compassion fatigue
Oct. 10th, 2005 15:47![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
piranhahas me in its grip. maybe that's a self-preservation thing. looking at the news and imagining what it's like (thousands dead in the wake of hurricane stan, tens of thousands dead in pakistan/kashmir/india earthquake, millions of people homeless), so soon after katrina is too much; my mind contracts and withdraws.
i am reminded of why i stopped being an activist. it whittled me down to the mental bone. i don't have what it takes to care deeply about others' misery; unless i can actually put my hands to work for their cause, i just get eaten up. better to stay away from the news. at any given moment uncounted people are homeless and grieving while i sit in comfort at my desk with a belly full of warm food. survivor guilt powering incessant news searches isn't helping them any.
i go sort out clothing and recyclables to donate.
i am reminded of why i stopped being an activist. it whittled me down to the mental bone. i don't have what it takes to care deeply about others' misery; unless i can actually put my hands to work for their cause, i just get eaten up. better to stay away from the news. at any given moment uncounted people are homeless and grieving while i sit in comfort at my desk with a belly full of warm food. survivor guilt powering incessant news searches isn't helping them any.
i go sort out clothing and recyclables to donate.