There Is So Much We Want To Care About. It’s Exhausting.

There is a lot going on in the world. 

Genocide.

Violence. 

Murder. 

Wars. 

Exploitation. 

Politics. 

Natural disasters. 

Terrorism. 

Women’s rights. 

Human rights. 

Climate change. 

Pandemics. 

Poverty. 

Drought. 

This is just some of what is playing on peoples minds day in, day out. 

It’s on our TVs. It’s on our phones. It’s what we talk about. It’s everywhere we go. It’s constant. It’s relentless. And it’s a lot. 

We want to care about everything. We want to show that we empathetic, that we are educated, that we are selfless enough to know that there are much bigger things happening in the world than what we are experiencing ourselves. 

It’s exhausting. It’s exhausting to look at your news app and everything is negative. It’s exhausting to look at your social media just to see more death and violence and sadness. 

We’re overwhelmed with negativity, with sadness, with trying to keep up with everything we’re expected to care about. 

I remember being a kid and the only time we knew what was happening in the world was from the 6pm news, maybe the newspaper. Today, we are connected to anyone and everything. If something happens we know about it within minutes, sometimes seconds. 

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by everything going on in the world, you are not alone. 

As someone who reports on these issues (and is also a social media manager), I am connected 24/7. I am social media throughout the day, it’s inevitable that I see everything that is reported on within a small time frame. 

I’m also someone who cares a lot, has a lot of feelings, too many of them. I want to do something about everything. Realistically, I know I can’t, but it doesn’t stop me from trying. 

It affects my mental health - I feel bad for being overwhelmed and anxious because who is it helping? No one. If I try and a take a step back, I feel guilty because I’m “sticking my head in the sand.” 

Suffering is everywhere. We can’t ignore it. But as a single person, we can’t do much about it. 

I’ve thought about this extensively- I’ve asked the question, if we can’t solve everything, what can we do? 

We can take small steps towards progress, and know that those small steps are helpful. Volunteer for an organisation. Get involved in your community. It might even be as simple as talking to people about a specific issue, raising awareness. Attending a rally. Sharing a post on social media. 

But know, you don’t have to do this for everything. You don’t have to volunteer with twenty organisations. You don’t have to run a platform reporting on every issue you come across. You don’t have to attend every rally. 

You CAN do small things and know they are still making an impact. 

Information overload is everywhere. Only pay attention to reliable sources. Negativity is everywhere. Don’t forget to remind yourself that there is still some good left in the world. 

But don’t be too hard on yourself for any of it. This shit is hard.