When the News Hurts: Understanding Empathy Fatigue, Vicarious Trauma, and How to Protect Yourself from News Anxiety While Staying Informed
- Katie Carhart, PhD
- 19 hours ago
- 5 min read
We are living in a time of unprecedented access to information. Within minutes of waking up, you can know about violence across the world, political upheaval, humanitarian crises, injustice, and human suffering, often accompanied by images, personal accounts, and emotional commentary.
Many people I work with tell me a version of the same thing about news anxiety:
“I want to stay informed… but I don’t feel okay.”
If that resonates with you, there is nothing wrong with you. Your nervous system is responding exactly as it was designed to.
Empathy Fatigue and Emotional Burnout: When Caring Starts to Hurt
Humans are wired for empathy. Our nervous systems are designed to detect distress in others and respond with care, concern, and action. This capacity has allowed us to survive and function as social beings for thousands of years.
But there is a critical difference between how empathy evolved and how we experience it today. Historically, we were exposed primarily to the suffering of people within our immediate communities, which inluded people we could help directly.
Today, we are exposed to the suffering of millions of people we cannot reach, and this creates a painful mismatch.
Empathy fatigue occurs when the nervous system becomes overwhelmed by prolonged exposure to others’ distress without adequate resolution or recovery. Over time, this can lead to emotional exhaustion, numbness, irritability, helplessness, or withdrawal.
Many people also experience burnout-like symptoms, including:
Feeling emotionally drained
Difficulty concentrating
Loss of hope or optimism
Avoidance of news altogether
Guilt for either caring too much, or not caring enough
Truly, this is not a failure of compassion. It is a sign that your nervous system has limits.
Your Nervous System Was Not Built for the News Anxiety that comes from 24/7 Global Awareness
From a nervous system perspective, your brain does not fully distinguish between a threat happening down the street and one happening across the world when it is presented vividly and repeatedly. (I always say it actually can't tell the difference between a bear in your face, and a tense e-mail that got your blood pumping). Each exposure activates stress physiology.
As a result your body may respond with:
Increased cortisol
Heightened vigilance
Muscle tension
Emotional activation
Or, over time, emotional shutdown
Without adequate recovery, this chronic activation can lead to a sense of overwhelm, helplessness, or numbness.
Many people describe feeling stuck between two painful states:
If I pay attention, I feel overwhelmed.
If I don’t pay attention, I feel guilty.
There is no easy resolution to this tension. But understanding what is happening can help you care for yourself more intentionally.
When Exposure Becomes Trauma: Vicarious Trauma, Secondary Trauma, and Moral Injury
Certain types of news stories carry an even greater psychological impact.
When we are exposed to detailed accounts of violence, abuse, injustice, or human cruelty, it can affect us in deeper ways.
Three concepts help explain this:
Vicarious Trauma
Vicarious trauma refers to the internal psychological changes that can occur when someone is repeatedly exposed to others’ traumatic experiences. Even when you are not physically present, your mind and nervous system can absorb aspects of the emotional reality.
People experiencing vicarious trauma may notice:
Intrusive thoughts or images
Increased fear or mistrust
Changes in worldview
Feeling less safe in the world
Secondary Traumatic Stress
Secondary trauma involves trauma-like symptoms resulting from indirect exposure.
This can include:
Emotional distress
Sleep disruption
Anxiety
Avoidance
Emotional reactivity
Your nervous system is responding as if it has encountered danger directly.
Moral Injury
Moral injury occurs when exposure to events violates your deeply held beliefs about what is right, safe, or just.
This can lead to:
Anger
Disillusionment
Grief
Loss of faith in institutions or humanity
Existential distress
Moral injury often carries a deep emotional weight because it challenges your sense of meaning and safety in the world. These responses are not signs of weakness. They are signs of being human.
How to Stay Informed Without Losing Yourself
There is no single right way to engage with the news. The goal is not avoidance, but sustainable engagement.
Some supportive strategies include:
Set intentional boundaries
Consider limiting:
How often you check the news
When you check it (for example, not before bed)
How much detail you consume
You can stay informed without immersing yourself in every update.
Notice your nervous system
Pay attention to your body: Do you feel tense? Numb? Agitated? Shut down? These signals are valuable information. not something to ignore.
Balance awareness with restoration
If you consume distressing content, intentionally balance it with activities that help regulate your nervous system:
Spending time outdoors
Movement
Connecting with people you trust
Engaging in meaningful activities
Your nervous system needs time and space for recovery.
Focus on what you can control
Helplessness is one of the most painful emotional states. If it feels aligned, consider:
Supporting causes you believe in
Engaging in community
Taking small, meaningful actions
Action can help restore a sense of agency.
Give yourself permission to step back
Stepping back does not mean you do not care. It actually means you are protecting your capacity to continue caring.
When It May Help to Seek Professional Support
For some people, the impact of repeated exposure to distressing news can linger.
You might consider reaching out for support if you notice:
Persistent anxiety
Sleep disruption
Intrusive thoughts
Emotional numbness
Feeling overwhelmed or unable to cope
If you notice that exposure to distressing events is leaving a lasting impact, such as persistent anxiety, sleep disruption, emotional numbness, or a loss of your sense of safety, it may be helpful to work with a therapist. Processing these experiences with a trained professional can help your nervous system metabolize what it has been holding and restore a greater sense of steadiness.
Therapy can provide space to process these experiences, understand your nervous system, and develop tools to stay grounded while remaining engaged with the world in a way that feels sustainable. If you have access to therapy, I encourage you to seek out a provider who feels like a good fit for you and your needs. If therapy feels financially out of reach right now, you might consider contacting a local Federally Qualified Health Center. These centers offer mental health services on a sliding fee scale and provide care regardless of ability to pay, helping make support more accessible.
And if you are interested in this kind of work and working with me, my practice focuses on helping adults navigate overwhelm, burnout, and nervous system dysregulation in a way that feels grounded, collaborative, and aligned. You can learn more about working with me here.
Remember, that you do not have to carry it alone. Staying informed matters, but so does staying well. You're allowed to be human.
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