Therapy experts are urging mindfulness as distressing videos flood social media feeds.<\/p>\n
Many people know the feeling: you start scrolling on social media, look up and suddenly an hour has passed.<\/p>\n
As videos capturing tense moments across Minnesota circulate widely online, mental health experts said it\u2019s important to be mindful of what we consume and how often.<\/p>\n
Graphic or emotionally-charged content has been flooding social media feeds in recent weeks, sending many users into a constant loop of distress and uncertainty as comments and opinions pour in.<\/p>\n
Tai Mendenhall, a medical family therapist and professor at the University of Minnesota, said the emotional reactions many people are experiencing are normal.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe anger, the sense of injustice, the not being able to turn your brain off at night, these are normal responses to an abnormal situation,\u201d Mendenhall said.<\/p>\n
He said constant exposure to negative or distressing content can take a toll on mental well-being.<\/p>\n
\u201cConstant exposure to negativity is going to certainly influence feeling helpless or feeling hopeless or feeling anger,\u201d Mendenhall said. \u201cI think that social media is a big culprit in that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mendenhall said one of the biggest challenges people are facing right now is uncertainty.<\/p>\n
\u201cAmbiguity is hard,\u201d he said. \u201cHumans don\u2019t deal with ambiguity very well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Without a clear timeline or sense of what comes next, he explained that emotional strain can build.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now, it\u2019s like running a marathon without any mile markers,\u201d Mendenhall said.<\/p>\n
Still, he says there are ways to pace yourself and protect your mental health. Experts recommend staying physically active, eating well and setting limits on social media and news consumption.<\/p>\n
Mendenhall said it\u2019s equally important to stay connected with others.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople need people,\u201d he said. \u201cTalk with each other. Go meet your neighbor that you\u2019ve lived next to for 20 years and don\u2019t know their name. Go to wellness events.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also stressed the importance of giving yourself grace.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re struggling, that\u2019s okay,\u201d Mendenhall said. \u201cIt means you\u2019re human.\u201d<\/p>\n
Community gathering events are being held across the Twin Cities, as mental health experts emphasize the importance of staying connected.<\/p>\n
RELATED: DHS social media videos sparks concerns from legal experts in Minnesota<\/a><\/p>\n Minneapolis NAACP prayer gathering and healing circles Art Shanty Projects 2026 Light The Park \u2013 Kickoff to the 140th St. Paul Winter Carnival Here is a list of suicide prevention and mental health resources:<\/p>\n If you believe someone is at risk of suicide, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services suggests you:<\/p>\n Ask questions about whether the individual is having suicidal thoughts.Call the\u00a0U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline<\/a>\u00a0at\u00a0988\u00a0or\u00a01-800-273-TALK (8255).Seek help from a medical or mental health professional. If it is an emergency situation, take the person to a hospital.Remove any objects from a person\u2019s home that could be potentially used in a suicide.Do not leave the person alone, if possible, until help is available.
12 p.m. on the 7th of every month
North Minneapolis: 1101 W. Broadway
South Minneapolis: 4301 1st Ave. S.<\/p>\n
Location: Lake Harriet
Dates: Jan. 17 \u2013 Feb. 8, 2026
Time: Weekends, 10 a.m. \u2013 4 p.m.<\/p>\n
Date: Thursday, Jan. 22
Time: 6 \u2013 7 p.m.
Location: Rice Park<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFor Related Stories:\u00a0Brittney Ermon<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0Social Media<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Therapy experts are urging mindfulness as distressing videos flood social media feeds. Many people know the feeling: you…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":254411,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[126969,103,61,60,410,411,58],"class_list":{"0":"post-254410","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-brittney-ermon","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-ie","11":"tag-ireland","12":"tag-mental-health","13":"tag-mentalhealth","14":"tag-social-media"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254410","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=254410"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254410\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/254411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=254410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=254410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=254410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}