Post #3290510
2026-01-07 22:51 UTC
I, like a lot of neurodivergent people, am hyperempathetic. This is *not* me saying I’m a good person! It’s actions that make a good person, not feelings. This is me saying that I am empathetic to the point of it being painful and debilitating, and I cannot regulate or control it. If anything, it’s made me a *worse* person because I find myself avoiding things that might upset me.
However, I can’t cut myself off from the news completely because, like a lot of neurodivergent people, I have a strong sense of justice and morality, and I could never forgive myself for sticking my head in the sand.
Strict regulation of what I put into my brain is how I work around my limitations.
Replies (4)
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@astronomerritt@hachyderm.io 2026-01-07 23:36
just to be clear, I'm not going to block or get mad at someone just for slipping up! I simply would prefer to see a reasonable amount of effort from folk to keep their posts filterable
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@LuluHelle@ohai.social 2026-01-07 22:55
@astronomerritt@hachyderm.io I am exactly the same way. My anxiety also doesn't help if I get overloaded with doom. Small portions of carefully controlled "what the ever living fuck!?!" at one time.
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@passenger@kolektiva.social 2026-01-07 22:57
@astronomerritt@hachyderm.io Yeah I'm the same. I've been consciously avoiding looking too closely into videos of Israeli atrocities in Gaza for exactly this reason.
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@arjaybe@mastodon.cloud 2026-01-08 05:46
@astronomerritt@hachyderm.io Thanks, Steph. I learned something today, thanks to you.