The fact is that people are being dragged around mentally and emotionally, and telling tens of millions of people to just stop doesn't seem particularly likely

The fact is that people are being dragged around mentally and emotionally, and telling tens of millions of people to just stop doesn't seem particularly likely to reverse the trend. This is a systemic problem and it demands a systemic response. That response could well be public education programs for processing fear mongering (if you can overcome the obvious political problems).