10 Simple Things to Do When You’re Hopeless About the World

There are moments when the weight of the world feels unbearable.

Climate breakdown. War. Rising inequality. Political instability. Increasing polarisation. The sense that no matter what we do, it’s never enough.

If you’ve been searching for what to do when you feel hopeless about the world, I can safely promise you that you’re not alone. Many deeply caring individuals are navigating waves of despair right now.

At Parayma, we speak openly about this. Because hopelessness isn’t a personal failure. It’s often a very rational response to witnessing systemic challenges (especially when progress feels slow).

Yet hopelessness doesn’t have to define your path. Or your mental health.

Because we need you in the fight. Your voice, passion, and strength are invaluable as we tackle pressing issues together.

Below, we explore grounded, compassionate, and practical steps for what to do when you feel hopeless about the world - while holding both inner and outer transformation in view.

Why We’re All Feeling Hopeless About The World

Before rushing to “fix” the feeling, it helps to understand it.

Hopelessness doesn’t typically appear out of nowhere, as I’m sure you’re aware. It tends to grow in specific conditions that fuel it.

We’re living through many overlapping crises that affect nearly every layer of society. Ecological collapse, cost-of-living pressures, humanitarian crises, political volatility, and technological disruption aren’t isolated events. They’re deeply interconnected, affect each other, and rely on each other.

From a systems perspective, these are symptoms of deep-rooted paradigms and power structures.

When you feel hopeless about the world, you’re often perceiving:

• A lack of meaningful change at scale
• Entrenched power dynamics resisting transformation
• Slow policy progress despite urgent needs
• The sheer complexity of systemic problems

There’s also a neurological layer.

The human brain evolved to prioritise immediate threat detection. News cycles amplify crises. Social media algorithms reward outrage, fear, urgency, and alarm. Over time, this creates chronic activation of the stress response in the human brain and body.

Research in psychology shows that prolonged exposure to distressing global events can lead to:

• Eco-anxiety
• Moral injury
• Compassion fatigue
• Learned helplessness

Common mistakes when feeling hopeless include:

• Assuming the feeling means you’re weak
• Believing you’re the only one struggling
• Trying to suppress the emotion
• Overcompensating by working harder

From a systems change lens, hopelessness often emerges when we’re fighting symptoms (reactive) rather than addressing root causes (proactive).

If all we see are visible crises, and we don’t yet see leverage points for structural change, despair grows.

There’s another layer too: the collapse of narratives.

For decades, many societies operated under an assumption of linear progress. When setbacks occur, they shake our internal story of inevitability. Yet history shows that paradigm shifts often emerge during periods of turbulence.

Feeling hopeless means we’re in transition. Nothing is ever permanent.

Understanding this context is the first step in learning what to do when you feel hopeless about the world.

1. Validate & Give Space to Your Feelings

One of the most powerful answers to feeling hopeless about the world is deceptively simple: allow yourself to truly feel it.

Many changeworkers and passionate people are skilled at action. They move quickly to problem-solving. They tend to override emotion in service of impact.

Yet unprocessed emotion doesn’t disappear (unfortunately). It simply accumulates.

Validation means:

• Acknowledging your despair without judging it
• Naming what hurts
• Recognising that grief is a sign of care
• Speaking kindly to yourself

Hopelessness often carries grief beneath it. Grief for ecosystems. For communities. For lost possibilities. These go hand-in-hand because hopelessness means acknowledging the things we feel we have lost in the process.

When we give space to grief, it becomes a teacher.

Psychological research shows that emotional suppression increases stress hormones and reduces resilience. In contrast, emotional acceptance improves regulation and long-term wellbeing.

Practical ways to validate your feelings:

• Say out loud: “This is hard and that’s ok.”
• Share honestly with a trusted person
• Sit for ten minutes without distraction and simply notice what’s present
• Write a letter expressing your anger or sadness

A common mistake is believing that feeling deeply will make you less effective. Or that it’ll make you “weak” or “less than”.

In reality, emotional literacy strengthens leadership, resilience, impact, and character. It allows us to respond consciously rather than react impulsively.

I always emphasise combining inner and outer work because of how important emotional literacy is. Validating your emotions is part of the inner foundation that sustains outer contribution and impact.

You don’t have to rush out of hopelessness immediately. In fact, I specifically recommend not doing that. Sometimes the most transformative action is pausing long enough to listen, honor, and process.

2. Find Like-Minded People to Talk to

One of the worst things to do when feeling hopelessness is to isolate yourself.

When you feel hopeless about the world, your perspective can narrow and thoughts can spiral. It can seem as though no one else cares or understands.

Human connection disrupts this narrative.

Research in social psychology consistently shows that collective processing reduces stress and increases agency. Humans are inherently relational beings.

Finding like-minded people doesn’t require having a large network, I promise. I’ve personally found the best people to be in my smaller group of friends.

It may begin with:

• One honest conversation
• A small discussion circle
• A peer group
• A community aligned with your values

Speaking your fears aloud can:

• Normalise your experience
• Reveal shared concerns
• Surface new ideas
• Renew motivation
• Connect you with others feeling the same way

In systems change work, collaboration is essential. No paradigm shift emerges from isolated individuals alone.

