Summary

Civil unrest affects our wellbeing. Today, January 2026, civil unrest includes protests by US and violence by the Department of Homeland Security. We shall overcome. Take time to engage in conversations with people of differing views. You cannot change their mind and you cannot change their behaviour. You can challenge them to see things from a different perspective.

Wellbeing during Civil Unrest

We are in a time of civil unrest in the USA. Civil unrest affects our wellbeing. Let’s explore wellbeing during civil unrest.

What Is Civil Unrest?

Civil unrest consists of protests and speaking out which can disrupt the usual flow of society. There may be violence. In the case of Minnesota and California and Illinois and DC, the violence and disruption of social functioning are caused by the federal government, specifically under the orders of Kristi Noem and the actions of ICE.

Civil unrest is occurring in the USA now because the Donald’s Administration is an incarnation of Hitler’s reign.

Civil Unrest Affects Wellbeing

Civil unrest disrupts our lives. Naturally, this affects our wellbeing.

Common Reactions to Social Unrest

A person’s reaction to civil unrest is individualized. People’s reactions run the gamut, including anxiety, depression, shock, anger, and even psychosis.

If you are distressed by the events in society, please contact your local mental health providers and engage in treatment.

ICE Surge in Minneapolis: Truth versus Fallacy

Last week, I had a discussion with someone about my living situation. I cited concerns for the spreading ICE surges. I was told that the ICE surge in a state other than my own was related to ‘Somali daycares’.

Bullshit.

I navigated the discussion with no expletives. My visceral reaction remains ‘bullshit’. What I did say was that the Somali daycare issue was prosecuted under the Biden Administration so the ICE surges are unrelated to investigations into fraud allegations.

Did I succeed in convincing my audience that their statement was false? I don’t know. Nevertheless, my goal was not to change their mind. My goal was to sow a seed of questioning in their minds by providing the truth.

Truth seeking is my motive in life. Truth sharing is one of my actions in this life. Changing someone’s mind is an unrealistic outcome. Offering a different perspective may contribute to someone questioning their perception of the situation. Offering a different perspective is a valuable tool in changing the narrative imprinted in someone’s mind.

Let’s recall the acronym for goal setting: SMART. Goals should be:

S: specific

M: measurable

A: achievable, attainable

R: realistic, relevant

T: time sensitive

Choose your interventions with SMART goals in mind. Remember: no one can change your mind and no one can change your behaviour. Similarly, you cannot change another person’s mind and you cannot change another person’s behaviour.

We have to get along. We have to remain connected socially. We have to try to see commonalities. Let’s interact with each other in order to remain connected; to share ideas; and to share the truth. Because, you can impact the perception of another person by offering a different perspective.

Just like the multiple video recordings of the execution of Renee Good. Compile the perspectives and what do we see: a woman who said “That’s fine, dude. I’m not mad at you”; a woman who is given conflicting directions by ICE agents; a woman whose spouse challenges an ICE agent to go get lunch “big boy”; a woman who moves her car away from the ICE agents; an ICE agent who tries to open the driver’s side door of the woman’s vehicle; an ICE agent who films as he places himself in front of the woman’s vehicle and walks around to the driver’s side and shoots the woman through the windshield and then through the driver’s side window. That’s the truth.

Not the Bullshit on Fox (State Propaganda News, in my opinion) or CBS (corporation for bullshit, in my opinion) News.

Why People Believe Conspiracies?

People believe conspiracies for a variety of reasons, including to fit a narrative which they already have in their minds. That’s what people do: seek evidence for their preconceived notions. But the situation is more complex than that.

And, why do people believe conspiracies?

In a small imaging study, Zhao et al (2025) reviewed the literature related to how people process conspiracy theory beliefs and fact-based beliefs, at the behavioural level and at the neural level. There is evidence for the involvement of specific neural networks and regions. The study by Zhao et al reveals that processing conspiracy theory information differs among people with low conspiracy tendencies and high conspiracy tendencies. With respect to factual information, the study by Zhao et al indicates that both groups process facts in the same fashion. Note the differences in neural regions implicated in value-based evaluations, memory retrieval, and belief processing and uncertainty monitoring. This study contributes to the body of research related to the adoption of conspiracy theory beliefs despite its limitations.

Action plan: Wellbeing during Civil Unrest

Share the truth. Share your perspective. Be the change you want to see in the world.

We can do this, together.

Martin Luther King Jr inspires us, inspires US, to continue to dream of a future of peace and unity:

“I’ve Been to the Mountaintop”

https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkivebeentothemountaintop.htm

Happy birthday, Martin Luther King Jr. If you were here to lead US, what would you tell US today? I suspect you would tell US: Remember, you have nothing to fear but fear itself.

May we be so blessed as to walk with the inspiration of Martin Luther King Jr as we pursue our collective wellbeing, through civil unrest created by the Donald and his cabinet of Hitlerian acolytes.

We shall overcome, as a nation, together, for the wellbeing of US and the wellbeing of the world.

Always, surround yourself with music to inspire you to be kind, grateful, generous, compassionate, peaceful, and truth seeking.

Please give generously to your local food pantries. Your neighbours will thank you.

Disclaimer: The content of this post is not meant to substitute for a consultation with your healthcare professional team.

If you are thinking of hurting yourself or of hurting someone else, please CALL 9-1-1; CALL 9-8-8; or GO TO the nearest emergency room.

