This is not going to be a news diary. There are many other talented, more expert people on this website that are more capable of handling that than I am.
That said, this is going to be more personal. I will be talking more about feelings than facts.
Amid the news of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, I felt a level of anxiety and sadness that I had not felt in a while. The last major bout was during and right after the January 6th insurrection from last year, but my first bout was during the George Floyd protests. I felt so helpless at the time. I felt so sad at the tragedy that George Floyd endured at the hands of Minneapolis police. Suffocated to death for about nine minutes. In an effort to release some of that anxious, helpless, sad energy, I donated to Black Lives Matter, Joe Biden’s campaign, the ACLU, and many other organizations and Democratic candidates that I cannot recall at this time. That helped a bit, but the anxious energy still remained, and I had many sleepless nights afterwards.
In the aftermath of the seditious coup attempt on January 6th, I just mentally and physically shut down. I was so angry that I lost my clarity and grounding on facts. I ended up making erroneous comments on this website and had to take a break from political news for a while unless I wanted to continue acting foolish and get myself banned from this website. In any case, I did not leave my bed or eat for days before my family forced me to get up and eat. When I ate for the first time after days, I did not even know what I was shoving in my mouth. I still was not hungry, but I ate anyhow just to make them worry a bit less.
Now with the news of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, my anxiety has shot up again. That helpless feeling has returned. I am not that religious, but I actually prayed to God that Ukraine does not fall and that Putin faces justice for his atrocities. I know many in this community are not religious for good reason, but I did not know what else to do. I do not know what I can do to help the people of Ukraine. Watching Putin’s evil ambitions unfold upon Ukraine is sickening, to say the least.
As you can tell, I am not good at self-care. That said, more than ever, self-care is so necessary in these trying times as well as avenues to help the people of Ukraine. Any advice is appreciated.