Fight or flight mode

I didn’t write an article for re:writes last week. It’s a broken streak. But I got stuck. I don’t want this blog to be a catalogue of terrible things happening in the world. The last two weeks have been hard going.

I feel powerless.

Yet I have a voice.

The question is what to do with it. If I don’t shine a light on the dark places, does that mean I’m turning a blind eye?

If I keep writing about it that’s a whole lot of negative energy.

This week I saw a comment from someone saying they had never heard of incels.

There are other stories I’ve seen which become news to people days, weeks, or months later.

So I’m trying to find a balance between being informed but not paralysed with horror; between sharing information, like the risks involved in US travel at the moment, and being a broken record.

And I feel that it’s right to use the freedoms I have. It’s right to write about these things, to not be silenced, to keep sharing stories. There are people who can’t do that.

But I also feel that I need to find ways to switch off from it, which I know is a privileged position to be in. But otherwise, I end up giving my time and attention to people who shouldn’t have anyone’s time or attention but have steamrollered in and grabbed it. I don’t want to give them that.

How do you cope with existential dread? Let me know in the comments.