Social Question
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How can I focus on other things during a distressing event?
I notice that I have a rather troubling tendency. When something particular serious that causes a lot of attention happens, such as a massive disaster or a murder, whether it’s a local event or an international event, I have the tendency to get really obsessed with getting as much information about it as possible. I would watch the news, search the Internet, read online forums for any new development, even when there is nothing more to look for and every news outlet I see just repeats each other.
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 feel like it’s inappropriate to do other things and be happy in my own bubble while the entire world is panicking. I have to be as updated as possible to show that I care.
This question is inspired by that recent event in the US, but it also applies to other events too. I got into a downward spiral during the beginning of the war in Ukraine because I was obsessively looking at the news. It got so bad that I felt physically sick when I saw any reference to Ukraine no matter how innocent it was. How can I live in peace?
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