Caregiving in a culture of outrage is a huge challenge. Parents of kids with special needs and disabilities who use social media to engage with other caregiving families have to wade through the outrage before they can connect. What do they have to contend with in the swamp?

Nasty memes.
Dubious news articles gone viral.
Ugly accusations.
Personal attacks.
Language that surely grieves the heart of God.

I wade into the swamp each morning to post encouragement on my Facebook page for caregiving families. 

Every step of the way I fight discouragement.
I push away angry thoughts toward those posting views unlike my own.
I fight the temptation to go down rabbit holes.

Caregiving in a culture of outrage isn’t easy for me or for the parents I desire to encourage. These three strategies help me keep from being sucked into the swamp, and I hope they do the same for you.

Strategy #1: Evaluate and Control What You See on Social Media

Ask yourself these three questions to evaluate and control your social media news feeds.

• Does this post give me life or suck away my joy? If it gives life, read it. If it sucks joy, scroll past it. Or if it comes from someone whose posts consistently drain your joy (joy you need to be the positive caregiver your child deserves), snooze whoever it is for 30 days, hide their posts, or unfriend the person.

To read the rest of Caregiving in a Culture of Outrage, visit Key Ministry’s blog for parents.

Do you like what you see at DifferentDream.com? You can receive more great content by subscribing to the monthly Different Dream newsletter and signing up for the daily RSS feed delivered to your email.