JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Many people vow to exercise more and eat healthier in 2024, but are you looking at your mental health too?
From tragedies in our community to war across the world, bad news can take a toll on us. We’re all human and human suffering isn’t easy to watch. Psychologists say there is a way to stay compassionate while also protecting your mental health.
From the Israel-Hamas war and humanitarian disaster in the Middle East to the Russian invasion of Ukraine that’s nearing the two-year mark, the migrant crisis at the southern border and local violence -- pain can surround us.
“The more that you get inundated or the more that you pursue information, the more that it’s going to take a toll,” said Dr. Justin D’Arienzo, a Navy veteran turned Jacksonville psychologist. “But I think it’s also important to be aware of what’s happening. So you have to consume the information with moderation.”
He identifies two types of people generally: those who worry about what’s going on in the world and those who are desensitized or block it out completely. The key to health may be in the middle.
“Do what you can do to help the world be a better place and find some peace and try to gain some control in your own personal life to make the world a better place at the same time,” he suggested. “It’s important that we become a more understanding world, and we reach across the aisle, and we make peace, and we try to make the world -- we’re all responsible for making it a better place and understanding where other people are coming from.”
Love brings peace. Peace brings wellness. And that’s good for all of us.
“The reason that violence occurs is because usually somebody is socially isolated from the group,” D’Arienzo said. “And that’s the result of us not being kind or not going across the aisle to try to connect with people and include everybody and make everybody feel like they’re part of a community.”
As we ring in the new year, let’s give back and help where we can make a difference for others and ourselves.
And if you can’t shake those feelings, it’s important to have a support network or get professional help. Sometimes we need someone to talk to.