Are we all fucked?
Are we all fucked?
I'm worried for the world. All I've been thinking about is WW3 and this shit makes me want to vomit. I can't even smoke weed anymore without having a near panic attack. I feel unmotivated. I wake up and immediately just want to go back to bed. I'm not trying to spread fear but the Doomsday clock is 90 seconds till midnight, during the Cuban missile crisis, it was 7 minutes before midnight. Can we just have one day of fucking peace? Can everyone just stop for one day and enjoy one day of peace?
I've been here before and I literally solved it by forest walking
We're all fucked regardless so learn mindfulness and enjoy every fleeting moment
No more than ever before.
All I’ve been thinking about is WW3 and this shit makes me want to vomit.
We lived through WW2, most of us anyhow. Some times are harder than others, but let me tell you something. One of favorite cartoons of all time has a fairly flat character, who's catch phrase is, "We're all gonna die." It's her custom version of yolo before yolo was a thing. No matter the choices, precautions or risks, we all have to die eventually. It'll happen regardless of how much we stress about it. Or how little.
I can’t even smoke weed anymore without having a near panic attack.
Ah, that makes sense. Pot tends to heighten anxiety over time. Talk to any of the old guard, and ask if the ever struggle with anxiety since stopping, or when they are clear.
the Doomsday clock is
Is someone else's crystal ball. It doesn't hold any power over your future.
just stop for one day and enjoy one day of peace?
Turn your phone off for 24 hours, take a stroll outside when it's daylight, and forget about anything but real life for a day. Step away from the news. Don't talk to people about politics. Get some distance while focusing solely on the moments that come your way. That will be your day of peace, and whenever you need another, you know what to do.
Nope.
I think people who worry about things outside their control might be missing out on things that really matter most in their lives.
I grew up during the Cold War era. It was pretty tense and, at least from my personal perspective, it seemed much worse then than it does today. The days after 9/11 were even worse. It really all depends on your geographic location though (I'm between NY and DC). If you're in Gaza right now, yeah, you should be worried. If you're in Oklahoma, go play in the mud and enjoy your life.
Things will get worse. They always have. Humanity deals with it. It's not a good formula but it's what we've got. I'd be much more worried about the population of the planet exceeding its natural resources and the continued loss of jobs to automation and slave labor (the unrelenting promotion of consumerism) than I would WWIII.
Not to dismiss the legitimate atrocities that are taking place across the world but I think your issue might be too much media consumption. The media is getting worse faster than the world is. Everything is rage bait to garner viewership and ad revenue and attention and profits for stock holders. Limit your media consumption to your passions and hobbies and to neutral journalism like AP and PBS. I mean, I can't tell you how many articles I read from formerly-legit news outlets that have little to do with a click bait headline now. It's so frustrating that even the news has a bias now - even when it's biased towards my preference.
With all the energy you're putting towards worrying about the entire planet, I'm sure your immediate community would benefit from a fraction of that concern.
Edit: Invest some time is setting up an RSS reader. Use it as a filter for the news you want and trust. Fill it with things you’re interested in, blogs, local news, world news, neutral news outlets, newsletters, etc. I’m in the Apple system and have been using Big News for about a year. I like that it gives you an email address to subscribe to newsletters so they don’t fill up your inbox.
Stop watching the news and get off of social media. They are literally designed to make you anxious so you’ll keep paying attention to them. Go find some local clubs and meetups to go to.
You think that you are already dead? Well that just gives you the freedom to do everything you are scared of.
There is no consequence anymore so do whatever you want. Just don't make life worse for people that haven't wronged you. That would just be bad manners.
Often a change of perspective is all you need to see that a piece of shit can be the groundwork for a beautiful flower.
Log out. Find something you can do in physical space. I found that organizing with some people doing mutual aid really helped me feel better. Just refocusing away from things you can't really do anything about, and towards things you can. In my case, it was helping feed and clothe vulnerable neighbors.
I personally don’t thing we’re all fucked. I just take in life day by day and appreciate what I have. Let’s make today a day of peace. I’m probably gonna go for a walk and try to do something nice for someone.
I went to therapy for almost this exact reason. I will tell you what my therapist told me. Just because these terrible things are happening, doesn't mean you can't have meaning and joy in your life. It can be hard to feel grateful, it can be hard to feel happy, during such times, but it's possible. I would suggest reaching out to a professional if you can afford it.
If we are all fucked, whatever, then why bother worrying? - you can’t change anything and it makes you feel worse. Enjoy what you’ve got left.
You need to check out from the news, if reading what is happening in the world has that big of an impact on your mental health then you’re better off staying ignorant.
As long as I have been a live there has been multiple threats to the world, this is nothing new. The world is always on the brink of destruction, worry about what you can control in your life, not what is happening on the other side of the world that you can’t control.
