The front line in many readers’ minds right now is likely to be that between Russia and Ukraine. And there’s nothing happy about it.

The front line in many readers’ minds right now is likely to be that between Russia and Ukraine. And there’s nothing happy about it. One clinical psychologist has been struggling so much with the horrors from the East that she has adopted a news blackout. What hope is there for the rest of us, if even a professional in wellbeing has found the only answer is to check out?

We are angry and horrified, sickened by images which pop up unbidden, even as we try and sleep. We are conscious that our own concerns are as nothing. We cannot stop watching the news. But we are fearful too – that we may be overwhelmed by so much suffering. Especially if we have a history of depression or anxiety, as I do. Like so many others, I have been navigating this dilemma over the past weeks. Can I stay present to the reality of the suffering of my fellow humans, while somehow keeping my equilibrium?

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