What you’re going through is serious, painful, and real, and I hope you give yourself the time and permission to get what you need. Wake etiquette: Due to unfortunate circumstances, I’ve recently attended a number of wakes.

If that means taking a break from reading about other people’s problems for a while, you absolutely should. Am I obligated to kneel before the casket and say a brief prayer?

I know you can’t turn social media off at work, but I hope you can set times throughout the day where you allow yourself to take a break and either reach out to a friend for support or just take a few minutes to be quiet and not absorb further stories of trauma.I’d been taught that this was the “polite” thing to do, but it feels disingenuous now that I no longer subscribe to any religion.