Where Strategy Meets Soul

Over the past weeks, headlines about abuse of vulnerable humans, corruption scandals and institutional failures have dominated our feeds. If you’ve felt the pull to read everything, to understand how deep it goes, you’re not alone.

But what we don’t talk about enough is the cost of immersion in darkness.

Deep consumption of disturbing content leads to:

• Compassion fatigue (caring less, not more)
• Vicarious trauma and intrusive thoughts
• Learned helplessness and paralysis
• A fundamentally distorted view of humanity

The people who care most are often the ones who hurt themselves most by over-consuming this content.

So how much do you actually need to know?

Here is my framework –
“Know enough to act, not everything that happened.”

You need to understand:
The patterns and systemic failures
What accountability measures are in place
How to protect your community
Where to direct your energy for change

You don’t need to:
Read every graphic detail
Follow daily speculation
Consume trauma testimony unless professionally necessary
Spend hours connecting dots online

The details of trauma don’t make you more informed. They make you more traumatized.

So how can you stay engaged without losing yourself?

PROTECT YOURSELF:

• Limit consumption to 15-20 minutes from trusted sources, 1-2x/week
• Avoid graphic content entirely
• Don’t read before bed or first thing in the morning
• If it makes you feel sick, you can stop

TRANSFORM AWARENESS INTO ACTION:

• Learn warning signs of abuse in your community
• Support survivor-focused organizations
• Advocate for transparency and accountability
• Model healthy relationships and power dynamics
• Practice deliberate kindness

See, these revelations matter. But they reveal breakdowns in systems, not the fundamental nature of humanity.

For every perpetrator, there are millions showing up with integrity every single day.

Evil persists when good people either look away OR when they destroy themselves staring into the abyss until they can’t function.

The world needs you clear-eyed and soft-hearted,
informed but not broken,
angry enough to demand change but hopeful enough to believe it’s possible.

Your intact mental health is essential because you cannot help others if you’ve traumatized yourself into numbness.

Know enough to be part of the solution. Protect yourself enough to stay capable of compassion. Act in your sphere of influence.

The most revolutionary thing you can do in the face of cruelty is to remain determinedly kind, fiercely protective of the vulnerable, and committed to building something better.

Take care of yourself. Take care of each other.