Overcoming Helplessness While It Feels Like the World is on Fire
If you’ve found yourself waking up with a pit in your stomach, checking the news before you’ve even gotten out of bed, and wondering how the world became so out of control, you are not alone.
I have been sitting with many clients who feel overwhelmed by what seems like a constant stream of chaos. Every day brings a new crisis, another violation of human rights, and yet another headline that makes it feel as if the ground is crumbling beneath your feet. The fear is real. The helplessness is real. The grief is heavy.
People are scared, and understandably so.
They are scared about what is happening in this country, about political leaders who appear more interested in power than people, and about the possibility of rights being stripped away, voices being silenced, and communities being harmed. Many people feel furious about corruption, injustice, and a government that seems to have forgotten its people. Yet beneath the rage lies something even more raw: the quiet terror that perhaps nothing will ever get better.
So let’s talk about that.
When the World Feels Like It’s On Fire
Helplessness is one of the hardest human emotions to sit with. We want to act, to fix, to stop the bad things from happening. But when we look around and see problems that feel too big, systems that feel rigged, and leaders who do not seem to care, it is easy to spiral into despair.
Your nervous system was never designed to hold the suffering of the entire world all at once.
And yet, here we are: refreshed feeds, 24/7 breaking news, and urgent calls to action coming from every direction. The issue is not that you do not care. It is that you care too much to live in that heightened state forever.
No one can exist in a constant state of emergency and remain well. Still, many people feel as if they must—as if taking a break from the news means giving up, or as if feeling joy while others suffer is somehow wrong.
The truth is this: you cannot grieve well, act wisely, or love deeply if you are burning from the inside out.
You’re Not Meant to Be Angry All the Time
Anger is a sacred emotion. It protects and clarifies. It declares, “This is not okay.”
But when anger never turns off, it can harden into bitterness or consume us from the inside. You are allowed to feel angry, but you are also allowed to feel sad, disoriented, confused, tired, and even hopeful.
You are allowed to laugh at something silly, to delight in your dog wagging her tail, or to enjoy a sunny afternoon without guilt. None of this makes you out of touch. It makes you human. A human being who cares enough to keep going.
We do not build a better world by staying in rage alone. We build it through tenderness, connection, and imagination.
What You Can and Cannot Control (Based on Cognitive Behavioral Science)
When you feel overwhelmed, it can help to categorize your concerns based on locus of control—a psychological concept that clarifies what is within your power to influence.
Within your control:
What news you consume and how often
How you regulate your body and emotions
Where you spend your money, time, and energy
How you talk to people in your life
Whether you vote or help others do the same
How you respond to injustice in your community
Whether you take breaks to reset your nervous system
How you treat yourself and others with compassion
Outside your control:
The outcome of national elections
The behavior of political leaders or strangers online
What other people think, post, or care about
The existence of systemic injustice (though we can work to change it)
The full weight of the world’s suffering
The speed of change or whether it happens in our lifetime
You cannot control everything. But that does not mean you are powerless.
True power comes from sustained, aligned action within your actual sphere of influence, and from protecting your mental health so that you can continue showing up when it matters.
How to Cope When It Feels Like Too Much
Here are evidence-based practices drawn from trauma therapy, neuroscience, and nervous system regulation that can help you cope:
Limit Your Input
Set boundaries with the news. You do not need hourly updates to care. Choose one or two trusted sources, check once a day, and then log off.
Tip: Try “News Windows”—scheduled times for reading current events, followed by grounding activities.Ground Into the Present
When the future feels scary, return to the present. Grounding anchors your nervous system in what is real and safe.
Try this: 5-4-3-2-1—name 5 things you see, 4 things you touch, 3 things you hear, 2 things you smell, and 1 thing you taste.Connect With Something Living
Spend time in nature. Research shows that being outdoors reduces cortisol, slows heart rate, and restores perspective. Nature reminds us that the world is not only what is broken.
Trees still grow. Birds still sing. Life continues.Choose One Thing
You do not have to care about everything at once. Pick one cause that aligns with your values, learn about it, contribute what you can, and let that be enough. Action is most effective when it is focused and sustainable.Move Your Body
Movement helps metabolize stress hormones. You do not need a gym—stretch, walk, dance, or shake it out. Trauma lives in the body, and it also releases through the body.Reclaim Your Joy
You are allowed to feel joy. You are allowed to rest, laugh, and love. That is not denial; it is what allows you to keep caring. Joy is fuel, not betrayal.Seek Co-Regulation
Talk to someone you trust. Not everything needs to be fixed. Being seen and understood soothes the fear center of the brain. Human connection is medicine.Let It Be Messy
There is no perfect way to be a “good person.” Sometimes, trying to do everything “right” is actually a trauma response—a way to avoid guilt, rejection, or shame. Your worth was never based on how well you perform empathy. Compassion does not need to be loud to be real.
Perspective: This Is a Chapter, Not the Whole Story
It is easy to believe that the pain of this moment is permanent, that because things feel like they are crashing and burning, they always will. But history—and healing—rarely move in straight lines. Humanity has lived through upheaval before. There have always been cycles of collapse and rebuilding. Things fall apart, but they also come together again.
This moment is not the end of everything. It is the middle of something. And we are still in it.
You Are Still Allowed to Live
You are allowed to care for your nervous system.
You are allowed to rest without apology.
You are allowed to feel safe today even if the future is uncertain.
You are allowed to grieve and to feel joy.
You are allowed to be scared and hopeful at the same time.
You do not have to carry it all.
You do not have to stay angry all the time.
You do not have to collapse to prove that you care.
You are already enough. And your gentleness is not weakness—it is exactly what the world needs more of.
If you feel overwhelmed, frozen, or unsure how to care without burning out, therapy can help. You do not have to hold all of this alone. Together, we can figure out how to carry it.