Recognize and prioritize compassion not as a luxury, but as a fundamental necessity for human survival, as it drives the cooperative behaviors needed to overcome crises together.
To avoid burnout when others are suffering, cultivate compassion—the desire to relieve distress—rather than solely relying on empathy, which can lead to feeling overwhelmed by others’ pain.
Practice loving-kindness meditation by first focusing on your breath, then mentally sending good wishes (‘May you be happy, healthy, care for yourself joyfully, and be safe’) to a loved one, then to another close person, then to yourself, and finally to your entire community, monitoring your ‘heart space’ throughout.
Cultivating compassion, even within your family, will make you more willing to make necessary sacrifices, such as social isolating or helping vulnerable neighbors, by aligning your impulses with altruistic actions.
By cultivating an emotion of compassion, you can align your internal impulses to genuinely want to sacrifice for others, making it easier to do hard things without fighting against conflicting desires.
Actively helping other people is something that can significantly boost your personal well-being, especially during times of crisis and widespread difficulty.
Engaging in acts of helping others is a scientifically proven way to make yourself happier and improve your overall well-being.
While it’s beneficial to look for heroes, it is even more rewarding and impactful to actively become a ‘hero’ yourself by engaging in acts of help and service for others.
If you feel useless when told to ‘do nothing’ during a crisis, actively seek ways to help vulnerable populations, such as coordinating free grocery deliveries for the elderly and immunocompromised.
When providing aid, prioritize social connection by calling recipients ahead of time to engage them in conversation, as isolation can be a major difficulty for those receiving help.
In times of crisis, consider offering financial subsidies to individuals who are economically impacted, such as those laid off or freelancers unable to find work.
Reframe community support as ‘mutual aid,’ recognizing that it’s a reciprocal process where communities come together to help one another, not just a one-way service.
By helping others, you can initiate an ‘upward spiral’ where recipients feel grateful and are then motivated to ‘pay it forward,’ spreading kindness and expanding the network of support.
When you engage in giving and experience compassion, it evokes a continuous desire to help even wider circles of people, extending your support to strangers you might not know.
Engage in or support community programs that facilitate interaction and mutual aid among neighbors, as building trust and connection is a key predictor of a community’s resilience during crises.
In tragic or fearful times, actively seek out ’the helpers’ in your community, as seeing their actions can instill a sense of hope.
When feeling confused or fearful, remember that looking for answers in evidence-based science is always the best way to go to find solutions.