With everything going on in the world today, both the daily issues that affect people on an individual basis and the overarching issues that plague mankind as a whole, there never seems to be any significant period of peace and comfort for those of us living in these turbulent times.

It comes as no surprise that the mental health of mankind is in of more precarious state than ever before. Depression, anxiety and a slew of other mental health disorders have reached pandemic levels.

Given that we are subjected to a constant array of problems and conflict at every turn, preventing falling into a state of depression can be a daunting task. If you are dealing with depression, there are a few things that are helpful to realize that can help to shift your mental health back towards a state of wellness.

The first fact that is critical to understand is that we are almost exclusively shown all of the bad going on in the world and very little of the good. The technological state of our society means that you are never more than a glance away from some media outlet or form of communication that is happy to show you something going wrong.

The nature of our sources of information is absolutely despicable. This is not some ill-founded conspiracy theory that lacks any sort of grounding, it is a universal truth. For whatever reason, every news outlet assumes that in order to maximize views, and therefore revenue, they need to grab our attention with some atrocity that may or may not be as bad as they make it out to be.

If you are going to stand a chance against falling into depression, you must realize that there is still a lot of good going on all around you. Just because the positive qualities of humanity rarely make headlines does not mean that they have ceased to exist. As much as possible, avoid getting all our your information from sources that are literally monetizing your fear and anxiety.

Another important thing to realize is that no matter how bad things seem to be in today’s world, there has never been a better time to be alive as a human being than right now. We are living longer than ever before, have a limitless amount of technology and resources at the tips of our fingers to connect with like-minded people and most of us never have to worry about where our next meal is coming from.

While most of us fail to understand this concept, the things that we take for granted every day have been far from the norm for humanity historically. Don’t become so depressed by how bad our modern issues appear to be that you forget how lucky each of us are to live in today’s day and age.

Sure, we all have bills that we must work tirelessly to get paid on time and there may be tension brewing between countries here and there, but when was the last time you had to worry about storing enough crops to survive and impending famine or worry about a neighboring tribe raiding your village and destroying your way of life?

Lastly, you have far more ability to determine your own happiness than you likely give yourself credit for. Instead of letting the world around you tell you how to think and feel, realize that, while you can’t control some of the things that happen to you, the way you react to them is entirely up to you.

When certain things occur in your life, choose to find the good in each situation. By choosing happiness, finding the silver lining that is always hidden by the rain, you have a remarkable ability to shift your mental state to a place of peace and contentment.