How to Stay Informed Without Losing Your Mind, or Your Empathy

Here is something nearly every therapist agrees on: news consumption takes a toll. A 2023 study found that 99.6% of therapists reported that their patients were negatively affected by it. And that is just the baseline. When the news is unfolding in your own city, or feels like a direct threat to people you care about, the nervous system responds as if you are living through it yourself. Because in a very real neurological sense, you are.

This is not a flaw in your wiring. It is actually what empathy looks like when it gets overloaded. Highly sensitive people and empaths have long navigated this dynamic as a fact of daily life, managing a constant intake of other people's emotions and experiences without drowning in them. The rest of us are increasingly having to learn the same skill, whether we asked to or not. The goal is not to stop caring. The goal is to care in a way that is sustainable.

Rob uses the analogy of a pasta colander: when you pour the pot out, you keep what nourishes you and let the rest drain away. The problem is that most of us, when overwhelmed by the news, are pouring into another pot. The weight accumulates, the nervous system short-circuits, and the capacity for empathy gets replaced by burnout, paralysis, or numbness.

In this edition of Reading Between the Lines, Rob Volpe offers a practical, research-grounded guide to structuring your news intake, reclaiming your feed, and turning feelings of helplessness into focused action, so you can stay informed, stay engaged, and stay present for the people who need you.

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