A common mistake I often see people make is seeking only information instead of relationship.

Information alone rarely alleviates despair. It may stimulate your brain as if you’re taking meaningful action, but it’s really connection and forming relationships that indirectly fuels the best systems change efforts.

If you’re early in your journey, look for spaces that are welcoming rather than overly academic.

And if you’re more experienced, consider mentoring someone earlier on the path. Teaching often rekindles hope. Shaping minds is a beautiful privilege.

3. Set Boundaries Around the News & Social Media

If you notice feelings of depression or overwhelm after consuming the news or social media posts, I highly recommend examining your information diet.

Continuous exposure to crisis headlines can create a perception that collapse is accelerating without counterbalance.

The brain struggles to differentiate between the nature of threats. Unfortunately, doom-scrolling activates the same stress pathways as direct danger.

Boundaries might include:

• Checking news once daily rather than continuously
• Choosing long-form analysis over sensational headlines
• Unfollowing accounts that amplify fear without depth or nuance
• Taking designated days off from social media (like the weekends)

This isn’t about total disengagement. I’m not recommending everyone to start disconnecting from what’s going on in the world. It’s actually about sustainable engagement (i.e. engagement that you can continue for the long-term).

Constant awareness doesn’t equal responsibility. As in, staying continually plugged in doesn’t mean you’re doing the work or taking meaningful action.

Responsibility also includes caring for your nervous system. This is the only way you can stay in the work long-term.

Studies show that limiting media exposure during crises significantly reduces anxiety levels, creating more capacity for thoughtful action.

From a systems lens, information is powerful. But it has to be given the appropriate time and space for processing and reflecting. This helps stop overwhelm.

You’re allowed to curate your inputs. It’s not selfish, I promise. And if someone makes you feel that it is, know that you’re doing the right thing and taking care of your mental health.

4. Schedule Phone-Free Times in Your Week

Hopelessness intensifies when your attention is fragmented, especially when your attention is continuously pulled from you.

Constant notifications keep the nervous system on alert. Attention becomes a commodity, shallow and meaningless. Reflection diminishes. Critical thinking deteriorates.

Scheduling phone-free time is a small but highly profound intervention - one I highly recommend! 

Consider:

• A Sunday morning walk without your device
• An evening each week offline
• Meals without screens
• A half-day digital sabbath
• Social media-free weekends
• Not picking your phone up first thing after you wake up
• Keeping your phone in another room at all times so it forces you to get up to get it

Benefits include:

• Improved emotional regulation
• Greater clarity
• Deeper conversations
• Reconnection with sensory experiences
• Better grounding (i.e. less anxiety)

Many deeply caring people resist this because they feel scared to miss out.

Yet small steps build and over time you start to feel more attuned to your own life, instead of the lives of others.

Sustainable systems change requires leaders who can sustain themselves.

Phone-free time isn’t indulgence or privilege. It’s quite literally how you can stay going.

If you’re ready to go deeper, watch our FREE Paradigm Shifts 101 workshop. Designed for those who want to stop feeling hopeless about the world.

5. Give Yourself Permission to Rest & Play Every Day

When the world feels fragile, rest can feel irresponsible, selfish, undeserving, or luxurious.

Yet chronic overexertion leads to collapse. Many people who hustle for long periods of time experience burnout precisely because they carry the immense weight of urgency.

But, rest supports:

• Cognitive clarity
• Emotional resilience
• Creativity
• Strategic thinking

Play, too, is often underestimated, ignored, and de-prioritized.

Creative practices reduce stress and produce dopamine, boosting mood, emotional resilience, and cognitive flexibility.

Ideas for daily renewal:

• Ten minutes of free drawing or writing
• Gentle movement like yoga, stretching, or walking
• Time in nature or in a park
• Music or dance (e.g. dance classes or a solo dance party)
• Laughter with a friend

A common mistake I see people make is postponing joy until “enough” systemic change or an arbitrary moment is achieved.

But trust me, joy isn’t a reward at the end. It’s fuel to keep going so that you can work towards achieving your dreams.

6. Speak to a Professional

If hopelessness becomes persistent, overwhelming, or accompanied by symptoms such as insomnia, panic, or loss of function, professional support may be wise.

Remember, if you’re experiencing a mental health emergency, please immediately call 9-1-1 or your local hotline to speak to someone.

Therapists, counsellors, and coaches trained in trauma or climate anxiety can provide helpful tools that friends can’t.

Seeking help demonstrates strength and self-awareness. It’s not a weakness, regardless of what anyone around you says.

Many leaders benefit from:

• Cognitive behavioural therapy
• Somatic experiencing
• Group talk therapy
• Coaching focused on building resilience

There’s no threshold of suffering you must cross before reaching out. Don’t wait.

Early support prevents deeper crises later on.

If you need help finding someone, I’d recommend popular resources like PsychologyToday or TherapyDen. Or you can simply google the type of help you’re looking for in your city. But keep in mind, you don’t have to go in-person - many providers offer online sessions.

