I came across this interesting article in the New York Times (gift link, sign-in not required) where an old school climate activist discusses the leading sources of stress, and how to cope with them. His perspective is interesting because, as he puts it he's "spent the past four decades facing down the steady and so far implacable rise in the planet’s temperature".
Over the years I’ve worked out remedies that keep me mentally healthy enough to keep fighting...I’ve learned that I need an hour or two of exercising in the natural world most days to reset my soul.
He then goes on to explain that this isn't sufficient any more. It's hard to talk about stress without talking about politics, especially if you're based in the States, and he outlines how poor - or absent - leadership at the government level is causing the risks associated with AI and healthcare to spin out of control, compounded with climate change denial, all of which raises stress levels. He goes on:
A not irrational response to all this would be to try to ignore it. Lots of people are doing so. Yet this kind of avoidance will just get us in deeper trouble by ceding control to those who profit from it, so I hope we won’t choose quietism or escape. I’m hard at work volunteering in this fall’s midterm elections, for instance; we simply can’t tune out.
I share his view that coping with modern-day stress requires multiple tactics. Calming activities such as those found on The Antidote may only be part of the solution; the best approach is to examine and understand the root causes of your stress, and decide whether avoidance, confrontation, or some other approaches will work best for you.
While the situation in the US is perhaps more damaging than here in Australia, I still think there's a lot to be said for civic engagement as a pathway to stress relief. I can personally vouch for the catharsis that comes from a good ol' fashioned public protest...meeting like-minded people to push back against injustice together definitely helps combat any feelings of helplessness.