There is a particular kind of exhaustion that comes from reading the news these days. A slow, heavy weight that settles somewhere behind your eyes after scrolling through another cycle of conflict, crisis, and collapse. If you have felt this, you are not alone — and if you have not, well you may just be a sociopath. But, who am I to judge.
The world is, by many measures, genuinely difficult right now. Political instability, humanitarian crises, environmental anxiety — the headlines don’t lie. But here’s the thing: neither do they tell the whole truth. News, by its very nature, is a highlight reel of catastrophe. It is designed to capture attention, and nothing captures attention quite like fear. That doesn’t make the suffering any less real, but it does mean that the picture we receive is permanently tilted toward the darkest corner of the room.
With all the constant reminders of the evil in this world, there’s one thing that nobody is saying loudly enough: you are allowed to be happy. Your peace is allowed to coexist with the chaos. Even now. Especially now.
The first step toward that, reframe how you keep yourself informed. There is a meaningful difference between being aware and being over-saturated. You do not need to refresh the news every 20 minutes, you do not need sign up to constant breaking news notifications on your phone, and you most certainly do not need to spend hours a day scrolling a TikTok rabbit hole filled with misinformation and fearmongering. Setting apart time in your day to intentionally consume the most significant stories from a reputable source is entirely suitable for thoughtfully staying in the know. Consuming less news does not make you a worse person; it often makes you a far more functional one.
The second step, find your lever. The thing that transforms helpless anxiety into purposeful energy. So, if you’re feeling the weight of the world, channel it somewhere useful. Donate to a cause you believe in. Volunteer locally. Sign the petition. Show up for your community. The psychologist Martin Seligman, who pioneered the field of positive psychology, found that one of the most reliable routes to wellbeing is a sense of agency: the feeling that your actions matter. When the world feels out of control, doing something –however small — transforms that helpless, spiralling feeling into actual momentum. Your nervous system will thank you. So will the world.
Third step, and this is the part I really need you to hear, joy is not a crime. Laughing until you cry at dinner with your friends is not selfish. Booking a holiday is not tone-deaf. Going out dancing on a Saturday night is, in fact, an act of radical self-preservation. Your happiness does not subtract from anyone else’s suffering. It never did.
There is something quietly revolutionary about choosing to be okay when everything around you suggests you shouldn’t be. The world does not become a better place because you made yourself miserable in solidarity with it. Sustainable compassion — the kind that actually helps people — must be rooted in a person who is, at their core, okay. You cannot pour from an empty cup.
So, protect your inner world seriously. Rest without apology. Make space for beauty — sunsets, good books, genuine laughter, time in nature, connection with people you love — these are not acts of selfishness. They are the infrastructure of resilience.
The world may be on fire, but you are allowed — even obligated — to tend to the parts of it you can reach.
Image by Hanna Lazar on Unsplash