What can people do to battle their own inner turmoil, loneliness, depression, or the everyday bad mood?
HC: As a general measure, one could begin by getting into the habit of spending a few minutes each day engaged in any practice that helps quiet and focus the mind–practices such as meditation or prayer. This can help one develop a calm, stable state of mind. “Cognitive intervention” can also be very powerful and effective: when negative thoughts or emotions arise one can directly examine, analyze, and challenge these thoughts, actively neutralizing and replacing them with rational, alternative ways of thinking. For example, when depressed, one might spontaneously have a thought such as, “I’m completely worthless,” but when this thought arises one can actively challenge that thought by objectively listing one’s strengths and accomplishments. Or, if one is in a bad mood, that mood can be shifted by making a deliberate effort to “count your blessings,” to remind yourself of all the things you have and all the ways that things could be worse, and the people who have it worse off than you.
