The other day I literally typed into Google, “how to deal with troubling world events as an HSP.” I’d just watched the news which left me feeling weepy and rattled.
It’s not just about the distressing visuals and sensationalist news reporting, but also very much to do with how much I can personally help in these situations. Often, I can’t do much if anything.
Being in a privileged situation in society but being unable to affect change and help where it’s needed most makes me feel a bit guilty, frustrated, helpless, and sometimes a little bit useless.
So here are the ways that I personally deal with distressing world events that it seems I can’t do anything about.
1) Cry and feel those emotions
If you’re anything like me, you’ve likely been gas-lighting yourself and thinking or explaining yourself out of your true uncomfortable feelings for some time. Or perhaps you’ve been hiding emotions from others that then bleeds into hiding emotions from yourself, or stuffing them down in a variety of unhealthy ways.
The first thing I do is to name my emotions or feelings if I can. If I can’t, then I just feel.
Allow yourself time and space to cry about the injustices of the world, the treatment of humans and animals alike, and let yourself be upset about stuff.
2) Screen the News
I have a partner who seems to be up with the latest everything, knows a lot about politics and how the world works, and is online a lot. He’s empathetic, but has the ability to not let what’s happening in the world affect him emotionally to the point of meltdown and ineffectiveness.
I don’t have that ability.
What I do is ask him to tell me what I need to know about current events, in a way that isn’t going to upset or shock me, just so I have some idea of what’s going on in the world and important information I need to know. No sensationalistic nonsense and no graphic imagery. Just facts presented in a way that I can process them.
As well as having someone digest the news (who isn’t going to end up completely emotionally crushed and a devastated sobbing mess like I am) then feed it to me in a way that I can easily digest, I limit the amount of news that I watch or am exposed to.
I’d recommend finding a trusted person or news outlet designed for sensitive folk, and if you can’t, then definitely taking in the news in bite sized pieces is the way to go.
Final word of advice: Don’t watch the news just before going to bed, as soon as you wake up, or any time that you’re feeling particularly fragile. You know you, so you know what you can handle at any given time.
If I take on news directly, I only do so when I feel like I’m in a space to handle it.
3) Focus on what I can do for others
I mentioned that I felt largely helpless when it came to witnessing and hearing about horrors in places other than where I’m situated.
When I feel helpless, if I’m not careful, it can drag me into a pit of despair and depression, and that’s not helpful to anyone.
This is where I pep talk myself, and examine my life and the ways in which I do help others, the ways that I do make a positive impact, and the ways that I have been able to positively impact people and things in the past.
This is all about perspective.
Once I’m feeling slightly less pessimistic and have the buffer of knowing that I have the ability to affect change and make a difference, I’m able to focus on, how can I help now, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant my action may be?
If everyone not directly involved in troubling world events who feels the pain of others who are directly involved in world events (because I believe we’re all connected in some way) takes just one little action, then together we’re quite the force.
Sometimes people can donate money or time or clothing or other items to a cause. Other times it could be prayers and good vibes and more about contribution through being than doing. Other times it might be peaceful activism, education, spreading the word, supporting others who are also finding world events wreaking havoc on their nervous system, and banding together to help.
Even though we may question our impact, take action in whatever way you can regardless of how much of an impact you think it can actually make.
There are multiple ways, big and small, that we can make a meaningful contribution and difference.
4) Take care of myself, body mind and spirit
By now we’ve probably all heard about the oxygen mask analogy so I won’t repeat it here.
If I don’t look after myself properly, how can I be in any way beneficial to others?
I mean sure, I can be beneficial, but in a far more diminished capacity than I would be able to if I looked after myself properly.
We need a good solid foundation to stand on if we’re to be effective quiet folk making our unique differences in the world.
Taking care of ourselves is not selfish, it’s not letting anyone else down, it’s not running and hiding in denial, it’s HEALTHY and NECESSARY for our survival and for showing up as effective people in the world.
Whether it’s curling up with my cat in bed with a good book and a cup of herbal tea, or getting out for a walk in the fresh air of nature, or binge watching a TV show I’ve watched seven times before while knitting, or signing up for a webinar or other online class or course, there are ways that I give myself permission through action to take care of my body, my mind, and my emotions and spirit.
If you feel like you need permission to take a break and look after your needs in whatever way you need to, here it is. Bam, you now have permission.
5) Hermit up
If I feel out of whack, usually the first thing I need is just to have some alone time (with Sophie or in nature, sometimes with other animals – just no people allowed).
Being alone at home or in nature doing whatever I feel I need to do is soothing and healing, especially when it’s often people and the related social connections that have depleted me in the first place (introverts can you relate?).
Having some alone time helps me immensely in regulating my nervous system and getting it back to adequate functioning and thus able to deal with how worldly goings on impact me.
6) Reach out and connect with safe people
While hermiting is necessary for me, I also recognise my need to balance that with good and healthy connections. With no connections, I feel isolated and that just compounds the uncomfortable feelings brought about by troubling world events.
When I reach out and connect, I make sure it’s with safe people. By safe people I mean people who are also quiet, introverted, sensitive, or at least who get me and care about me as much as I care about them. People who it’s safe to cry and be vulnerable with. People who aren’t going to trigger me or shame me or guilt me who let me feel my feelings. I stay away from triggering and exhausting people as much as I can (sometimes it’s not possible though).
Connect with people who are good for you and your nervous system. Reach out and connect when you need, hermit up when you need. It’s all about balance.
Additionally, there are helplines, therapists, counsellors, and many other people who can support you, so don’t be afraid to reach out and connect to professional help or services if that’s what you need.
7) Journal – in writing or verbally
Journaling is immensely helpful for allowing me to process my thoughts and emotions that I may struggle to articulate to another human being (like a therapist).
As a writer, it helps me to just hand write and pour my emotions and thoughts out from my heart and head onto a page, which leaves my heart and head feeling lighter and more able to cope.
If there’s too much to write at once, then I may sit down in front of a camera when no one is around and just talk openly about what’s going on in my mind, and how I feel. No one is going to see it (hopefully).
Writing or speaking openly about what’s burdening me can help me to unburden myself.
When I unburden myself even slightly, my coping capacity increases.
8) Get creative
I like to knit, cross stitch, tooth-brush rug weave, draw and colour in, paint, get out in the garden and fresh air, rearrange my space and write.
Anything that satisfies my need for creative expression is soothing to my soul and nervous system.
Creative expression keeps me sane and connected to the world without me being engulfed by the suffering that I can see happening around me.
It’s in this place of being emotionally regulated (nervous system intact), and having the mental capacity to handle knowledge of world events (and all that witnessing and hearing about them without being able to do much about them entails), that we need to begin from if we’re to be of any help to and effective in the world.
Final thoughts
Let me know in the comments or email me at [email protected], how are you doing with everything going on? Are there any other ways that you cope with what’s going on as a quiet person, HSP, empath, and/or intuitive etc?
As always, I’d love to hear your quiet thoughts.
Much love from Miss Soph and me.
Take care of yourselves and each other,
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