Selected References:

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Annenberg School of Communication. (October 30, 2020). In Conversation with Emile Bruneau: Dehumanization. University of Pennsylvania. Accessed online on July 5, 2025, at https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9991937/

de Vries, L.P., van de Weijer, M.P., Bartels, M. (February 2023). A systematic review of the neural correlates of well-being reveals no consistent associates. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, Volume 145. Accessed online on January 10, 2026, at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0149763423000052

Frounfelker, R.L., Islam, N., Falcone, J., Farrar, J., Ra, C., Antonaccio, C.M., Enelamah, N., Betancourt, T.S. (August 2019). Living through war: Mental health of children and youth in conflict-affected areas. International Review of the Red Cross, No. 911. Accessed online on January 3, 2026, at https://international-review.icrc.org/articles/living-through-war-mental-health-children-and-youth-conflict-affected-areas

Jayasinghe, S. (May 22, 2024). The 12 dimensions of health impacts of war (the 12-D framwork): a novel framework to conceptualise impacts of war on social and environmental determinants of health and public health. BMJ Global Health, Vol. 9, Issue 5. Accessed online on January 3, 2026, at https://gh.bmj.com/content/9/5/e014749

KATU Lifestyle. (September 9, 2024). Daniel Levitin Explores Music as Medicine in “I Heard There Was a Secret Chord”. Accessed online on December 1, 2024, at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pb1P0PEz5GA

Kibris, A., Goodwin, R. (January 2024). The long-term effects of war exposure on psychological health: An experimental study with Turkish conscript veterans. Social Science & Medicine, Volume 340. Accessed online on January 3, 2026, at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953623008109

Lord, B. (December 30, 2025). Trillionaire Cometh, Democracy Goeth. Patriotic Millionaires. Accessed online on January 5, 2026, at https://patrioticmillionaires.org/perspectives/trillionaire-cometh-democracy-goeth/

Luo, J., Lei, C.M., Richter, C.G., Turnbull, A., Richlan, F., Park, C.L., Hoeft, F. (November 2025). Human neural correlates of emotional well-being (EWB): a preliminary systematic review and meta-analysis of MRI studies based on a recent consensus definition. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, Volume 95. Accessed online on January 10, 2026, at https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/human-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2025.1669164/full

Marchant, J. (July/August 2024). A Buried Ancient Egyptian Port Reveals the Hidden Connections Between Distant Civilizations. Smithsonian Magazine. Accessed online on November 9, 2025, at https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/hidden-ancient-egyptian-port-reveals-180984485/

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Penn Human Resources (2026). Emotional Well-being During Unrest. Penn Human Resources. Accessed online on January 17, 2026, at https://www.hr.upenn.edu/PennHR/wellness-worklife/counseling-and-employee-assistance-program/emotional-well-being-during-unrest

Pluta, A., Mazurek, J., Wojciechowski, J., Wolak, T., Soral, W., Bilewicz, M. (13 March 2023). Exposure to hate speech deteriorates neurocognitive mechanisms of the ability to understand others’ pain. Scientific Reports, 13 (article 4127). Accessed online on October 9, 2025, at https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-31146-1

Remskar, M., Western, M.J., Osborne, E.L., Maynard, O.M., Ainsworth, B. (March 2024). Effects of combining physical activity with mindfulness on mental health and wellbeing: Systematic review of complex interventions. Mental Health and Physical Activity, Volume 26. Accessed online on January 10, 2026, at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S175529662300073X

Siegelman, W. (January 1, 2026). Devin Nunes and others linked to Trump Media became officers of a company soon after it made an unsuccessful $10 billion bid for Venezuelan-state-owned Citgo Petroleum’s U.S. assets. NewsTRACS. Accessed online on January 5, 2026, at https://newstracs.com/devin-nunes-and-others-linked-to-trump-media-are-officers-of-a-company-that-bid-for-citgo/2026/01/01/

Stafford, T. (October 26, 2016). How liars create the ‘illusion of truth’. BBC. Accessed online on January 10, 2026, at https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20161026-how-liars-create-the-illusion-of-truth

UN Innovation Network. June 15, 2023. The Neuroscience of Peace and Conflict. Accessed online on March 9, 2025, at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxJPHLbipNM

World Health Organization (May 6, 2025). Mental health in emergencies. World Health Organization. Accessed online on January 17, 2026, at https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-in-emergencies

Women’s Health Tasmania. (July 6, 2023). Your Vagus Nerve and how singing can make you feel better. Womenshealthtas.org.au Accessed online on December 1, 2024, at https://www.womenshealthtas.org.au/blog/your-vagus-nerve-and-how-singing-can-make-you-feel-better

Zaki, J. (May 14, 2020). Catastrophe Compassion: Understanding and Extending Prosociality Under Crisis. Trends Cogn. Sci, 24(8): 587-589. Accessed online on November 17, 2024, at https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7221394/#:~:text=Extending%20Catastrophe%20Compassion&text=Floods%2C%20bombings%2C%20and%20earthquakes%20are,boundaries%20that%20typically%20separate%20people.

Zhao, S., Wang, T., Xiong, B. (May 26, 2025). Neural correlates of conspiracy beliefs during information evaluation. Scientific Reports, 15. Accessed online on January 18, 2026, at https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-03723-z

Nota Bene:

USA Government websites are being purged by the current Trump Administration to align the website content with the regime’s political agenda. Please note that any government website cited in this and other posts on this website may no longer contain evidence based or historically correct information. Thus, I am trying to avoid including any references or resources which derive from a USA government website. This is not bias; I take this action in an effort to maintain a factually sound content in my posts.