When we become depressed or anxious, some of us look for help from therapists. Others try to improve their mental health through meditation or prayer, exercise, diet, and rest, or the company of family and friends. But what do we do when it’s not just us who are undergoing these troubles? How do we cope when our entire culture seems ridden with hopelessness and melancholy, as does ours these days, when good news from the public square seems as rare as rain in a desert? Let’s take a look. Our Present Troubles The pandemic of 2020-2021 has wrought enormous damage to the mental health of Americans and others worldwide. The online article “The Implications of COVID-19 for Mental Health and Substance Use” reports a four-fold increase in the number of adults suffering from depression and anxiety during the pandemic, while an even larger number of those ages 18-24 have reported …