I almost titled this “How to Stay Sane in a Chaotic World” because that is an appealing way to get a reader to engage. But I realize today as I write that there are so many ways to do this, and people are living testament to their strategies. We are not just offering tips—we’re doing it. We are staying sane. The memes are jokes and laments of pain we feel. And so many of us are moving through those emotions and finding sources of power within that were always there.

So today, I’d like to share not only from my wisdom but from the wisdom of my clients, the wisdom of my colleagues, the wisdom of strangers who I only know because of the same Internet that overwhelms us.

We must pay attention to these findings; we are not simply browsing a “neutral” Internet. If you and I go to an open grassy field in nature, we will have a neutral or random experience; designed by no one. If you and I go to a city, we are having a designed experience of variation - different people chose to design the streets, the storefronts, the shops, the decorations. But when we go into our phones or computers, we are immediately stepping into a domain controlled by only a few, extremely large and highly profitable companies.

Because of this and the intensifying gravity of political changes at the federal level, it is more and more essential every day to use and develop our skills in critical thinking and cultural humility.

Hopelessness has been whispering through sessions and over posts on the Internet this past week. It’s sitting within my chest as I write this, asking me heavily, “What’s the point?” or “Why bother?” while I struggle to find words to give to you. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen so much hope too. The pettiness and honestly incredible willingness of people migrating from TikTok to Xiaohongshu (Rednote). Communities across California supporting LA through the wildfires. And of course, the miracles I see every day in the lives of my clients, my friends, my family, acquaintances and strangers. It’s truly amazing if you take the time to notice.

On a rollercoaster, the ups and the downs make it thrilling, inducing feelings of flying and falling, of risking your life and coming out on the other side okay (or throwing up but you still lived). Emotional rollercoasters are so similar in so many ways but often we find ourselves frantically pulling on the brakes and refusing to ride when we are already strapped in. Since we are anticipating going on possibly an entire 4 years of rollercoaster (yet again), it’s worth knowing what to do.

Staying busy can feel like keeping warm. We make lots of plans, we tell ourselves we are going to make changes, and we say ‘this is the year’ and we try to generate hope for our shiny new future. However, without listening to ourselves and accurately assessing where we are now, we can often make plans that don’t align with our resources and stumble when we try to fly.

If you’ve been overwhelmed or felt discomfort in the past few weeks via the Internet: you are absolutely not alone. So many of us use the Internet to span the vast distances between ourselves and everyone else. But we were never taught how it was designed, how it works, and how to use it in healthy ways. If you are like me, you learned the rapidly accelerating modern landscape of the Internet the old-fashioned way: trial and error. Today, more than ever before, it has become clear how important it is to use the Internet mindfully and intentionally, which requires education on how it affects our emotions.

Social media is pervasive in all aspects of life; even if you don’t use it you’re being influenced by it. From the economy to how people share news, it’s become embedded in every system of modern life. Because of this, if you are using it, it is more important than ever to know how to do so safely and mindfully.

Anxiety is focused one of two things: the past or the future. It is always longing for something better and either trying to solve the puzzle of what went wrong, or it’s fixated on what can be improved further. Can we interrupt the pattern of constant fixing? Can we break the tendency for us to believe that “the grass is always greener on the other side”? Why are we the way that we are? And if we understand it, can we overcome it?

One of my favorite tools comes from Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT), an evidence-based therapeutic modality rooted in CBT but goes beyond behaviors and thoughts into values and experiential healing. I’ll share what it is and how to use it, so you can tap in to this amazing reframe and transform your anxiety into useful information.

“I’m burned out” is the number one reason I hear when doing a consultation with my clients. Many of us have seen the term and identify with the metaphor—burning every ounce of fuel and feeling left with nothing but a smoldering pile of ashes, trying to muster enough spark to get up and do the same thing again tomorrow. We feel burned. But what actually qualifies as burnout? What are people experiencing when they are reaching this point of no return? And what can be done to change it?

If you imagined the Internet as a person, how would your relationship be with them? If it was a friend of yours, how would you describe them? How would you feel about them?

I work with primarily Asian-American clients and the majority of my friends and family are in this community as well. Though we come from different cultural backgrounds and ethnicities, we share many collective and traditional values—especially when it comes to how to build trust.

When I became a therapist, and I started to ask myself a very simple question: Who helps the helpers? What about us? How can we sustain if we don’t have help ourselves? Who helps those who dedicate their lives to helping others?