Existing While the World Burns
I can’t open any form of social media without being inundated with stories and images of tragedy and terrifying predictions. I’m a trans person watching the rollback of human rights and freedoms for trans people in America and wondering if Canadian culture will follow. But it’s not even the things personal to my identity – I see natural disasters rising with climate change, countries dropping bombs in places I’ve never been, people being torn away from their families in another country, and cuts to programs like student loan grants threatening to burden young adults in Ontario with more debt.
Even though these things might not directly impact me, I am deeply impacted. And I see that my therapy clients are deeply impacted too.
Sometimes I see people filled with guilt about their relative privilege. Sometimes I see folks scared about becoming a target of hate and violence. And sometimes I see folks with a lingering, unexplainable feeling of existential dread.
These are all such human reactions to what we are seeing happen in this world.
We are coming face-to-face with the fact that humans can be capable of great cruelty, which invites the uncomfortable reflection that we, as individuals, are also capable of great cruelty. These may be parts of ourselves that some theories refer to as a shadow self, exiled parts, or the “not-me” part. We are also grieving the future we thought we might have in this world. And all of this while feeling the fear that accompanies uncertainty and doubt.
This is something we hear regularly in our sessions, in our Toronto and London offices and in virtual counselling with clients across Ontario. The weight of the world is showing up in the room, and we’re glad it does, we’re here to help you with the immense weight you are carrying.
So, How Do We Continue to Live Our Lives?
What helps in times when we feel helpless, alone, scared, and grieving? These aren’t just therapeutic questions; they’re survival questions. And they’re ones that LGBTQ2+ people, racialized communities, and people in precarious financial situations (including many students in Toronto navigating the cost of living alongside tuition debt) are carrying with particular intensity right now.
Here’s what we’ve found helps:
Find People Who See the World in Ways Similar to You
Feeling alone in your reaction to global events is its own kind of suffering. Finding people who understand, whether that's friends, chosen family, community organizations, or a therapist who gets it, helps counter that isolation. Sometimes this means joining a cause. Sometimes it means reaching out to a grief counsellor or LGBTQ2+-affirming therapist who can hold space for feelings that the people in your life may not fully understand.
If you're in Toronto, particularly in neighbourhoods nearby like Old Town, Corktown, Regent Park, Distillery District, or close to George Brown College, Blueprint Counselling has therapists available both in-person and virtually who are genuinely committed to practice that is informed by principles of social justice.
Find the Actions You Can Take
You will be overwhelmed if you try to make big changes in every realm that needs changing. But you can throw one pebble into the pond and see where the ripples reach. This helps with the particular anguish of helplessness, which, clinically, is one of the most destabilizing emotional states there is. Agency, even small agency, recalibrates the nervous system.
Let Your Heart Break
Grief takes time, but it also shows how much love you have for the world. The difficulty with grief about the world's future is that it is dynamic and ever changing; it doesn’t follow the stages we expect from personal loss. Learning to hold multiple futures at once, and to stay present with loss without being consumed by it, is something grief counselling can help with.
Disenfranchised grief (grief that isn't recognized or validated by the people around you) is especially common right now. If you're mourning rights, freedoms, or futures that others in your life don't take seriously, that grief is real. And it deserves care.
Micro-Dose Agency
Another way to interact with feelings of helplessness is to find the places where you do have choice. Even when it isn’t directly related to what you feel helpless about, small choices build resilience. Who do you want to spend more time with? How do you want to show up for the people you care about? What does tonight look like if you design it? These small acts of authorship over your own life are not trivial. They are, in fact, protective.
Dance!
When I feel unsure and hopeless, I remember a Dan Savage quote that speaks to the experience of 2SLGBTQ+ folks during the AIDS epidemic:
“During the darkest days of the AIDS crisis, we buried our friends in the morning, we protested in the afternoon, and we danced all night.”
We need to keep dancing, because that is the world we are fighting for and how we sustain the other parts of our lives. While our brains make us feel like joy is a betrayal of grief, it’s not. Joy is resistance.
A Note on Seeking Support
If you are feeling like it is all too much in this moment, it may feel helpful to call a helpline for some support or to reach out to one of our therapists to book an appointment. You don’t have to manage climate anxiety, political grief, or existential fear alone.
Blueprint Counselling offers individual counselling, LGBTQ2+-affirming therapy, and grief counselling in Toronto (including virtual sessions for anyone across Ontario). If you're a student at George Brown College, Western, or elsewhere in Ontario navigating the intersection of world events and the pressure of academic life, our counsellors understand that context and are here for it.
Crisis and community resources if you need them now:
9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline: Call or text 9-8-8 anytime for 24/7 support across Canada.
211 Ontario: Dial 2-1-1 to connect with a wide range of community, social, and health-related services in over 150 languages.
Toronto Community Crisis Service (TCCS): In Toronto, you can access non-police, community-led crisis support by calling 211 or emergency services (requesting the TCCS). Note: Police do infrequently accompany these calls when requested.
Hope for Wellness Help Line (Indigenous): Call 1-855-242-3310 for immediate mental health counseling and crisis intervention for Indigenous peoples.
Kids Help Phone: Call 1-800-668-6868 or text CONNECT to 686868 (available 24/7 for youth).
Good2Talk: Call 1-866-925-5454 or text GOOD2TALKON to 686868 for post-secondary student support.
Trans Lifeline: Peer support hotline for trans, non-binary, and questioning people, staffed entirely by trans and non-binary peers. Contact: 1-877-330-6366
Youthline: Confidential, non-judgmental peer support for 2SLGBTQ+ youth (29 and under) in Ontario. Contact: Text 647-694-4275 or use the online chat at youthline.ca.
Some Questions We Hear Around This
Is climate anxiety a genuine mental health concern?
Yes, and it's increasingly recognized as such by clinicians across Canada. Climate anxiety, sometimes called eco-anxiety, refers to chronic worry about environmental threats and the future of the planet. It can present as generalized anxiety, grief, helplessness, or existential dread, and it often intersects with other stressors like political instability or identity-based fear. You don't need a formal diagnosis to deserve support for it.
How is grief counselling different from regular therapy when it comes to grieving the world?
Grief counselling specifically creates space for loss, including losses that aren't always recognized by the people around you. What's sometimes called disenfranchised grief covers exactly this territory: mourning a future, a sense of safety, or a version of the world that feels like it's disappearing. A grief-informed therapist can help you stay present with that loss without being consumed by it, and without being told to simply look on the bright side.
I'm a student in Toronto feeling overwhelmed by everything happening in the world. Where can I find support?
If you're studying at George Brown College, University of Toronto, another Toronto university, or anywhere in Ontario, Blueprint Counselling offers therapists that understand the particular pressure of being a student right now. They can support you with issues like navigating tuition, funding, housing, identity, relationships and a world that feels increasingly unstable. Virtual sessions are available province-wide, and we offer a free consultation so you can find the right fit before committing.