Revised: August 16, 2025
'We're all just doing the best we can,' is my response to literally anything right now...whether you told me you chugged a box of wine, took a 6 hour midday nap, set up Christmas decorations in May, robbed a bank, or gave yourself bangs.
It’s been quite a time to be human.
Since 2016, we’ve been living through an unrelenting series of collective upheavals. We’ve witnessed a rise in political extremism, climate disasters becoming more frequent and devastating, and the long-overdue reckoning with systemic racism and social injustice. The pandemic that swept the world in 2020 cracked open much of what was hidden beneath the surface—economic fragility, mental health crises, and the deep isolation of modern life.
And it hasn’t let up.
Wars and humanitarian crises have continued to break our hearts. Our newsfeeds are filled with images of suffering. The economy feels unpredictable. For many of us, personal losses have piled up alongside collective grief. Relationships have changed. Careers have pivoted or ended. There’s a sense that life before 2016 belongs to a different world.
We are all moving through enormous change, with no clear roadmap, while still needing to pay bills, raise families, care for ourselves, and show up for our communities. It’s a lot. It’s always been a lot, but now it’s right in our faces.
Doing the Best We Can
Empaths and sensitive people are acutely aware of these undercurrents. We’re feeling the strain of it in our bones, in our nervous systems, in our hearts. Every day, we are processing not only our personal circumstances but also the collective emotional landscape.
It is so easy to fall into self-criticism.
We tell ourselves we should be handling it better, staying more positive, being more productive, being more patient with our loved ones. We should know better. Do better. Be better.
But here’s the truth: We are doing the best we can with what we’ve got.
When we hold onto expectations that we should be operating at pre-2016 standards of productivity and emotional regulation, we are setting ourselves up for shame and frustration. The ground beneath us has shifted. Our nervous systems are in a state of near-constant alert.
This isn’t about making excuses. It’s about being honest. The landscape has changed. The expectations must change, too.
Empaths are particularly vulnerable to burnout and self-recrimination because we feel responsible for the well-being of others. We want to help. We want to hold space. But we can’t pour from an empty cup.
Finding Grace through self-care
It’s time to embrace radical self-compassion.
Give yourself permission to rest. To not have all the answers. To have messy emotions. To take care of your own energy first. Healing is not linear. Productivity is not a measure of worth. Your sensitivity is not a flaw to fix; it’s a guide to what matters. We ARE doing the best we can, really, even if it doesn’t feel like it.
Here are some practices that can help during these endless, unprecedented times.
- Your point of power is in the present. Practice making decisions from this place and time. Not the past. Not from your fears about the future. Right now. Each decision, every time.
- Your body is always speaking to you if you learn to listen. Our bodies have innate wisdom regarding what is right for us. And us alone. When the norms of society are unraveling, it’s time to calibrate your own compass, not your neighbor’s, coworker’s, or sister’s, Yours. Get quiet and feel your way forward, one decision at a time. Here’s a body-scanning meditation to help you get started.
- When you are getting overwhelmed, steady your breathing. Steady, rhythmic breaths allow the panic that is rising to subside and rational thought to return to the mind. Check out some meditation apps that have breathing regulators; they are supremely helpful. Calm and Insight Timer are two favorites. More tools for anxiety or panic attacks.
- Adopt a Beginner’s Mind. Remember that just because you have never done something before doesn’t mean you can’t figure it out. We are all figuring this out. Mistakes will be made, stay curious, and keep going. You will be able to find your way through the confusion.
- Practice non-judgment. This goes for yourself as well as others. Let other people figure out what is right for them, and trust that they have similar guidance. There is no one way to do anything. Different strokes for different folks, always and forever. Focus on yourself and give yourself grace. Be generous with forgiveness.
We are all walking through a storm. And still, we rise each day, choosing to care, choosing to try. That is enough.
You are enough.
We’re doing the best we can.
