I can't stop getting emotionally involved in other students' struggles
I don't really know how to put this into words, so I just rambled to ChatGPT and asked it to help me write this post.
For almost a month now, I've been struggling to focus on my own studies and career. My Reddit feed is filled with students — NEET aspirants who couldn't clear the cutoff, people preparing for government exams who missed by a few marks, students who don't know what to do next, etc.
I'll see someone struggling and reach out to them. Then I'll come across another person who needs help, so I reach out to them too. And then another person. It just keeps going on.
A lot of these students are 17–18, and I'm around 21, so I somehow start feeling responsible for them. I know logically that they aren't my responsibility and that I can't help everyone, but I can't seem to emotionally detach.
Some days I feel like I've finally moved on and can focus on myself. Then the next day I see another post and I'm back in the same cycle.
I've basically ignored my own studies and career for a significant part of this month because of this.
I haven't even figured out my own career yet. I'm still trying to understand what I want to do with my life, and I know I should be focusing on myself right now. But I can't seem to stop thinking about other people's problems.
Has anyone experienced something like this? Because whenever I tell someone about my situation they all just ignore it or say it is not making any sense or you are making a big deal out of nothing.
How do you learn to care about people without feeling responsible for helping everyone you come across?
I genuinely want to get out of this cycle.