To sometimes feel overwhelmed by the sadness and cruelty in the world?

[Tusktusk]

Just that.

I’m usually a positive and optimistic person. I have a decent life. I’m loved.

But if I read about some awful news story involving cruelty / murder or a horrible accident I can just get myself into a spiral of despair. I keep picturing what they must have felt while it was happening and the life they didn’t get to lead and how their families must feel. And desperate worry for my DC that they might one day become somebody’s victim or have an accident.

I read something this morning and now I can’t stop crying.

I need to stop reading the news don’t I? Or at least, stick to the politics and ignore the crime stories.

It can make me feel that humanity is a really bad thing and we need to be made extinct.

I empathise OP. I've been reading some very sad stories online and indeed there have been some horrific crimes reported recently.

It is rare for some of these things to happen, thankfully. I tend to catastrophise though and need to focus on happier thoughts.

I hope you manage to find peace. I'd orientate your thoughts more firmly towards positive thinks. As someone once said, don't meet trouble half way.

I don't read the news much anymore because of this OP
Read the story yesterday about the awful man who killed that lady and the kids, and just couldn't understand why someone would treat other people like that

I feel like this too at the moment. I love my DC so much but have started to feel guilty at times for bringing them into this horrid world. Especially having a teen DD..I worry so much about sexual violence and how vulnerable she could be. Every time I read an awful news story, it really gets to me.

I also feel like I want to keep my world a bit smaller...just hunker down with at home and stay cosy.

More positive things, not thinks!

I haven't reached the point where I think humanity is completely bad. And I have been very let down by some family members such as my parents and that has really knocked me.

I try to be one of the good humans.

This is the story I was thinking on of. I can't get my head around it.

I can relate to this. I read something horrendous yesterday about a family. It was one of the worst things I've ever heard, the sort of thing you cannot unhear. It upset me deeply and from now on I'm staying away for the news, it is too alarming. I think these things have always happened, we just didn't have social media or hear about them as much. It is incomprehensible how truly evil humans can be.

This, exactly. Also have teen DDs.

Sorry, this was in reply to @Christmaskiss

I told dh just yesterday sometimes being a human being isn't something to be proud of.

I get like this and have to step away from my phone. Bad things have always happened but we didn't know about them. We didn't carry the bad things in our pocket. Spend some time doing things you love. Go for a walk in the countryside with your kids or dog or by yourself. Do something practical like DIY or wrap presents. Ground yourself in your reality away from screens. Give yourself a break from all news until at least the new year, even politics. X

It sounds as though you have a very active imagination and identify with strangers in news reports more closely than most people would, so yes, avoiding those kinds of stories might bea good idea for you.

I don't feel that way at all when I read the news. I mean... I think "That's terrible / sad / scary" etc and feel great sympathy for the victims, and sometimes anger towards the perpetrators, but I don't imagine myself or my children as victims, and I don't get upset, and rarely think about the story afterwards.

And no, it doesn't mean humanity is bad. These stories are newsworthy precisely because the vast majority of people don't behave that way. If you want some well-researched evidence to make you feel a lot better about human beings, I'd heartily recommend the book 'Humankind' by Rutger Bregman. It is extremely convincing in its assertion that the average human is much, much nicer than the media would have us believe! Stories about normal people behaving like normal, nice humans do not sell newspapers or generate clicks.

I feel the same. Horrified at the huge suffering of some and scared my children will experience it first hand. Also as a species we make the same mistakes and commit the same atrocities again and again so I think the world would be better without us. Whilst on the other hand knowing there are the most amazing people walking this earth who I am proud to love or just know exist.
But I don't get affected as you, so I think your point of view is reasonable but the reaction is debilitating you which is too much. When you hear those stories your too response is as though it was happening to someone close to you. The sad reality is that behind all those stories is someone who is genuinely reacting like that and you are aware of this and feeling their pain.
I imagine you have high levels of empathy and as such you'll need to dial down your exposure to these things as you said. I don't know about you, but I got more like this after children.
Avoid your emotional triggers while you maybe explore some talking therapy/cbt to see if you can self manage your responses as these things are hard to avoid and this is, too much.

'i don't feel that way at all when I read the news. I mean... I think "That's terrible / sad / scary" etc and feel great sympathy for the victims, and sometimes anger towards the perpetrators, but I don't imagine myself or my children as victims, and I don't get upset, and rarely think about the story afterwards.'

I don't think of it in those ways either, i don't allow myself to. It does however deeply upset me at the time because I think what utter horror those innocent people will have encountered; it cuts even more deeply when children are involved. I can also think about it later, again try not to. I joke that dh has absolutely no empathy, but it is just because he doesn't really listen to it or read it (not because he is a psychopath).

I can be the same, OP. I'm a very resilient person but sometimes the sheer volume of bad news and horrible opinions affects me. I try to steer clear of news for periods of time, and certain things online. If I am on here or other sites I tend not to click on threads that I sense will have really shitty opinions on them as I know it will just depress me more.

Slightly different but I'm listening to radio 4 about the reports that the Tabiban are allegedly proposing that girls will no longer be able to go school, even at primary level.

The treatment of women in Afghanistan and Iran (and likely other surrounding countries) is horrendous and I can't understand how this can happen in the 21st century

Yes I totally agree. I don’t have the same visceral response that I have to individual cases but I am outraged at what is happening to girls and women in Afghanistan.

I recently heard that women have been banned from parks / theme parks because they were not allowed to go on days when men could go (so no family days out!) but families were ignoring those rules and going together - so women were banned completely.

I'm with you fully on this as I've been feeling like this a long time. Animal cruelty for me is absolutely unbearable in particular. I cannot comprehend how anyone could treat a living creature badly. I get upset at cruelty in all its forms, I hate to think of someone or something suffering. I don't know if I'm depressed or what but I am carrying this heavy sadness around and keep crying. The way I try and balance it out is to try and do as much good in the world as I can and donate to animal charities and try to help people.

Believe it or not we live in the safest period in the entire human history. Social media has made it significantly easier for the doom mongers to have a voice and let's be honest, liars to spread their bullshit. The world isn't rosy, but it's still safer than when I was a kid and being a little blunt, a bit of perspective is required.

The awful things are publicised the millions of lovely people being kind to each other day in day out isn’t reported on. I see so much kindness - I work with the elderly and often whole streets quietly work together to support older people with no families.