How can I focus on other things during a distressing event?

One has to learn, and it’s a life long issue for many of us, that there’s a balancing act between awareness and compassion and self-preservation. Once you have some of the facts of a disaster or other situation, it’s good to turn away from the details and try to live your life. I’m trying to practice what I preach right now. The news cycle will suck you in and rehash the same facts over and over and it’s only upsetting when there’s little you can do about it. I do make contributions to disaster and refugee relief. In terms of the election, I am trying to tune out all the noise from the signal and waiting til November 7th.

You might read the novel by Sue Monk Kidd called The Secret Life of Bees which has a character who is suffering from empathy.

Also, try to focus on the small pleasures in your day and connect with nature if you can.

As in first aid. The first responsibilities is to the first responder. You cannot help anyone if you are injured.

For me I turn off the television news off for two minutes, from the news, if they give a content warning.

@Mimishu1995: “Looking at these upsetting thing give me a lot of distress, but I just can’t stop, because I feel like if I stop caring about it and do other things, it means I don’t care about the world, I am indifferent toward others’ suffering, and I’m selfish and only think about myself”

I completely understand this. But you might want to ask yourself if you have any means to be able to change [enter disturbing event] from happening. If not, you have a choice to put yourself through emotional and physical pain for something you can’t control.

One option some people decide is to block out these things and choose to live a life in a way that reflects their own values. They choose to create a small piece of the world (interactions, relationships, etc) that act as a mini-counter to the brutality that is occurring.

However, if the distressing things are happening in our name and we are at least theoretically able to resist such things happening, I’m not sure we should be looking the other way. I can’t tell you the soul-crushing weight I feel over my country’s current participation in a genocide. I can’t count the number of days I’ve shed tears and felt like throwing up.

But realistically, with both political parties in agreement in their support for murdering children, what options do I have. I work every day and pay taxes that will go directly to bombs that will be dropped on a captive civilian population. When my daughter organized on campus, both parties intentionally misrepresented her intent and language, and they incited political violence against her and others who were risking much to stand up.

So, I’m back to where you are. What can I do? If I were less busy, maybe I could organize more and be put on a list. Even financial resistance (boycotts, BDS) have been declared illegal in many states.

One option would be to just close my eyes and pretend that atrocities done in my name and with my money are beyond my control. I could then focus on things that are in my control, and I’d be healthier for it. Then I could worry that the guilt doesn’t creep up on me later.

^^ One thing I do to ameliorate my feeling of horror at the genocide is give to Gazan relief organizations. I know it’s not a solution but it’s a bit of something.

What I do is I watch as many as what I believe to be really good films or documentaries about art and artists. That seems to do the trick for me.

@mazingerz88 And reading engrossing novels helps me.

Give up listening to the news for a while. Switch off your television and your radio and all social media. There are two realities, the reality of the horrors that we see on our television screens and there is the reality you see when looking out the window of your house, the clouds rolling slowly by and the birds calling, just as they have always done.

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

Thank you everyone for answering. I have read all of your answers and think for a long time about it. My problem is that it hurts me to see suffering in the world, and I want to do something about it. But the sheer numbers of things that go wrong and how much I can’t help are what conflict with that desire. I think I will just start with doing what I can in my own place, like helping the people I can see. Maybe at least I can tell myself that I’m doing something.