# Does anyone else ever feel overwhelmed by the sadness and cruelty in the world?



## Sarahquel (Aug 12, 2011)

Hi everyone,
I just want to hear your thoughts on this matter and if anyone ever feels the same way.
I'm a pretty sensitive person, even as a child I would become emotional with empathy for other's suffering. I guess as a coping mechanism I have always avoided fully learning about issues affecting the world.
Recently though, I have made efforts to get a little bit more educated about current affairs but it's had some negative concequences. After researching ethical eating and the cruelty of factory farming, I plunged into this nihilistic sort of depression, even with disaccociative effects. I was very frightened by this and although I'm feeling better now, I'm seeing a professional about it, I still feel overwhelmed by how awful the world is. 
There are so many horrible horrible things happening all the time. I've kind of lost faith in humanity. 
I used to just feel bad because of what was going on inside my head (stupid thoughts racing around and around) but if I consider things on a global level, I fear my head may explode.
Does anyone else ever feel like this? How do you cope?
I don't want to be ignorant to the things that matter in the world, but quite frankly, things were much better when I was in my own little bubble of existence!


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## JAkDy (Jan 23, 2011)

Hi,
I wouldn't say I get overwhelmingly depressed about the state of the world even though I do realise that there are a sh!t load of problems around.

I rationalise it by thinking, that the world is a complete spectrum of stuff happening. Sure there's heaps of horrible things, but at the same time there are some truly wonderful things going on that make you realise how outstanding humanity can be at its best. And on top of both those, there is EVERYTHING in between those extremes.

It's sort of the same with regarding myself, because I'm very perfectionist it often leads to me feeling crap at all my own imperfections. But that's cause I end up focussing on those without considering the better parts of myself as much. Which is something I work on.

It's possible to be aware of the world's faults, but sometimes you can stop for a second and observe examples of good. People often dwell on faults more rather than triumphs, because dwelling on a fault more often results in an effort to fix that fault. Whereas thinking for ages about something that's already good doesn't really cause you to improve if you get what I mean.


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## Kon (Oct 21, 2010)

No, unless it affects me. Otherwise, I don't care. That might sound disgusting but I just can't put myself in other's shoes. Having said that I still think I'm a moral person, as much as those that are affected by that stuff, I think?. I think it has to do with a relatively good ability in rationalizing morality, if that makes sense. Once I rationalize it, then I sorta feel emotions about it. I'm not sure if that makes any sense?


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## Logitech (Jul 30, 2011)

I agree with Kon. I honestly don't have a reason to care or worry for people I don't know. What good does it do me? 

My life's pretty good most of the time, so I usually don't complain.


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## OldSchoolSkater (Jun 3, 2011)

I understand exactly where you are coming from OP.

I feel so damn guilty a lot of the time for living the way that I do - for being fortunate to have a place to live, to have money for food and recreation, to spend time/money on stupid stuff rather than doing something to help everyone who is less fortunate. When I let myself think about it I get seriously depressed - like really seriously depressed. 

Sadly, a lot of the time I have to ignore it and just realize that I am thankful for what I have. When opportunities arise to help those who need it I try to do what I can. Still, there is that bit of guilt and sadness that stays with me when I think about the way the world is, the way other people live/die, and how at least Western society has their priorities very screwed up. I try not to let it paralyze me though.


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## max87 (Aug 7, 2010)

Sarahquel said:


> Hi everyone,
> I just want to hear your thoughts on this matter and if anyone ever feels the same way.
> I'm a pretty sensitive person, even as a child I would become emotional with empathy for other's suffering. I guess as a coping mechanism I have always avoided fully learning about issues affecting the world.
> Recently though, I have made efforts to get a little bit more educated about current affairs but it's had some negative concequences. After researching ethical eating and the cruelty of factory farming, I plunged into this nihilistic sort of depression, even with disaccociative effects. I was very frightened by this and although I'm feeling better now, I'm seeing a professional about it, I still feel overwhelmed by how awful the world is.
> ...


I know your feelings. I'm a HSP and i can't cope with suffering. 
I am very anxious, which leads me to a rather catastrophic perception of things.


