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Depressed by the state of the world? Deepak Chopra shares the first step to finding joy again.

The author of The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success shares his life-changing advice in an exclusive interview with Upworthy.

via Canva/Photos and Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons.

A depressed woman and Deepak Chopra.

It’s becoming increasingly difficult for people to shake the deep-seated sense of dread about where the world is headed. Every day, we are subjected to images of bombs dropping on civilians, massive icebergs falling into the ocean due to climate change, masked men pulling people off the streets for deportation, constant political chaos, and a culture changing so fast due to technology, it’s easy to be overwhelmed.

Added to this is a lingering sense of brokenness that persists from the COVID-19 pandemic era. The result is that in the United States, more people are being diagnosed with depression than ever before. To help our readers break free from the current sense of helplessness, we sat down with Deepak Chopra at Aspen Ideas: Health to hear his thoughts on overcoming depression.

Chopra is a Consciousness Explorer and a world-renowned pioneer in integrative medicine and personal transformation. He is also a Clinical Professor of Family Medicine and Public Health at the University of California, San Diego, and serves as a senior scientist with Gallup Organization. He told Upworthy that the most common problem people ask him about these days is depression.

 deepak chopra, wisdom, consciousness, deepak chopra wisdom, deepak chopra speech, deepak in the uk Deepak Chopra, author and guru, at the SXSW London festival hosted in London, England during June 2025.via Deepak Chopra/Wikimedia Commons

“It's just people in general right now are stressed, anxious, and depressed. And that's because of all the things that are happening in their environment, social ecosystem, political systems, war, climate change, health,” he told Upworthy. He notes that although tough times aren’t new, modern stress seems to take a deeper toll.

“Because we have modern capacities for war, drones, nuclear weapons, cyber warfare. And for the first time, I think we are risking extinction. [Instability] has been happening since Medieval times. But Medieval tribal bonds and modern technology is a dangerous combination. So it's much worse than it's ever been,” he said.

What's the first step to overcoming depression, according to Deepak Chopra?

 depression, saddness, sad man, depressed man, mental health A man holding his head in his hands.via Canva/Photos

Chopra says that those who are experiencing depression or are just feeling down should ground themselves in their “essential being” (more on that later). But, more practically, they should spend time with people who lift them up. “Hang out with people who are joyful with only one purpose: to create joy in the world. Create joy for yourself. Hang out with joyful people and help create joy in the world,” he told Upworthy. “Joy is the only antidote for suffering. And joy is our fundamental state of being. It's not the same thing as happiness, which is the opposite of sadness. Joy is what you see in an innocent child that is happy for no reason whatsoever. It's our fundamental state of being before we get bamboozled by the hypnosis of social conditioning.”

To find out what Chopra means by being “grounded in your essential being,” we consulted his digital twin at DigitalDeepak.AI. Chopra has created an AI that encapsulates all of his teachings throughout his illustrious career, allowing everyone to access his wisdom at any time.


The concept of essential being, according to Digital Deepak:

Being grounded in your essential being is about connecting with the deepest part of yourself—the true self that exists beyond the fluctuations of the mind and the distractions of daily life. It is about recognizing that, at your core, you are pure consciousness —a field of infinite possibilities and potential.

When you are grounded in this essential state, you experience a profound sense of peace and stability. You become anchored in a state of awareness that transcends the temporary and ever-changing nature of the external world. This grounding allows you to navigate life's challenges with a sense of ease and fearlessness, as you are deeply connected to the eternal power within you.


Sometimes, we can become so overwhelmed by world events that it's easy to overlook the basic things we need to be happy and healthy. That's why Chopra's belief in the importance of maintaining positive social relationships with others, especially during stressful times, is crucial to our mental well-being. If you are feeling down, it's essential to get out and spend time with positive, uplifting people. But it's also crucial to get help from a trained mental health professional.

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Family

'Words Whispered to a Child Under Siege' is a powerful poem about parenting in a war zone

Joseph Fasano's heartbreaking poem speaks volumes about our shared humanity.

Photo by Sander Sammy on Unsplash

How does a father keep a child comforted and quiet while under siege?

I've never been in a war zone, but as a mother of three, I've pictured it. Any time I read a news story about a part of the world that's exploded into violence, I imagine what it must be like for parents—especially those with small children—living through it. How do they explain what's happening? How do they comfort their kids when they themselves are terrified? How do they shield their children not only from unthinkable atrocity but from fear itself?

Joseph Fasano's poem "Words Whispered to a Child Under Siege" hits at the heart of those questions in a scenario that has played out countless times throughout human history. The poem's narrator is a father trying to comfort his child while they hide from soldiers in their house, and the way he makes a game out of it highlights the lengths parents will go to help children feel safe, even when they objectively aren't.

