Seeking Balance in an Imbalanced World: The Mental Weight of Injustice and the Paradox of Peace

We often think of rumination as an inward spiral — a loop of anxious or depressive thoughts centred on ourselves. But for many, especially those with a strong sense of justice or empathy, rumination extends beyond personal wounds. It stretches into the collective pain of the world.

For example, recent events in Gaza have stirred global sorrow and outrage. For some, this grief doesn’t fade with the news cycle. Instead, it becomes an ongoing mental process — imagining justice, replaying tragedies, and trying to restore moral balance, if only in the mind.

This, too, is a form of psychological coping.

In therapy, we often help clients reduce rumination to ease emotional distress. But what happens when those ruminations are not about past mistakes or personal fears — but about real injustices, playing out in real time? What if the rumination isn’t a symptom, but a soul’s protest?

Daydreams of Justice: The Inner Trial

Many of us, consciously or not, engage in daydreams where we become agents of justice. We imagine confronting corrupt systems, defending the oppressed, or reshaping the world to make it fairer.

These inner narratives aren't simply fantasies — they’re the mind’s attempt to create balance where none exists. In psychology, we call this compensatory dreaming. It’s a way the psyche tries to protect itself from the emotional weight of helplessness. In spiritual or existential terms, it could be seen as a sacred act of inner witnessing.

Rather than dismissing these mental scenarios as unhelpful, it’s worth asking: What are they trying to restore? What unmet need do they speak to?

Often, the answer is balance — moral, emotional, and even spiritual.

The Human Drive for Balance: A Blessing or a Burden?

It seems we are programmed — biologically, psychologically, and philosophically — to seek balance.

• Our nervous system craves homeostasis.

• Our minds seek narrative closure.

• Our hearts long for fairness.

But what happens when the world around us constantly denies us that balance? When wars rage, justice is delayed, and peace feels like a mirage?

We experience psychological friction — an inner tension between what should be and what is.

And here’s the paradox: we seek balance, but we’re never quite satisfied when we find it.

When Balance Feels Like Stagnation

If balance were the ultimate goal, we might expect to feel deeply content when things are stable. But history — and therapy rooms — tell a different story.

Throughout history, periods of peace have often been followed by a collective urge to disrupt:

• During stable eras, extremist ideologies often gain traction.

• In flourishing societies, people sometimes vote to “shake things up.”

• When things become too calm, anxiety creeps in — not from danger, but from lack of stimulation or meaning.

As a therapist, I’ve seen this play out in personal lives too:

• A client finally achieves emotional peace, only to unconsciously seek conflict.

• A relationship becomes stable, and one partner feels restless.

• A sense of security leads to a new kind of existential boredom.

It’s as if our system needs imbalance to feel alive.

The Emotional Cost of Living in Tension

This contradiction creates a dilemma for mental health. On one hand, we encourage people to seek equilibrium: balance work and rest, thought and feeling, self and others. On the other hand, we recognise that complete balance is neither natural nor sustainable.

Therapy isn’t about removing all tension. It’s about learning to hold it:

• To carry injustice without being paralysed by it.

• To accept imperfection without giving up on change.

• To grieve the imbalance without expecting life to feel “even.”

True psychological growth often emerges not from balance, but from navigating imbalance consciously.

From Rumination to Meaning: A Shift in Perspective

So what can we do with this?

If you’re someone who ruminates on the world’s pain — who lies awake imagining justice, fairness, or peace — know this:

You’re not broken. You’re sensitive, possibly spiritually attuned. Your mind is trying to create coherence in a fragmented world.

But instead of trying to stop the rumination entirely, consider this:

• Can you transform the rumination into constructive reflection?

• Can you turn helplessness into small, meaningful action?

• Can you hold the pain without trying to resolve it all in your head?

This is where mindfulness, therapy, journaling, or even creative expression can help. Not to fix the imbalance, but to sit with it without drowning.

Final Thought: Living Between the Poles

Perhaps we need to stop striving for balance as a permanent state and start embracing it as a moment-to-moment dance.

Like walking, we lean into imbalance to move forward. Like breathing, we inhale tension and exhale release. Like history, we rise and fall — not to stay still, but to grow.

The real peace may lie not in achieving balance, but in making peace with its impossibility.

And maybe — just maybe — this is what it means to be fully human.