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## SPC (May 14, 2011)

im pretty desensitived to violence at this point of my life but like others say you must rationalize the suffering of those around you and that of people in this world at large. to fixate or focus on things that you cannot control will just lead to hopelessness. hopefully you can channel your feelings towards helping those that you are capable of helping and showing that even though much of the world is somber and cruel, there are always exceptions, and you are one of those exceptions.


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## InfiniteBlaze (Jan 27, 2011)

I used to be like this, but then I learned to identify more with Kon. It has to be really really sad and something that doesn't happen every day for it to depress me, otherwise I'm like meh.


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## RockBottomRiser (Jun 5, 2011)

No, but i am occasionally disgusted by my own indifference to it.


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## phi (Aug 1, 2011)

i do and it immobilises me i need help to. But i dont think being inactive will make it better. What might help is to show how i feel to the world and stop hidding my sadness, as strange as it sounds they might not even see it. I have to get the courage to let my real feeling flow more.


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## MojoCrunch (Mar 25, 2011)

Yeah. It does. I can't watch or read the news because of it. It just makes me more paranoid. Sometimes I can be indifferent towards it, but most of the time when I actually put in effort and think about my life being like some of the people's that I read about I just feel terrible. For everybody.

I hate reading the news b/c it evokes all sorts of crazy emotions. Sadness for kids that died or are poor and being screwed over and desperate. Anger at people that kill others or are happy about someone elses suffering (which is all too easy to do). Seeing the worst of people come out. Seeing people scared for their future and family. Very little happiness comes out of learning about all the cruelty in the world. It's like I experience every emotion except happiness and it's just...overwhelmingly depressing.


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## Perkins (Dec 14, 2010)

There are times when I get really sad when I hear what's going on. It's why I never watch the news. One of the few times I prefer to be blissfully ignorant.


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## Elleire (Jul 24, 2011)

I think that's really beautiful that you have so much compassion.

Intellectually, I know it's "bad" and I wish it weren't so, but I don't ever actually _feel _anything -- well, anything except for occasional disgust that I don't feel anything. :stu


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## Sarahquel (Aug 12, 2011)

Thanks for the replies! 
My housemate said 'you have to pick your battles' and that the issue of ethical eating is huge, very difficult to follow so to just do what I can and try not to worry about the things that I can't do.
I agree with that point about worrying about things you can't control. That's one of my biggest problems! Hopefully I can work through that some more with the person I've booked in to see. 
In the meantime, I've changed my eating habits and started volunteer work with dogs <3
I might avoid the news if I can unless it's via Twitter ^_^


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## jsgt (Jun 26, 2011)

> I've kind of lost faith in humanity.


Same here and its depressing to think about. Theres so much evil in people and the sad part is, things are only getting worse as time goes by. The progression of mankind? More like, the degression.

I try not to let it get to me and just stay inside my bubble(like you describe). It isnt about not caring whats going on, its about not letting something out of my control get me down.


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## Tipa (Aug 13, 2011)

I agree in some ways, disagree in others. I'm also very empathetic, but to me it's limited to people i really care about, or events/tragedies i personally witness. For instance, i don't feel bad when i watch things on tv, as it doesn't register as being 'real' for some reason. However, i visited the Oklahoma City bombing memorial and cried like a baby! tore me up for a while. Had a similar situation when i drove through Joplin after the tornado. 

I also agree with you in the feeling of loss of faith in humanity. It gets me down a lot. I'm a big dreamer though, so i stay optimistic about doing my damn best to fix it!


...or die tryin'!


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## bookworm7 (Aug 12, 2011)

I feel your pain totally. I really can relate to everything you just said. I feel guilty if I'm not up on current affairs because I like knowing what's going on in the world, but I have a tendency to become overwhelmed and depressed by the sadness in the world. I somehow feel responsible even though I really try hard to be a nice person and do good things. I'm a very religious person and I know this should help me (I have a firm belief in God), but somehow this makes it harder for me because I wonder why so many bad things happen when there's a loving God. I'm slowly starting to understand a little more but the pain of the world overwhelms me. Then I feel guilty because I feel like I have so much to be grateful for and I should be doing more to help other people out. I'm naturally a very empathetic person but my social anxiety disorder and the pain of the world is starting to incapacitate me. I'm seeking answers on this too. I'm trying to be more positive about humanity but it's hard. Sorry if that wasn't much help by way of tips, but hopefully it will help to know someone else feels the way you do (at least to some extent).