Fasano shared the poem on social media and it has been shared tens of thousands of time from different accounts. As one page warned, "Prepare your heart before reading." It's solid advice, though it's hard to know how to prepare for it.

The poem reads:

No, we are not going to die.

The sounds you hear

knocking the windows and chipping the paint

from the ceiling, that is a game

the world is playing.

Our task is to crouch in the dark as long as we can

and count the beats of our own hearts.

Good. Like that. Lay your hand

on my heart and I'll lay mine on yours.

Which one of us wins

is the one who loves the game the most

while it lasts.

Yes, it is going to last.

You can use your ear instead of your hand.

Here, on my heart.

Why is it beating faster? For you. That's all.

I always wanted you to be born

and so did the world.

No, those aren't a stranger's bootsteps in the house.

Yes, I'm here. We're safe.

Remember chess? Remember

hide-and-seek?

The song your mother sang? Let's sing that one.

She's still with us, yes. But you have to sing

without making a sound. She'd like that.

No, those aren't bootsteps.

Sing. Sing louder.

Those aren't bootsteps.

Let me show you how I cried when you were born.

Those aren't bootsteps.

Those aren't sirens.

Those aren't flames.

Close your eyes. Like chess. Like hide-and-seek.

When the game is done you get another life.

- Joseph Fasano

Fasano wrote in Instagram, "I hope these words do what words can do sometimes." They did, judging by the comment section:

"Gorgeously gut wrenching poem to read, and difficult to wrap our minds around the idea that this is and has been far too many people’s reality…I’ve been a fan of your poems for a while. You provide the perfect example I can show my students of how art and writing help us maintain our humanity ❤️"

"Thank you, Mr. Fasano. I have been walking around unable to make sense of anything that is happening in the world and I feel myself shutting down. Your words give voice to everything that I cannot find the words for. Thank you for your poetry. Thank you for sharing."

"Thank you for this tender and horrifying poem at such a time as this. How necessary your words are."

Poetry has a way of saying so much in so few words. Here we see a father's translating his frightened heartbeat and tears of terror into love for his child. We see him calling upon the child's mother as a way to comfort in an impossible situation. We see him blatantly lying—"You're safe. Those aren't bootsteps. Those aren't flames," all to keep his child from being afraid.

And the fact that this could be any father in any war zone in any place and time is a heartbreaking reminder of our shared humanity.

No matter the conflict or the rationale behind it, innocent people are the primary victims of war and children always pay the biggest price. When tensions and passions run high, we must remember this: Wars don't break out between average citizens just trying to live their lives in peace. War is a fight between powers, with men in safe rooms ordering less powerful men to take up arms against their fellow human beings. Average citizens don't want any part of these conflicts—they just want to take their kids to the park, talk about their days over family dinner and not worry about what games to play with their children if or when the bombs and boots start dropping.

You can find more of Joseph Fasano's poetry on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter), and you can pre-order his book, "The Magic Words: Simple Poetry Prompts That Unlock the Creativity in Everyone," here.

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Pop Culture

A mom made up a story about John Cena to get her son to flee Ukraine. Cena made it come true.

John Cena showed up in a big way.

WWE/YouTube

John Cena showed up for a family who fled Mariupol, Ukraine, after their house was destroyed in the Russian invasion.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine nearly four months ago, more than 13 million Ukrainians have fled their homeland. Some cities, such as Mariupol, have been completely destroyed—"reduced to a wasteland littered with bodies," according to an explainer in Reuters—and may be uninhabitable for the foreseeable future.

Many families fled early in the war, when the danger became clear. But not everyone understood why they were leaving.

Children are befuddled by war, as they should be. It is nonsensical, illogical and unbelievable to think that you must leave your home and move to a country far away because a grown-up who is supposed to be a leader is trying to blow up your house. People with intellectual disabilities may also not understand a sudden uprooting, especially when the reason is something even fully abled adults struggle to make sense of.

When Liana Rohozhyn's home in Mariupol was destroyed earlier in the war, she and her family were forced to flee. Her son Misha, a nonverbal 19-year-old with Down syndrome, was understandably distressed about having to leave Ukraine. To comfort him through the long journey across Europe to safety, Liana told Misha they were going on a trip to find the champion wrestler, John Cena.

It was a fictional story made up by a desperate mother in a dire situation. As a parent, you do what you have to do to keep your children safe. Little did Liana know that John Cena would not only see her family's story, but go out of his way to provide a measure of comfort during a tragic and disorienting time.

