Headlines and Healing: Navigating Turbulent Times

3 ways to continue caring about the world, while taking care of ourselves and those around us.

How to Be There for Your Friend or Colleague Who’s Impacted by the News

What To Say

“If you want to show support, there is a gentler approach. The magic words for me, in a case like this, have been: ‘How are you doing?’ or ‘What do you need?’”

 — Evelyn Nam

What Not To Say

“I would recommend trying not to talk about the details of the tragedy, especially in a tone critical of the nation — what it should’ve done or what it shouldn’t have done. Doing so might distract your teammate from processing their grief, mourning, and moving towards healing. When a community is collectively grieving, it’s painful to point out flaws within their systems. In my experience, it leads to feelings of hopelessness. Your teammate doesn’t need that right now.”

— Evelyn Nam, writer from Harvard Business Review

The Importance of Starting the Conversation with Your Kids

“... you want to be the trusted source, and you want them to be able to talk to you about it. And you do that by basically saying, ‘What have you heard? What do you know? What do you feel about what you’ve heard and what you know?’ And let them tell you, then let them ask you questions.”

— Dr. Gail Saltz

Build Up Your Stress-Busting Toolkit

“When stress and fear fire up our amygdala, the part of the brain that controls our emotional response, we’re not in our ‘wise mind’.”

“But we can ‘become in a wise mind’ by doing physiologic things to calm our system down. And those are things like adding five minutes of paced, deep breathing to your morning and to your evening, or progressive muscle relaxation,”

— Dr. Gail Saltz, clinical associate professor of psychiatry, New York Presbyterian Hospital and Weill Cornell Medical College

Adapted from:

CNN health, “How to protect your mental health while keeping tabs on the Israel-Hamas war” by Andrea Kane

Harvard Business Review, “I Was Heartbroken by the News. Here’s How My Colleagues Have Helped.” by Evelyn Nam