World Mental Health Day is on the 10th of October 2025, and this year’s theme is ‘access to services – mental health in catastrophes and emergencies’.
When the drumbeat of difficult news and global events starts to drown everything else out, it can feel overwhelming. This year’s theme highlights the importance of being able to protect your mental health during times of global instability.
A perspective that’s helped me, and many of the leaders and teams I have worked with, is to adopt a paradox mindset.
What Is a Paradox Mindset?
A paradox mindset is the ability to hold two seemingly contradictory truths at once. For example, believing things are bad, whilst also thinking things are getting better.
Both can be true at the same time. If you look at long-term trends popularised by Hans Rosling’s work on global health and development, and take his factfulness quiz, you’ll see steady improvements across areas like access to clean water, electricity and girls’ education, alongside very real global challenges. A paradox mindset doesn’t deny pain or minimise problems, it widens the frame so we’re not consumed by them.
This matters for mental health, because when we only consume the ‘bad’, our nervous system tilts towards hyper-vigilance. When we recognise the ‘better’, however, we restore a sense of perspective and agency. That balance helps to reduce overwhelm.
Five Ways To Practise a Paradox Mindset
To practise a paradox mindset, follow these five, simple, pragmatic steps that I use myself and teach in my keynotes:
- Name both truths: If you catch yourself spiralling, say to yourself: “This is hard and I can take one small constructive action.” Your language shapes your state.
- Shrink the sphere: Move your attention from something global and uncontrollable to what is local and actionable, for example, your next conversation, your calendar, or your contribution.
- Build tiny anchors (your ‘slivers of recovery‘): Micro-moments of rest and recovery will rebalance your nervous system. For example, a 3-minute box-breathing reset, a short walk between meetings, 30 seconds looking at the horizon, or rehydrating with a glass of water. Small doesn’t mean trivial, and consistency beats intensity.
- Choose a contribution: Pick one issue you care about and make one repeatable act, like a donation, volunteering hour, mentoring, or joining a community group. This action converts anxiety into momentum.
- Connect on purpose: Overwhelm can isolate, whilst connection regulates. Choose a meaningful connection, like messaging a friend, taking a walk with a colleague, or sharing a meal. Community is an emotional immune system.
Protect Your Foundations: Energy, Mood and Motivation
In my work, I often say everything is downstream of your foundations: energy, mood and motivation. Overwhelm can erode all three areas, so it’s important you protect them with a paradox mindset and your daily non-negotiables:
- Energy: Introduce sleep safeguards to ensure you get plenty of rest, make time for daylight in the morning, stay hydrated and ensure you incorporate movement into your day.
- Mood: Limit doom-scrolling and replace it with a micro-dose of joy, like listening to music, spending time in nature or playing with your dog.
- Motivation: Clarify one ‘must-win’ for the day and when you achieve it, celebrate completion, not perfection.
The Paradox of Hard and Hopeful
You don’t have to fix the world to make a difference. Focus on what you can influence and do your bit, at home, in your team or in your community. Remember, things can be hard and hopeful, so hold space for both, act where you can and protect your foundations.
If this helped, please pass it on to someone else who might need this reminder today. And, if you’d like more practical ideas for building resilience without burning out, read my new book ‘Sustain: Mastering the High-Performance Paradox‘. It just achieved Amazon best seller status in multiple categories and goes deeper into values, identity, community and daily resources that keep you steady.