Sarahquel said:


> Hi everyone,
> I just want to hear your thoughts on this matter and if anyone ever feels the same way.
> I'm a pretty sensitive person, even as a child I would become emotional with empathy for other's suffering. I guess as a coping mechanism I have always avoided fully learning about issues affecting the world.
> Recently though, I have made efforts to get a little bit more educated about current affairs but it's had some negative concequences. After researching ethical eating and the cruelty of factory farming, I plunged into this nihilistic sort of depression, even with disaccociative effects. I was very frightened by this and although I'm feeling better now, I'm seeing a professional about it, I still feel overwhelmed by how awful the world is.
> ...


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## bookworm7 (Aug 12, 2011)

I know I just posted, but I thought of some things to do after reading others' posts... find positive or funny/uplifting news stories (that's staying up-to-date, too). Also, think "what do I have control of in this situation?" If it's something you can control that matters to you, you might be able to donate money or maybe serve somewhere or something. If it's not something you have control over or that particularly matters to you, you can feel for the people but not it affect you without being a bad person. I really need to hear that too! Find causes you truly care about but realize you can't solve all the world's problems. Leave that up to us other empathetic people . A cause I really care about is mental illness treatment and diagnosis (shocker, I know! haha). Other causes I really care about is gang prevention and drug therapy. I'm trying to realize that I can care about other things in the world going on without taking the problems upon myself. I hope this helps you.



Sarahquel said:


> Hi everyone,
> I just want to hear your thoughts on this matter and if anyone ever feels the same way.
> I'm a pretty sensitive person, even as a child I would become emotional with empathy for other's suffering. I guess as a coping mechanism I have always avoided fully learning about issues affecting the world.
> Recently though, I have made efforts to get a little bit more educated about current affairs but it's had some negative concequences. After researching ethical eating and the cruelty of factory farming, I plunged into this nihilistic sort of depression, even with disaccociative effects. I was very frightened by this and although I'm feeling better now, I'm seeing a professional about it, I still feel overwhelmed by how awful the world is.
> ...


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## mrmarc (Jul 10, 2011)

Some times, but it depends on what.
I usually try not to think about it, harsh as that sounds:/


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## Sarahquel (Aug 12, 2011)

I have to keep reminding myself of all the little things that I do which contribute to making the world better. It's so easy to fixate on the negatives.


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## Lachlan (Jul 3, 2008)

you can only do what you can do, but I do feel the sadness of my own tinted view of how I see the world at large. It's only my view, and I try to make it as bright as possible, but if it's still a bit grim, then thats just how it is. If I want to try to change things, as you've said, I just have to do what I can do.


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## Neptunus (Oct 29, 2007)

max4225 said:


> Yeah it affects me too. I think the key is not letting our emotions cripple us into not taking action. Every bit helps. One individual can do a lot if they put their mind to it.


This.


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## Event Horizon (Feb 23, 2011)

Oy, I have to say I feel the same way. I don't know if it is healthy or not. It does overwhelm me and keeps me from attaining happiness, among other things. Especially since a lot of my relatives have been passing away, I've started looking thinking about life and looking back. Where does the time go...? I've been slowly realising the finitude of life and the preciousness of a life. I've become more and more scared of the inevitability of aging. 
Whenever I see a homeless person or an older person who's failed in life, I feel heart break and it overwhelms me. It affects me in a lot of ways and gets me thinking about many things. I cannot bear watch the news because almost every bit of it sinks me emotionally. It's the same when I hear about a person or animal being tortured, I can't really think about it. I am aware of the suffering element in the world, and I cannot accept it as is, so thus it overwhelms me. 

I just try not to think about it, and think of it as a yin/yang kind of thing...there is bad and there is an equal amount of good. 

But it is just so easy to fall into that negative emotional twister.


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## Weirdo87 (Aug 15, 2011)

phoelomek said:


> I think that's really beautiful that you have so much compassion.


I agree with this.


