this post was submitted on 05 Jul 2025
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i genuinely want to know: how does one box up and set aside the knowledge that innocent people are being kidnapped, deported, murdered--not to mention literally everything else that's happening?
Accurately feeling all the pain is suicide. Don't do that.
Turning away cuts you off from everything good. Don't do that.
Do some third thing instead.
You get silly about it. Have multiple emotions at once.
Also helps with creative solutions.
just wanted to add another answer to the wonderful ones you've gotten already.
I don't really have a good answer on how to find joy despite the bleak violence of reality, but I know that we must still try to find it, because hope and joy is exactly that which they are trying to snuff out.
Stronger people than me have danced those dances.
Focus on things you can do. Ride a bike, bake a bread, call grandma, degoogle your phone, volunteer somewhere, drop 5 bucks for Gaza, stuff like that.
action is the antidote to fear.
I had a flight today and they reminded us that in an emergency parents should secure their own oxygen masks before attempting to help children.
Protect your own mental health first. You're no good to your loved ones or society if you're too depressed or defeated to fight against the evils in this world. Also, y'know... you don't deserve to bear it all on your shoulders!
I think for me it’s about focusing on what I can control and influence. I can do very little about the horrors of the world, but I can make my community better, I can make my friends and families lives better, and then it’s a net positive impact I’m leaving on the world.
Is that enough? I dunno, but for my own sanity it needs to be enough for right now.
solid take, thanks :)
stoicism ig? i have to accept that there are things out of my control, and i cannot let that stop me from functioning entirely.
I am an ant, on a leave, floating down a river. I did not choose my leaf, I did not choose the river. So much is out of my control, I can only afford to focus my energy on things I can control.
hmmm, yes, very wise
that is valid, but then part of me says people's ability to accept things by stowing empathy is what led to all this suffering in the first place
honestly not sure what i'm looking for here-- stay silly and functional
Do what you can when you can, and live the rest of your time in peace knowing you did your best with what you had.
Could you have done more? Sure, but at what cost?
Organized protest when your voice can bring change, then go back to focusing on your local community where the stakes are smaller, but you still get the wins. Get others to join when the topic comes up, but accept that people need boundaries to stay sane, and might have different capacity than you.
I don't think its a matter of stowing empathy as much as it is redirecting your energy. I still empathize with those people, but I try to focus energy on my immediate life and the people around me, and thinking about how I can help and improve their lives, support them best, etc. rather than doom scrolling and despairing. Because with the people directly around me I can have a much more tangible impact. I'd like to work up to having a more systemic impact too, but I'm still figuring out that part. But I think its helpful to have a solid base to work from first, you know?