I have those exact same feelings, I worry to much about others and fail to worry about myself, and if theres like macro art where the macro eats/squishes the earth (albeit gently) my brain is just like "oh god all that death..." even though it's just a pic

Brains are weird :(

SAME I think that's why I don't love looking at pics like that :( and then it's like my head is so full of concern for others there's no room for my own

Can I offer a hug, from a fellow empath...
(I been though so much in my life, don't worry)

*hugs*

I've been told I'm pretty empathetic, which is...really strange for me in particular. It's a long story, and not terribly important. I am an empath, I guess, and I definitely dealt with a lot of the same problems, and sometimes still do. Eh, again, not super important on the how or why or what. But I do have a suggestion to help cope with this stuff:

Take time for yourself.

Let yourself be alone, let yourself lay down and just...breathe. Maybe meditate, if possible. Make yourself a sanctuary where you can be alone and relax and decompress from all those things. It can be whatever you want, could be a closet space or could be a secluded spot in the park, could be anything, as long as you are alone, and able to let yourself calm down. You can even just redecorate or clean your bathroom to feel more tranquil, and use that. If your bathroom is clean and free of things that bother you, it can be a perfect place to get everything to melt away so you can maintain your own mental health. A soothing shower doesn't hurt either.

Make visiting said sanctuary a habit, if you can, hence why a bathroom is still a good option. When you can take the time, and you are not immediately obligated by something else, go to this sanctuary. Let yourself recharge. You can have a video game in there if you want, or music, or whatever, just no people. You don't exactly have to turn your phone off or anything, just...assuming you don't check your phone every 20 minutes for social media, either leave the phone outside said sanctuary, have it so you are only contacted during emergencies, etc. Just, no social media. At all. Trust me.

Take about 30 minutes at least to just sit in there and breathe. 10 if you're not able to manage 30. 1 hour if you're extra stressed. If you don't feel better after about 2-2.5 hours, and you have something you can't quite shake but can't put your finger on it, then this issue is something that has less to do with you and more to do with the people around you, whoever they may be.

If you have this suspicion, and it feels more deliberately damaging to you rather than an unintended side-effect of someone just mentioning they're having a rough day, you will definitely need to do some introspection. Just kinda sit down in said sanctuary and think, "What is making me upset? Why is <thing> making me so upset? How can I fix it? If it can't be fixed, is it viable to cut the source of this issue out of my life? If it isn't viable, what can I do to alleviate my feelings about this?"

Practice basic self-care. Let yourself enjoy things. It takes actual practice, I know it does. But the more you do it, the easier it gets, and it's not like you'll get some kind of ego just because you took a little time for yourself to help you relax after a long day. Take a bubble bath or a hot shower, play a game you're really fond of, have a snack you really like. All things in moderation, but let yourself enjoy them, let yourself slow down and just ground yourself by focusing on the taste of food, the feeling of cozy blankets, the sound of a song that you like, etc.

Everyone needs to practice self-care in some capacity. Loving and showing concern for others is difficult if you can't love yourself first.

I hope this stuff helps.

This is very insightful, thank you! I'm going to add this to my list of grounding techniques for when I need something a little more involved to bring myself back to baseline. Grounding and mindfulness as well as journaling seem to really help, so this seems like a good time to journal too and put the phone down unless I'm listening to music.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart! This is darn good advice I appreciate it

Hey man, no worries. It costs nothing to be kind, and I've dealt with some similar struggles, so I thought I'd give my two cents. It gets better, that much I can say for certain, just gotta remember that "better" is something to be maintained. It's a bit like cleaning something - you can't just sweep your floor or wash your hands once and assume it's good forever after that. Gotta keep at it.

Brains are weird like that, y'know?