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## OldSchoolSkater (Jun 3, 2011)

I think a really important thing to remember is that there ARE still good people out there. A few years back I lost my wallet at a party - had NO idea where it went or when I lost it. I had a check card, credit card, $40 in cash, license, SS card, etc all in there and I thought to myself "great, someone is going to find it, take the cash and cards, and throw it away." Less then a couple weeks later someone from a local police department called and they said someone had turned it in so they would mail it back to me - when I got it EVERYTHING was there, INCLUDING THE CASH!

The police officer said he had no idea who had dropped it off and didn't know how to find out - some young woman just walked in, said "I found this" and walked out. 

This really showed me that GOOD PEOPLE ARE STILL OUT THERE. You can't watch the news and let them overwhelm you with their bull****, depressing, and exagerated news. I went to school for Journalism and they tell you to find the bad because that's what people will read - it's messed up.


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## BKrakow (Jul 8, 2010)

I'm the same way, OP. I'm very sensitive and human behavior frequently disgusts and saddens me. however, the good thing about being so sensitive is that it does motivate me to "be the change I wish to see in the world." try to be a better person and not imitate others' bad behavior. if you see someone being mistreated, stand up for that person. acting as a force of good will be a positive, productive distraction from the huge amount of negativity in the world!


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## sanspants08 (Oct 21, 2008)

I get overwhelmed by it once in a while, and start to hatch a plan to, say, liberate sex slaves in third-world Europe. I've always said to myself, that if I lose everything in life, I'm going to go on a well-planned, slave-trader killing spree. 

Generally the atrocities inflicted on women and children bother me, and the rest I can cope with, for some reason. I work in an ER, and that may have something to do with my views. Eventually it becomes apparent that the vast majority of badness in the world is perpetrated by men lol.


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## kunak (Mar 19, 2011)

I know how you feel. The world is ****ed up and all we can do is be a better person ourselves. Other than that don't worry about it.


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## Ballerina (Jul 14, 2011)

*Can't be bothered*

♫


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## Overwhelmed (Jan 19, 2012)

*Yes I do too!!!*

I am the same way and thought that it was just me! I also cannot watch the news, or even read the news headlines, because I become so overwhelmed that I either dwell on and obsess about terrible things or I become furious (to the point of rage) at the people who do these things ... or just very depressed about all the sickness in the world. I have tried prayer and meditation to cope with it but sometimes I just want to go somewhere and hide from everything.:|


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## Overwhelmed (Jan 19, 2012)

bookworm7 said:


> I feel your pain totally. I really can relate to everything you just said. I feel guilty if I'm not up on current affairs because I like knowing what's going on in the world, but I have a tendency to become overwhelmed and depressed by the sadness in the world. I somehow feel responsible even though I really try hard to be a nice person and do good things. I'm a very religious person and I know this should help me (I have a firm belief in God), but somehow this makes it harder for me because I wonder why so many bad things happen when there's a loving God. I'm slowly starting to understand a little more but the pain of the world overwhelms me. Then I feel guilty because I feel like I have so much to be grateful for and I should be doing more to help other people out. I'm naturally a very empathetic person but my social anxiety disorder and the pain of the world is starting to incapacitate me. I'm seeking answers on this too. I'm trying to be more positive about humanity but it's hard. Sorry if that wasn't much help by way of tips, but hopefully it will help to know someone else feels the way you do (at least to some extent).


Yes, me too. I am more spiritual than religious, but I can relate to this. I also keep wishing that I had a lot of money so that I could donate to all the people who need help.


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## ainsleigh (Dec 6, 2011)

I have felt exactly the same way before. There's a positive and negative to empathy. On the one hand it allows you to feel the pain of others, and to really care. In a very dissociated and disconnected world - this is significant.

On the other, it means that your own sense of self becomes lost in this sea of feelings. It's easy to become depressive, to feel lost, to feel like there's no point, to feel compassion fatigue, and overall inertia towards life. I also found myself feeling disgusted towards other human beings when hearing about the hurtful things that have been done historically and even today.