7. Regularly Practice Grounding & Mindfulness Exercises

Grounding techniques bring attention back to the present moment, stopping anxious thoughts, overthinking, or rumination in their tracks.

When despair spirals into catastrophic thinking, grounding interrupts the loop and opens up the  mental space for returning to the body.

Simple exercises:

• Name five things you see, smell, or hear
• Feel your feet against the floor or inside your socks
• Try box breathing 
• Touch something near you that has an unusual texture

Mindfulness has been shown in numerous studies to reduce anxiety and improve emotional regulation.

Living your life to its fullest extent requires thoughtful action, not reactive urgency.

Even five minutes daily of grounding or mindfulness exercises compounds over time. But if that’s feeling like too much, check out our one-time Get Grounded workshop for those who desire a moment of stillness in a world that rarely slows down.

For further reading on mindfulness, I’d recommend Mindfulness by Dr. Ellen Langer and for more free ideas, I recommend exploring YouTube for guided exercises you can follow along with in real time.

8. Focus on What’s in Your Control

So one core reason hopelessness arises is perceived powerlessness. That feeling of “what’s even the point of me doing that”.

Shifting focus to controllable domains can restore your sense of agency.

Ask yourself:

• What is within my influence this week?
• Which relationships can I nurture?
• Which conversations can I initiate?
• What skills can I strengthen?
• What’s something small I can do to help a cause I care about?

In systems thinking, finding points of action that have an outsized effect is key. Think about what you can do that’d have an outsized positive impact.

For example, can you distribute flyers around town? These are great because you only put them up once and then hundreds of people see them.

You don’t need to fix everything. You can’t fix everything. You need to identify where your unique contribution meets opportunity (think Ikigai).

Small, strategic actions ripple outward. Every action matters. Hope grows through action.

9. Introduce a Gentle Journaling Practice to Stop Overthinking

Thinking the same things over and over again feeds hopelessness. Because thoughts are just that, words passing through your brain. It may feel like you’re doing something by overthinking, but only taking action actually does something.

An action like journalling externalises internal loops. It gives your thoughts room to breathe. And it gives you the space to reflect - are any of your thoughts just your inner critique and therefore are baseless? Staying in your head can be harmful, so getting them out and onto paper actually gives them the space they need.

A gentle free-writing structure:

• What am I feeling?
• What triggered this?
• What is one small step I can take to feel better in the long-term?
• What am I grateful for today?

Research shows expressive writing reduces stress and increases cognitive processing functions. Try to do this practice daily over 3 to 4 days for maximum health benefits.

Don’t focus on prose or writing eloquently. You don’t need all that. You just need honesty - real, raw truth. No judgment. Consistently.

Try it for 3 to 4 days, see how it goes, and then if you love it (which I think you will!), nestle into a steady writing routine. One that feels good so that you can keep doing it.

Over time, journaling reveals patterns, strengths, desires, insecurities, and underlying motivations.

10. Take Small Actions

When you feel hopeless about the world, large-scale actions may feel paralysing or overwhelming. You may want to take those grand steps, but that’s probably feeling impossible right now.

The remedy is to start small. No matter how uncomfortable or “not enough” that may feel.

Examples:

• Attend a local meeting
• Support a values-aligned initiative
• Write to a decision-maker
• Volunteer once a month
• Reduce one unsustainable habit

Action shifts the focus from despair into momentum, returning you to that sense of “wow progress is possible”.

It also connects you to others working towards similar goals, uplifting your energy. Regardless of how you go about it (solo or with others), I highly recommend taking small steps supporting causes you care about. Even these will help you regain that hopefulness you’re longing for.

The fact is that small actions matter.

Is it selfish to take a break from consuming news?

No.

Taking a break from consuming news is an act of responsibility and care towards your wellbeing and health.

Continuous exposure to distress without regular rest and recovery leads to burnout, stress, and overwhelm. These reduce your capacity to contribute, grow, and positively impact those around you and the causes you care about.

So, no. It most definitely isn’t selfish to take breaks.

If you (or anyone you know) care about long-term positive change, protecting mental health is deeply aligned with that vision.

I have to add that if someone is making you feel bad for taking breaks, then it’s safe to assume that they themselves aren’t taking as much rest as they need. And in that case, I recommend gently nudging them to take breaks or infuse more rest and play into their weekly schedule.

To be clear, this isn’t your responsibility. However, if you have the capacity, it’d only help.

Also, to be clear, hope isn’t blind optimism. It’s not dreaming of a perfect world where we all get along - that’s just setting yourself up for guaranteed disappointment.

Hope is a lifelong practice. For everyone.

It’s choosing to remain engaged with possibility, even amid complexity, uncertainty, and instability.

If you’re searching for what to do when you feel hopeless about the world, begin gently.

Validate. Connect. Rest. Reflect. Play. Act.

And if you’re ready to go deeper, watch our FREE Paradigm Shifts 101 workshop. Designed for those who want to stop feeling hopeless about the world.

You’re not alone in this.