Mental Health Pandemia Can Be Cured

The Overwhelming Noise of Modern Life

Recognizing the Mental Health Pandemic

In the years since the global pandemic, a widely recognized rise in collective anxiety and disconnection has become a defining feature of our time. If you’ve felt this way, it’s crucial to understand that it’s not a personal failing but a shared human response to an overwhelming digital world. We are constantly bombarded by a relentless stream of information, opinions, and pressures that pollute our mental space. Just as we filter impurities from our water for our health, we must learn to filter these mental pollutants. The first step is finding a central point of stability, a concept encapsulated by Tiesa, the Lithuanian word for truth.

The Addictive Pull of the ‘Digital Drug’

Our constant connectivity has, for many, become a modern behavioral addiction. The endless scroll through social media or news feeds often functions as a digital drug, creating a dopamine loop that offers fleeting distraction but ultimately leaves us more agitated and disconnected from our authentic selves. Consider the last time you spent an hour scrolling, only to look up with a hollow feeling and no clear memory of what you consumed. This cycle of reactive external input systematically drowns out our own inner voice, making it nearly impossible to recognize what we genuinely think, feel, or need.

Curing the Crisis with a Return to Truth

What Does Personal Truth Really Mean?

Finding your personal “truth” is not an abstract philosophical quest; it is the practical, daily alignment of your actions with your genuine internal state. In psychological terms, it’s about reducing the cognitive dissonance between who you project to the world and who you actually are. For example, a common challenge is the pressure to be constantly productive. Your personal truth might be a deep-seated need for rest after a draining week. Honoring that need—by consciously choosing to relax instead of pushing through—is a powerful act of truth that brings immediate mental relief.

Three Steps to Filter the Noise and Find Your Truth

Reconnecting with your truth is a practical skill, and like any skill, it can be developed through consistent practice. Here is a simple framework to begin filtering the noise and hearing your inner voice:

• Mindful Consumption: Start treating the information you consume like your diet. Actively curate your mental environment by unfollowing accounts that trigger stress and seeking out content that is genuinely uplifting, informative, or calming. This conscious choice is the first principle of good mental hygiene.
• Scheduled Disconnection: Set aside specific, non-negotiable time each day to be without your screens. It could be the first 30 minutes of your morning or an hour before bed. This intentional silence is one of the most effective ways to create the space necessary for your own thoughts and feelings to surface.
• Action-Based Authenticity: Each day, make one small decision that feels completely true to you, regardless of external expectations. It could be as minor as speaking your mind in a meeting or simply choosing a quiet night in. These small, repeated actions build the muscle of self-trust, dramatically reducing the internal conflict that so often fuels anxiety.