Has 2020 got you feeling like this?

Waking up to news every day is like playing a game of Russian roulette. And we are constantly exposed to it, all the time.

Your favourite celebrity just died, but we must think about all those migrant workers living in such inhumane conditions, and what about the importance of black lives, oh but let's not forget that thousands of people are dying every day because of this ruthless pandemic, but what about the rise in domestic violence during the lockdown, but also how can we ignore all the xenophobic actions being taken all over the world…Does the list EVER end?

It is all so upsetting and it just makes you feel helpless. But, it also makes you feel like you just have to care.

About everything. All the time.

Look, all these issues matter. Each and every one of them. But we just can't possibly care about everything all the time.

So let me introduce you to this term that I recently learned:

Compassion fatigue
Compassion fatigue is a condition characterized by emotional and physical exhaustion which eventually leads to a diminished ability to empathize or feel compassion for others.

It is basically a convergence of secondary traumatic stress (STS) and cumulative burnout (BO), caused by your inability to cope with your everyday environment.

Empathizing with everything, all the time can lead to the deterioration of your own mental health.

So here is what I’m pitching: just take a break.

Just for your sanity, pick a couple of things to not care about. I'm not asking you all to shut it all out, but just focus on fewer things.

So here is what you could do to make sure you do not lose your mind in 2020:

• Limit the amount of daily news you watch or read about.
• Try coming to terms with the fact that pain and suffering are realities of life over which we have little control.
• Be grateful for what is good in your life and in the world.
• Try to find some meaning in the suffering you see.
• Show kindness and compassion to yourself from time to time.

I understand that you have an innate moral compass that makes you care about things, but I also understand if you need to take a break.

Especially if it helps you focus on issues that really matter to you.

We can’t afford to burn out right now, there are lots of issues today, and there will be lots of issues in the future.

So what I’m saying is, that it is okay if you can’t take care of everyone today, as long as you take care of one person, and that person is you.