One way that helps me is to try to focus my attentions on the solutions. I started to educate myself as much as I can about ways people are using creativity and innovation in response to these problems. There are so many empowering stories out there. Immerse yourself in this. Something about constantly hearing and reading the stories of others who did something positive, made me, despite my doubts, believe I was capable of making a difference. I know that sounds corny but I'd rather believe I can than feel helpless. There are some great stories on TED. I recently read this wonderful story about a lady who donated money to a coffee shop so that people could have free coffee. Such a little act but so powerful.

I think it is a wonderful thing to care, to feel for others. Imagine what the world would be like if everyone was in touch with empathy. Find a way of channelling your emotions and feelings in a positive way. Put your skills of empathy to good use. I've started to write about issues that concern me on my blog. It's a small little thing, but it has really changed the way I feel. Even this forum is a wonderful way to connect with others and what they are going through. You would be wonderful in helping others, or in some kind of environment that allows you to nurture. It's just a matter of finding balance with your emotions.


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## fate77 (Jan 15, 2012)

I understand what you're talking about. I often feel the same way, I'd describe it as despair more than being overwhelmed or depressed. But there are just so many egotistical and hedonistic people in the world, and the problems of egoism and hedonism (from which all other problems arise) will worsen and diversify among the world's communities rather than subside. 

It's sad... A lot of the time I just give up, become apathetic and decide that humanity isn't worth fighting for... If the human species keeps on growing and consuming resources at its current rate, I doubt it'll last any more than a century


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## The Other (Oct 23, 2011)

.


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## LainToWired (Nov 10, 2011)

Yes, I do. I get very angry when I hear of injustices and cruelty, of people getting away with sadistic acts without punishment. It can be overwhelming at times, I feel an overwhelming urge to try and change the world, I can't just be some bystander who sits back whilst the Illuminati are ****ing up humanity's future with their greed, lies and manipulation; whilst every second someone is raped; whilst every second an innocent person's life is randomly extinguished by a violent thug without reason. I want power to turn this **** around. Of course, I don't have that. However, I manage to bottle it up, and tell myself that even if there are immense injustices going on in the world, if I can protect the people I care about from becoming victims, it will be enough for now.


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## stargazer8 (Jun 6, 2008)

I can relate to you completely. Everything you posted is exactly how I feel when I read the news. The way people treat each other and the way people treat animals. It's all upsetting and disturbing. Sometimes I cry a lot when I read something horrific.

But one thing that helps me is I think about the darkness and lightness in people. There's always a balance. With great darkness there is great lightness in people, too. However evil and horrible a person might be, there are others who are so incredibly kind and benevolent. If such evil can exist, such pureness of a good heart exists as well.


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## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

It's really depressing when I think about factory farms. All those poor animals tortured their whole lives for no reason. I don't eat meat but I really have to stop eating dairy.


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## Sarah1985 (Sep 23, 2012)

I have problems with feeling like this too. My heart starts to beat really fast and I start to feel the way I do before a panic attack comes on and then I start worrying about the collapse of modern society and what it would be like if no one in my country cared about each other and about bad things happening to my family and losing my job/never being able to find another.

I found an article I found really helpful for this, and I'm trying to implement the thinking suggested in it:

http://www.raptitude.com/2010/12/what-to-do-about-the-worlds-suffering/

On a Google search it's the top entry when searching for: 'What to Do About the World's Suffering'.

I wondered if anyone thinks that feeling like this may be related to social anxiety? Whenever I've talked to other people about it, they don't seem to know what I'm talking about and there seem to be quite a few people on here who feel like this.

I know this is just conjecture but in some cases could feeling this way bring on social phobia, i.e. feeling like people are very cruel to others and to animals may stop people being able to be around other people, even if those people aren't cruel themselves, rather they don't seem to worry about the cruelty/want to do anything to stop it?

I say this because when I was young I didn't know a lot about the world and I was much more able to interact but as I've got older, the more I've learned about cruelty the less I've been able to interact with people (I'm not saying that's a certainty and the only reason but I just got to thinking about this tonight after spending the whole day trying to work out why I feel so bad about things). As to why I feel this about cruelty, I think it comes from my parents who taught me from a young age to be kind to everyone and everything and to be grateful for everything I have and really brought that message home.


