• From sadness
• From fear
• From pain
• From those who want to harm

That sums up my ideal superhero.

Thinking about it makes me cry, as I feel so powerless and unable to protect.

Reading a crisis scenario in a fantasy book I cry because the loss is beyond my ability to stop.

Postscript

The emotion involved with wanting to protect is significant and can feel overwhelming. I don’t know how I want to deal with the emotion. The usual techniques of distraction or rationalising thoughts help, but don’t deal with the emotion coming up again and again.