Cena just happened to be in Europe when he read about the story of how Liana had motivated Misha with the hope of meeting him. Being only an hour's flight away, Cena's immediate response was, "We're going."

The WWE star met the family near Amsterdam and spent a "special" afternoon "building blocks and eating cake."

He shared kind words about Misha and his mother.

"Misha's ability to embrace persistence, that's extraordinary," he said, adding that Misha and Liana are "two great examples of how persistence can lead to joy, even through the toughest of times."

After spending the day with the family and gifting Misha a load of WWE gear, Cena told the young man, "This was a wonderful adventure in which I got to meet a wonderful new friend. Thank you for giving me strength."

Liana told him he had "a big heart."

Watch:

The sweet story has touched the hearts of people the world over, with people sharing praise for Cena and for Misha's mother.

"There are several things I find remarkable about this interaction," wrote commenter Emily Clauson on YouTube. "How this man talks to Misha softly, with respect and love. He is not putting on a performance. He isn't acting 'compassionate' for the cameras. He is connecting with a human being. They were just two guys hanging out enjoying their day. He spoke to him as an equal. I find that so admirable."

"I’m from Ukraine and it brought me to tears!" wrote another commenter. "We Ukrainians really appreciate this support from all over the world, we need it so much at these dark times! as they say, in dark times you can see light people. Thanks for standing we Ukraine, would never expect to hear about so many people with big hearts. ❤️🇺🇦"

"I love how much he embraces Misha's mom," wrote another. "A lot of news reports on this story just seem to forget about how strong she is. This man is amazing!"

"Misha’s mom is an amazing woman. She kept her son going to get out. I wish them well and thank you John Cena for responding," wrote another.

This is not Cena's first trip to make someone's dreams come true. According to SB Nation, he has granted more than 650 wishes through Make-A-Wish since 2004, the most on record.

Cena himself shared that Misha and Liana define his motto, "Never Give Up," and thanked the Wall Street Journal and World Wrestling Entertainment for pulling it all together.

Thank you, John Cena, for showing us what the best of humanity can look like.

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Democracy

Powerful cartoon illustrates a fundamental truth about the human cost of war

@cherubicdoll1/Twitter (Marzieh Kanizadeh)

A cartoon by Iranian artist Marzieh Kanizadeh portrays the basic human truth in every war.

War is one of the oldest and most consistent things human beings do, and also one of the weirdest. It's horrible, hellish, tragic, traumatic—and yes, weird.

In the most basic analysis, war makes no sense. Killing one another over being born on opposite sides of imaginary lines makes no sense. Fighting for land under which we will all be buried eventually makes no sense. Sending people to fight to the death because men in charge can't get along makes no sense. (Seriously, why don't leaders just duke it out in a boxing ring themselves? That would actually make more sense.) Destroying the places you're trying to conquer, thereby requiring enormous resources to build them back up again makes no sense.

And the fact that we actually make rules for war is even weirder. You can use these weapons of death and destruction, but not those ones. You can bomb these kinds of places, but not those ones. You can kill this group of people, but not that one. It's all so stupid and senseless and futile and weird.

And then there's the psychology of it all. When tanks start rolling and bombs start falling somewhere in the world, it's far too easy for us to lose our sense of humanity. War compels us to choose a side, and choosing a side makes it easy to demonize the other. Even when we are 100% certain the side we've chosen to support is the right one, we still have to remember that human beings are on the other. The fact that we forget this every time is why humanity hasn't broken its habit of making war over and over and over again.

A powerful cartoon by Iranian artist Marzieh Khanizadeh illustrates this point beautifully. The cartoon was shared on Twitter by Prashasti Chanchal with the words, "One person's medals are another one's children."

This is the fundamental truth we must remember about war, no matter where or when it's taking place. One side's glory is the other side's tragedy, and in the end we're all just one big, human family trying to make our way on this rock hurtling through space. The second we start to dehumanize one side's people, forgetting that ordinary people don't choose to go to war and are always the primary victims of it, we create the very conditions that lead to war in the first place.

Prejudice, hatred and dehumanization are both primary causes and primary outcomes of war. If we don't disrupt those tendencies within us prior to war, we have to disrupt them during. Otherwise we will continue to repeat the same pattern we've seen throughout human history.

By all means, support freedom, support democracy and support nations that are being invaded without justification. But don't glorify killing and don't dehumanize the people themselves on any side of any war. Killing in defense may be necessary in war, but in the end there's no true glory in any of it. It's all tragic.

"One person's medals are another one's children," indeed. If every one of us keeps that truth front and center, maybe we can finally get to a future where war is just a terrible, weird thing humans used to do.

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