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## YoukosoHitoriBocchi (Sep 22, 2012)

I'm very much the same way!
I'm extremely empathetic. especially to outcasted people.
I try to focus on positive things but there is just so much pain and sadness.


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## Sharada108 (Aug 31, 2014)

I think it is part of our beautifully complicated human experience to feel deep empathy, and it's unfortunate that many are not able to feel as much as you. I am very sensitive to the hurt of this world. I feel for humans, animals, plants and the environment which certain people take advantage of. Sometimes it hurts so much to learn about what goes on that I've actually gotten physically sick or deeply depressed. This happens when I am focusing on what the negatives are and I can't see all the positive actions and situations happening. 

Things that help me get through each day: first and foremost I keep good company. I am grateful to have a loving family and I am picky about who I spend time with. I know that friends who are sympathetic to me and positive people really help my emotional state - they are my allies. 

Secondly, I don't read/listen to/watch the news on a regular basis. It is almost all bad news and I don't think it is healthy for me, as sensitive as I am, to be subject to a constant flow of shock and awe stories. I instead pursue the topics I would like to educate myself about. This is still extremely painful, but I do it with a purpose (to sign petitions, volunteer, help educate myself and have deep discussions with my friends) and when I am done I can turn it off. Putting a cap on how much time I will spend on this helps manage my exposure and when I am done I am done. It is very important to follow this with something that feels good and feeds the soul like talking to a positive friend, spending time with my dog in nature, journaling or setting up my next volunteer opportunity. 

Another thing that really helps me when I am sinking is to help someone else. Volunteering is such a healthy way to deal with feelings of helplessness and confusion. It gives me a focus, and it let's me feel like I can contribute to the good of this world, in my own way. It's amazing how helping someone else really helps ourselves. 

I also delve into my personal spirituality practice for comfort and faith. I meditate, do yoga, journal or simply raise questions or give my hurt up to god and the universe. 

The last thing I will recommend here is if you are able to (and only if you are comfortably able to!) get a rescue (this is only an option if you can give them a forever home!). When I was deeply depressed for over a year it was my rescue dog that helped my life dramatically improve. She rescued me. 

Know that so many of us humans are deeply sensitive and share in your concern for this hurting world. When the Dalai Lama was asked what we can do to help the state of the world he said: critical thinking and swift action. So even though it feels small, do what YOU can do. You only have to carry your piece, not the whole world. But do something.


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## nubly (Nov 2, 2006)

There are evil people in the world but there is so many good people too. Don't focus on the negative too much.


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## Area88 (Oct 4, 2010)

I didn't watch the news for 3 years because of this issue. I can now but only domestic affairs. Anything to do with the Middle East or third world poverty, I have to turn off.


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## nosas (Aug 22, 2014)

Not really, all i can see 'between the lines' is the richer getting richer and the poorer getting poorer


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## WanderingMind001 (May 4, 2014)

JAkDy said:


> Hi,
> I wouldn't say I get overwhelmingly depressed about the state of the world even though I do realise that there are a sh!t load of problems around.
> 
> I rationalise it by thinking, that the world is a complete spectrum of stuff happening. Sure there's heaps of horrible things, but at the same time there are some truly wonderful things going on that make you realise how outstanding humanity can be at its best. And on top of both those, there is EVERYTHING in between those extremes.
> ...


I'm the same in all you said. In addition, I ideally would like to help out the world in a humanitarian way but at the same time I know peace and chaos will always co-exist.


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## Darktower776 (Aug 16, 2013)




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## Stacy1 (Jun 3, 2016)

I ran across this when I searched for the first time about how obsessed I am with everything bad in the world. The one that prompted my search was when I went to town yesterday and a stray dog I have seen that looked like she had puppies somewhere was now on the road with at least 10 puppies. I had thought about her and another one we see down our county road. Now I can't think about anything else. I moved for a very nice area to about 6 hours across the state as part of the tiny house movement and now find that living in the country many animals are dumped. I'm a person that sees a turtle crossing the road and I get out and make sure it gets there. I can't take on 13 dogs and have tried the few options in this county. Well, you get the idea! I'm this way about every animal and human. Otherwise, a wonderful life, family and friends. I want to help by volunteering but would be so sad all the time by seeing it daily. Thanks for having a place to voice this.


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