These statistics are meant to shock us into action. But more often than not, they induce a phenomenon known as psychic numbing —the brain’s inability to scale compassion properly when faced with large numbers.

When a survivor shares their specific experience with domestic violence, cancer, or natural disaster, the listener doesn't just understand the problem; they feel it. Feeling precedes action. A campaign that makes you cry is infinitely more likely to make you donate, sign a petition, or change a behavior than a campaign that makes you nod analytically.

Then came the survivor story.