ICE, social media, the news, and mental health in this era of chaos
This is my senior year of undergrad. My last semester at the University of Miami. And I’ve been living it up. I’ve been busy with so many beautiful, lovely people and places and things. A blog post on senior year is being written, so I won’t get into that now. I’ve been having a blast, spending possibly too much money, soaking up being so close to all my friends, making mostly good decisions with some riskier ones tossed in, and making memories I’ll have forever. I’m feeling so grateful, so blessed, and also so privileged. Because while I’ve been lying under palm trees on the beach and hitting up new bars and new cities with my friends, very real things have been going on in this country. I’m watching my own country descend into fascism right before my eyes, and it’s hard to think about it for any extended period of time without feeling hopeless and distraught.
I’ve always prided myself on being educated. For a long time, my morning routine was scrolling through all of the headlines of the newsletters that hit my inbox every morning. I like to know what’s going on in the country. Keeping up to date on the daily happenings, both nationally and abroad. It feels empowering to know what I’m talking about, to form my own opinions, to know what’s going on outside my little circle of existence. There is such power in knowledge, and that is not lost on me.
But not too long ago, I realized it might be too much. Getting notifications that ICE was hauling people away in handcuffs at the café down the street. Wondering if I went on that spring break trip to Mexico, if I would be let back into the country? Being curious if I will have the right to my own body in a couple of years, or the right to get married, or the right to free speech. Seeing professors and students have to leave the University of Miami because of new restrictions.
I would wake up to another headline of someone shot dead in the streets by a masked federal agent, the hope of justice little to none. Another headline that the United States has begun to bomb another country in the Middle East. Another child who has come home to an empty house, parents nowhere to be found. Another concentration camp being built on United States soil in the year of 2026. Another baby lost to starvation or genocide. Another family torn apart, another protester shot, another law passed, another executive order signed, another life ruined. And I realized I couldn’t do it anymore. It was killing me slowly.
My days started with a cup of coffee accompanied by anxiety, with an impending sense of doom. It wasn’t healthy for me. Consuming so much media about how horrible things are was impacting my mental health in a very real way. I felt hopeless. So I decided to take a break from the news and social media.
I’ve always thought ignorance is bliss. Of course it is, because ignorance is a privilege. The choice to simply delete the NYT morning newsletter waiting in my inbox is a privilege. To read about the wars, the genocides, the mass deportations, and the public killings, rather than to be the one experiencing them, is an incredible privilege. One I grapple with. It is not lost on me that I am a Latina woman living in a predominantly Hispanic city. These things are affecting my people, my community. I feel an incredible sense of empathy and kinship with each and every person being affected by these nightmarish measures of the United States government.
So what am I supposed to do with it? All this horror, all the anxiety? I think there’s only so much one can do to stay sane. Your mental health is real, and it’s important, and it matters. We weren’t meant to exist in this constant state of stimulation. To scroll on Instagram and see a picture from your friend’s vacation, then an AI influencer, then a video of someone being shot and killed within 15 seconds of each other is jarring. News used to come through newspapers, and updates on friends’ lives were discussed over coffee. But we live in this modern world. And when it feels like everything is falling apart, half the country have lost their damn minds, homophobia, racism, and classism are reaching new heights, and our democracy might not exist tomorrow, we have to take measures to protect our own well-being.
So, if you’re in search of some hope or inspiration, here’s how I’ve been retaliating against the impending doom.
Friends and Community
- Try to find like-minded people.
- Talk about how you’re feeling to your friends and peers.
- Lean on the community around you, and find some more along the way.
Ground Yourself
- Set limits on how you interact with social media
- Do things that ground and soothe you and that improve your mental health. Self-care, whatever that looks like for you. I like to do yoga at night and go on walks when it’s sunny outside.
- Therapy has been helpful for me to bounce my thoughts and ideas off a professional. There is no shame in mental health care, and if you have access to it, I highly recommend giving it a try.
Protests and Action
- I’ve been to a couple of protests in Miami with my friends Julia and Saskya. To be surrounded by others who feel the same way as you, to take action in a tangible way, it can feel reassuring. Keep an eye out for events or protests going on where you live.
Joy
- Feel happiness! Do things that make you happy. For me, it looks like getting to the beach, going out with my friends, or trying a new bakery. Joy is so important, and there is no shame in just forgetting all your worries and responsibilities to simply enjoy your life!
Education
- Burying your head under a rock isn’t helpful. But neither is scouring every news outlet every morning and feeling depleted and depressed. I try to stay up-to-date without spiraling. Taking breaks when I need them and paying attention to how I feel before engaging with content.
Hope
- I wonder how the United States will come back from the low we’ve fallen to. I wonder how the world will look; I wonder about the future I have ahead of me. Sometimes it feels like we’ve gone too far, that we’ve opened Pandora’s box and things can never feel the same. And the truth is that they won’t. We can’t change what has happened. But the world keeps turning.
- And the most important thing we can do is hope. I keep my faith in the universe. Things will get better, because there is still so much good in the world. There is no new depth to sink to that we cannot rise from. We can lean on each other. Never give up on trying to make things better. And make sure to notice all of the beauty existing around, every hour of every day.
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