Too Much: Coping with Anxiety, Overwhelm, and Information Overload When the World Feels Like It’s Burning

Sometimes, the world just feels like too much—and that’s because it is.
Too much pain, too much suffering, too much to process.
In short—Too Much Input.

We’ve come a long way from living in small villages, surrounded by rivers, hills, and oceans that insulated us from the troubles of the world. Now, with a single scroll or swipe, we can witness heartache, horror, injustice, and conflict in every corner of the globe—all before breakfast. The amount of information we’re exposed to daily isn’t just unprecedented, it’s unsustainable for the human nervous system.

And while we might be more “connected” than ever before, it doesn’t always mean we’re connected in the ways that really matter—but that’s another post for another day.

So what do we do when we’re flooded with more than we can hold?

First, give yourself permission to disengage.
You’re allowed to turn off the news.
You’re allowed to log off.
You’re allowed to say, “Not today.”
Doing so doesn’t mean you don’t care. It doesn’t make you ignorant or apathetic. It doesn’t make you complicit. Let’s stop telling ourselves those stories.

Sometimes, the most caring, wise, and mentally healthy thing you can do is to pause.

It’s also okay to step out of those heated political conversations, dinner table debates, or state-of-the-world vent sessions.
You don’t have to hold space for every hard thing, every day. We’re not built for that. No one is.

Find a practice that helps you release what isn’t yours to carry.
That might be prayer.
It might be meditation.
It might be writing it all down, then placing it on a metaphorical shelf with the silent agreement, “I’ll let this rest here for now.”

Whatever that process looks like for you, make it part of your end-of-day ritual. Clearing space in your mind and heart can help preserve your inner world—and your sleep—from what the outer world demands.

The truth is, you don’t have to hold everything. You’re not supposed to.

Take a breath, take a break, and remember: you can still care deeply without carrying it all.