Mandala artwork by Susan Buchalter, LPC, ATR-BC, CGP
According to a recent survey by the American Psychological Association (APA),1 social divisiveness causes stress for 59 percent of Americans, while 56 percent say that following the news causes stress. For 63 percent, the future of the nation is a very or somewhat significant source of stress.
“We live in an age of information overload, and it can feel like we’re constantly bombarded with negative messages,” says Susan Buchalter, LPC, ATR-BC, CGP, Senior Primary Therapist and Art Therapist at Penn Medicine Princeton House Behavioral Health’s outpatient site at Princeton. “In some cases, current events can be traumatizing or trigger memories of past trauma.”
When patients have difficulty coping with what’s happening in the world, Buchalter recommends that behavioral health professionals encourage them to:
- Avoid watching the news or checking social media at night before bed. Even better, take a mini-vacation from these outlets.
- Engage in purposeful and fulfilling activities rather than spending too much time behind a TV screen, computer, or smartphone. Excessive screen time can cause feelings of isolation, low self-esteem, and helplessness.
- Build new perspectives and avoid labeling. Having an open mind to different viewpoints can be life-changing.
- Avoid catastrophizing. Focusing on the “what ifs” and exaggerating what is happening now often increases feelings of stress and anxiety while placing individuals in the victim role.
- Focus on the positive in the world. An ideal way to do this is through volunteering, because helping others has both mental and physical benefits. These include inspiring positive feelings, contributing to a sense of purpose, promoting activity, and even decreasing mortality rates.
- Use dialectical behavior therapy techniques like mindfulness to live more in the moment. Practicing deep breathing, focusing on the five senses, repeating a mantra, or imagining negative thoughts floating away are good examples.
Buchalter provides art therapy, an integral part of the therapeutic curriculum, to help patients focus, problem-solve, engage in creative mindfulness, and communicate strong feelings that they are unable to vocalize. For example, she often guides patients to create mandalas (Sanskrit for circle) during art therapy. As part of this process, patients create self-representative designs and images within a circle, which is seen as a safe, welcoming, universal shape.
1. APA Stress in America™: The State of our Nation Survey, November 2017
For more information about outpatient services at Princeton House, visit princetonhouse.org or call 888.437.1610.
Article as seen in the Summer 2018 issue of Princeton House Behavioral Health Today.