A Guide to Staying Sane in a World That Feels Out of Control

The combination of truly wild times and a media and information system that is like methamphetamine for your brain is unprecedented.

The world feels crazy and chaotic. Every day seems to bring a new crisis.

The combination of truly wild times and a media and information system that is like methamphetamine for your brain is unprecedented.

News travels at warp speed, and is instantly available in our pockets. You don’t want to bury your head in the sand, but trying to keep up with everything—let alone make a difference—feels impossible.

So many people are feeling overloaded and overwhelmed and like you just want to throw your hands up and be like what now?! It’s easy to get stuck in a loop of anxiety, anger, and doomscrolling. It’s challenging to accept reality—and sometimes even just let things just suck—all the while without falling into despair.

But here we are.

What follows is a brief guide for staying informed, making a difference, and maintaining your sanity during tumultuous times.

1. Don’t ignore reality.

Whether it’s global factors or personal challenges happening at home, you have to separate what you can control from what you can’t.

Not every challenge has to lead to immediate meaning or growth.

Sometimes things just suck, and that’s okay.

But you can practice tragic optimism, a term coined by Viktor Frankl that allows you to hold space for hardship and hope at the same time. It's not naive. It’s resilient.

2. Turn anger and anxiety into action.

There is nothing wrong with strong emotions, but sitting in them for too long isn’t the best.

Feel what you are feeling and do something. Call your congressperson. Go to a city council meeting. Get involved in your community. Present solutions.

When the world feels big, complex, and out of control, it can help to go small and local. There is plenty of good to do—we don’t need to look far to find it.

3. Normalize saying: “I don’t know enough to have an opinion about that.”

It’s not ignorance is bliss. It’s recognizing that it’s impossible to be informed on every issue, especially given the rate at which we are inundated with information.

People gravitate toward black-and-white extremes—and sometimes it is that simple. But sometimes there is nuance. Pick your spots. If you’re taking care of your life as an adult you aren’t going to have time to form an opinion on everything—and that’s okay.

4. Don’t get caught up in following world events as entertainment.

Don’t bury your head in the sand, but also realize when you are checking the news only because you’ve become addicted to the jolt of anxiety you get.

Once you’ve become informed and have taken any actions that may help, then it’s a great time to read a book or take a walk.

5. It’s better to be kind than clever.

Cliche but true: it’s hard to hate people up close. Open doors. Say thank you. Don’t rush through interactions, and try not to see them as transactional. Advocate for others.

Trust the innate humanity in people. Notice the good, because there’s plenty of it. Stand up for what you believe in, but don’t be a jerk.

6. Stand up for your values.

(But don’t be an asshole.)

In a world on edge, it’s tempting to go numb or lash out. But there’s strength in holding your ground without becoming an asshole.

You can feel strongly. You can disagree and still be decent. You can set boundaries. All this can be true at once. Nobody can take away your values. Stand up for what matters, and do it with heart.

7. Do real things in the real world.

Create. Contribute. Volunteer. Coach. Play sports. Garden.

If you make art, make art. If you can go on a walk, go on a walk. It’s easy to freeze up and feel overwhelmed to the point of stagnation. But forward momentum is important.

It’s not indulgent to live your life, to feel joy and aliveness—it’s crucial. People creating and contributing make the world go round.

8. Don’t get sucked into how utterly dumb things can be.

Give attention and energy to the right stuff.

When you notice you’re consuming information (perhaps especially politics) more like WWE or reality TV, the most rebellious thing is to TURN IT OFF. It’s true that sometimes the lines are blurred between this is so dumb and this will have a real impact on me, but be wary of idiots who want nothing more than to mire you in anger.

9. Practice emotional flexibility.

Research shows that people who make room for hope while also feeling loss demonstrate greater resilience. Toxic positivity and delusion lead to denial that anything is ever wrong. Extreme pessimism and despair suggest any action is pointless.

Between these extremes is a third option: committing to wise hope and wise action. This requires not being afraid to feel sadness while at the same time experiencing joy and keeping your resolve.

You don’t have to pretend that everything is fine when nothing feels fine. But it’s okay to have great hours, days, or even weeks during trying times. There is nothing wrong with experiencing joy. It’s actually important, and you don’t have to feel guilty about it. You can be happy and sad in the same week, day, or even hour. The meditation teacher Jon Kabat-Zinn calls it full catastrophe living. I call it rugged flexibility.

At the end of the day…

It’s about accepting reality, creating space to feel what you are feeling, separating what is within your control from what is not, practicing emotional flexibility, protecting your sanity, and finding things that make you feel alive. Show up in congruence with your values. Do this as best you can.