Coping with the knowledge of animal cruelty

loveisdivine

One of the main reasons I've become vegan is the ethics of eating meat/consuming animal products.

I've seen plenty of horrible videos, read lots of articles about atrocities committed against animals. Not just in the food industry but in society in general.

How do you cope with having seen these things and knowing what goes on in the world?

On a day to day basis its easy, but then sometimes I'll be sitting at home, or lying in bed and I'll suddenly have the images of pigs being abused in a slaughterhouse, or I'll suddenly think of the poor Orca's and dolphins in Seaworld and other such places and my heart just fills with this sense of dread, at how horrible the world really is. I end up close to tears just thinking about all the animals suffering at that very moment and the shame I feel as a human for what we've done to planet.

Now I know that all sounds very depressing, but honestly I'm a fairly happy person. Its just these moments of overwhelming sadness. They're hard to handle.

I guess I'm wondering if other feel the same?

sok2005

I get this sadness you feel, the despair for the universe and all of us in it. The more you learn about how we as humans are like a plague on the earth the sadder it gets. But you can't let it get you down too much. If we were to dwell on all the awful things happening in the world, it would be a waste of our existence too.

Do things to make you feel better, not only just for animals but for your community, your family. Volunteer somewhere you can put your skills to good use. Know that you are doing all you can to make your piece of this world a great place to be.

I find planting my own food brings me a lot of joy, watching a seed grow into something I put on my families plate to eat still amazes me. Or growing flowers in your garden for bees to pollinate. Watching nature just carry on around you can bring solace when you find yourself surrounded in a world where it seems the majority are okay with living a life you find abhorrent.

Our time here is too short to spend it at war with your own emotions, come to terms with it, do what you can to change it, make good choices and smile.

actua11

I really quite like this. Gotta feel good about the good choices that you've already made.

sok2005 wrote: »

make good choices and smile.

I'm only veggie myself but I do try to live off the Vegan Societies of veganism to explain why I can't simply wake up one day and suddenly end the animal cruelty in the world.

Vegan Society wrote:

"Veganism is a way of living which seeks to exclude, as far as is possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose."

So the fact that you are doing your bit, as far is possible and practicable then you are already pointing in the right direction. If you feel you want and can to do more as was said, then there are plenty of volunteering and other options out there.

However if the thoughts do stress you out from time to time, just remember your already making a positive difference and so long as we all keep pulling in the right direction we'll get there in the end

loveisdivine

Funny you should say that Sok as only recently we made a raised vegetable patch and planted some veg, sowed some seeds for flowers that attract bees and made a day bed from an old pallet

To be honest, I am feeling pretty good about things at the minute. Well, I'm feeling good about the changes we've made in our own lives and such, its just the things I have no control over that make me so sad.

Good advice from both of you though. I'm glad I'm not the only one that gets a little sad sometimes though.

Also, I was at an anti Seaworld protest the other week and although it doesn't directly help the marine mammals currently suffering, it does (in a selfish way I'll admit) make me feel a little better knowing that I'm at least helping to spread awareness.

Semele

Myself and my friend are exactly the same as this, OP, and only had a conversation about it recently where we realised we both do it!

I find my awful thoughts about it come in waves and then I'm not bothered again for a while unless I actually read something that triggers it. If I'm feeling down in general then I'm also more likely to get sucked into that way of thinking. At times it has actually been so overwhelming and distressing that I have avoided going to bed until I'm about to drop with tiredness, because lying awake with no distractions was a perfect time for the mind to wander. I thought I was going mad!

What I do is make a point of avoiding upsetting stories. I don't click on Facebook links of abused animals. I don't browse the Daily Mail website (a bad habit anyway!) anymore because that so frequently stung me with a horror of a story that I wouldn't get out of my head for months. I find it much healthier not to read these things- it doesn't mean that I don't care, in fact I'm sadly all too aware of the awful treatment some animals get.

There's nothing I can do about those stories and they just harm me. I do a lot of things to make a difference, on a small level: I have pets that are treated fabulously and who are visibly happy, contented animals- because of the care and love they get; I am vegetarian and increasingly aware of the ethics of my consumption of other products; I always use animal-related charity shops when doing a clear-out; I donate to animal welfare charities etc. Reading stories that only upset me doesn't make me any more aware of injustices nor does it do anything to help.

I find mindfulness a great way of dealing with these thoughts when they do occur. I was finding them so distressing that when it hit me I would feel physically sick and faint, and the strength of that emotional reaction unfortunately strengthens the neural pathways associated with that thought, thus making it even more likely to recur. Mindfulness helps you to become an observer of your thoughts without reacting to them. Instead of fighting against having a thought, which is almost impossible and in fact only strengthens it, mindfulness helped me to reduce my emotional/physical reaction to those thoughts and as a result they occur much less frequently and not with the same intensity. It's a skill that takes practice, but it's a good one to have generally!

Anyway, long post, but you're not the only one!

NickyL

For me, doing as much good as possible and surrounding myself with good people helps a lot

Sam Kade

loveisdivine wrote: »

One of the main reasons I've become vegan is the ethics of eating meat/consuming animal products.

I've seen plenty of horrible videos, read lots of articles about atrocities committed against animals. Not just in the food industry but in society in general.

How do you cope with having seen these things and knowing what goes on in the world?

On a day to day basis its easy, but then sometimes I'll be sitting at home, or lying in bed and I'll suddenly have the images of pigs being abused in a slaughterhouse, or I'll suddenly think of the poor Orca's and dolphins in Seaworld and other such places and my heart just fills with this sense of dread, at how horrible the world really is. I end up close to tears just thinking about all the animals suffering at that very moment and the shame I feel as a human for what we've done to planet.

Now I know that all sounds very depressing, but honestly I'm a fairly happy person. Its just these moments of overwhelming sadness. They're hard to handle.

I guess I'm wondering if other feel the same?

So you look at cherry picked videos and decided that's what happens on every farm worldwide

BMJD

Sam Kade wrote: »

So you look at cherry picked videos and decided that's what happens on every farm worldwide

Go on, enlighten us. Slaughterhouses are where piggies go for pints and football, right?

loveisdivine

Sam Kade wrote: »

So you look at cherry picked videos and decided that's what happens on every farm worldwide

I guess our opinion on what constitutes as abuse, differs.

I'm also pretty sure that every animal raised for meat gets, ya know, slaughtered! So yeah I'd say that does happen on every farm.

Sam Kade

BMJD wrote: »

Go on, enlighten us. Slaughterhouses are where piggies go for pints and football, right?

loveisdivine wrote: »

I guess our opinion on what constitutes as abuse, differs.

I'm also pretty sure that every animal raised for meat gets, ya know, slaughtered! So yeah I'd say that does happen on every farm.

It would be fairly impossible to get meat from them without a slaughterhouse.

Animals don't get slaughtered on the farm that's what slaughterhouses are for.

loveisdivine

Sam Kade wrote: »

It would be fairly impossible to get meat from them without a slaughterhouse.

Animals don't get slaughtered on the farm that's what slaughterhouses are for.

Yeah I know that perhaps I phrased my point wrongly.

I'm sorry but what is your point? This thread is about people who share similar feelings discussing how they deal with them. Its something thats personal to each individual.

blatantrereg

I let it inform my actions and lifestyle to the level demanded by my conscience. This allows me to come to terms with it. I would think that I was being indulgent if I were to brood on it without taking consequent action.
The destruction and harmfulness of humans is not limited to animals, but is also wrought upon other humans and the world itself.