can only do so much about the future and if you don't pay attention to the present that you won't have really done any living. We've only got so much time you know.
9 - Consider the Universe:
This is a subjective one (the effect not the fact), but the universe is big. Stupid big. Look up how big it is. For me knowing how cosmically insignificant everything is is a great source of comfort, for others it makes them feel useless, but to those I say we are significant as long as we have friends and family, as long as human civilisation exists. But if our worst fears were realised the stars would keep burning, Saturn would still be enveloped by its ring, Jupiter's Spot would keep swirling (for a while at least). And think of how big the universe is, think of all the civilisations that could be out there, all the life, all the strange worlds. We live on a small pale blue dot, the universe will continue after we are gone in all its strange, wonderful ways.
10 - See the Positives:
Mr Rogers said his mother would tell him after disasters, "Look for the helpers". There's a hell of a lot of negativity in the world, but there's also a hell of a lot of positivity. Look at the Good News Network, if you're on Reddit check out r/UpliftingNews, even if you can't find anything good consider that you are alive in an age where we know our position in the universe, we understand our beginnings, we can help treat mental health conditions, we're connected with people all around the world, we can access all the information the world can offer going back thousands and thousands of years without even leaving our bed. If you think about it, we're very lucky. Our atoms could have been anything: a rock, a fish, a lampost but we're a sentient human being who's alive at a point when they can fully understand the sheer magnitude of their universe. I think that's pretty cool.
I hope these tips help you in some way and I wish you the best of luck.
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