Protecting your mind in a scary world

This week, I was planning to write about collagen supplements. But you’ll have to wait for that Pulitzer-level investigation because it feels more important to address what is dominating my thoughts and conversations at the moment: how to cope when the news is so upsetting.

Everyone I talk to is struggling with this. People are feeling overwhelmed, unable to sleep, battling intrusive thoughts that crowd in when you should be working, or resting, or listening to your child talk about their day at school.

It’s not only that the stories and images in the news are so brutal (although they are particularly brutal), it’s also the horrible feeling that people are being hurt and families torn apart while we’re just watching. Because other than donating to organisations such as the Red Cross, there is little that we can do about it. 

Writer and organisational psychologist Adam Grant says there’s a name fo…