[freehunter]

But here's my problem with that... what am I supposed to do to help? With any of that?

It seems to me like I've got two options:

A) Filter/slow my news consumption to just the stories that are relevant to me plus the big huge actual breaking news stories and miss out on all the bummer stories about how bad it is in Yemen

or

B) Keep reading the news unfiltered and worrying about people in Yemen that I can't help and then switch to worrying about people in Honduras that I can't help then worrying about wildfires in California that I can't help and then worry about everything else until eventually I get so upset by the state of the world and how helpless I am that I fall into deep depression and end up harming myself or losing the will to live altogether.

Flipping your comment around, I'm all for being well-informed and reading the news, but what am I supposed to do about it? I vote. I pay taxes. I donate to local charities. Yeah the situation in Yemen is bad but what good does reading a news story do? Is my reading of how bad Yemen is going to help the people in Yemen? Is my inevitable mental health decline going to make their lives better?

What can I do with that information besides say "yeah Yemen is pretty bad isn't it"?

[aabeshou]

that's why I say self-care is important. there's no point in torturing yourself over everything. we have to vary how much responsibility we want to take based on how hopelessly things feel outside our control. but deluding yourself into thinking the world isn't bad is just putting your head in the sand. yeah, it sucks, but we're all in this together. By being aware, if the opportunity arises to do something about it (e.g. by lobbying a presidential candidate, or a president), then you will be able to. If you don't know about it, you can't do anything even if some opportunity arises.

[freehunter]

I personally strongly disagree (the world is bad but it's far better now than it ever had been) but I understand your point of view and I'm okay with it. Different people have different world views and different lenses they see the world through, so everyone has different tolerances. Personally I can't watch hours of bad things back to back without feeling bad, and if I see heartwrenching stories of war-torn Afghani families I'm going to be an emotional wreck for the rest of the day. It legitimately has a negative impact on my day-to-day life. I also have an addictive personality so one thing leads to another.

Some people can drink socially. Some people can function in their daily life as alcoholics. Some people find out they can't be around alcohol at all without relapsing to destructive alcoholism. It's the same for any addictive substance, and "news" definitely is addictive.

[aabeshou]

you absolutely should not expose yourself in a way that harms you excessively. noone is helped by your torment.

I like Dr. Bronner: "1st: If not for me, who am I? Nobody! 2nd: Yet, if I’m only for me, what am I? Nothing!"

I think we all have to find an appropriate personal balance.