Stop smoking weed, maybe it'll help.
I grew up during the Cold War, I had zero expectation that I'd live to adulthood, and I'm still unconvinced the world after 2000 exists. The way to cope is nihilism and/or activism.
Nuclear war, global warming makes the Earth uninhabitable, new plagues wipe out everyone, AI poisons us or creates nanotech grey goo, fascists take over and gas everyone who isn't them, a dinosaur-killer meteor hits the Earth again, eventually the Sun expands and fries the planet. You personally are going to die, probably long before any of those.
So you can either say "fuck it" and do your usual stuff anyway, or get involved in trying to stop or delay one of the disasters. Have fun with it.
Or as Morty says: "Everybody's going to die. Come watch TV."
The old world is dying. The new world is struggling to be born. Now is the time of monsters.
Doomsday clock is mostly bullshit.the news only shows the worst of the world with the most sour spin.
The world will go on and for your own mental health you should take a break from the noise of world news and focus on finding enjoyment in your day to day life.
This sounds like you are depressed. My suggestion, stop consuming the type of information that is affecting your mental health. This is out of your control so stressing about it will only hurt you. You cannot control what is out of your control. Second, see a therapist and meditate. The world will go on for better or for worse.
I've noticed over the last few decades that every time I start worrying about WW3, climate change, solar flares, super volcanos, giant meteors etc. that there's something going on in my personal life that's causing me stress. Something I feel like I have no control over.
I guess my brain doesn't want to admit/deal with my own issues, so I focus on something else, something that feels just as overwhelming.
Working on taming the anxiety itself is quite useful, especially if you can't help the situation you're currently in.
The things that have helped me the most are: meditating (chakra and mindfulness) which has been great at helping me calm down; finding activities that feel meaningful to me; spending time with the people I care about (making the time); and finding beauty and/or amusement in everyday life.
All of these things take practice and time, which might seem useless if you think that the world will end tomorrow. But even if all you can do is one meaningful/fulfilling thing today, then it will improve your day and help make your last day on earth a little better.
Of course chances are good you'll wake up tomorrow, and the next day etc., which means you have even more time to live an even happier life.
Good luck my dude.
The doomsday clock is very misleading. People assume that, because it is managed by scientists and is widely credited by different agencies, that it is quantifiably measured.
The truth is that the clock is entirely subjective and basically based off of the scientist's vibes. Of course a subjective measurement system, spanning over dozens of scientists for damn near 100 years is going to be extremely inaccurate.
Due to human psychology, negative emotions such as fear, anger, shame and anxiety are much stronger than positive emotions. All news outlets heavily abuse this fact, since it gains most traction. Many people use this too, to gain traction to their posts, or gain more influence.
I would recommend you unplug, and focus on hobbies or work that aren't related to the internet. Over time the internet has become increasingly hostile in a bid to capture more attention than competitors. Personally I like to avoid it when I can these days, despite working in tech.
Can everyone just stop for one day and enjoy one day of peace?
No. But maybe you can. It sounds like you might need some help though.
YOLO. Literally. So does everyone else. Everyone dies. Why live in dread of the inevitable at the expense of enjoying your short time in this world?
No, we're not all fucked. It's actually a pretty good time to be alive.
- War and the threat of escalation are in the news, but so far this century has had far less warfare than the last.
- Crime is in the news, but crime rates are falling, and the 2020-21 peak did not reach the levels of the 1990s.
- Global warming is likely to cause significant harms, but if you're in a relatively wealthy country, you'll almost certainly be OK. Most people who aren't will also be OK, but their risk exposure is higher.
- I'm genuinely concerned about rising far-right extremism, but structural protections against fascist dictatorship have held up pretty well in democratic countries.
"Things are mostly OK, but we should work on a few problems" doesn't drive engagement. Nobody's going to click your headline, vote on your post, or watch your video if you say that, so people saying it don't get much visibility.
Play this game to understand more about the mindset of today and how people are losing trust in each other and how to solve it: https://ncase.me/trust/
You just need to do one thing - disconnect from news and politics. Those things will poison your mind and make you afraid, angry or worried constantly. Also all shitty social media that makes you feel bad.
You have no impact on what's happening in the world, so it makes no sense to worry about it.
Whatever will happen will happen weather you worry or not. So stop worrying. Focus on your life and your friends and family. Or your hobbies. Exercise. Feeling good.
I've done this for over 15 years now. No idea what is in the news. Feels great. I will find out about actually important things. It was impossible to miss covid or the Ukraine war for example.
But the circus, as I call it.... No need to watch that. You can safely ignore it all.
I think the bigger threat to our lives is the creeping/ crawling/ walking/ running fascism and authoritarianism people have become complacent about and have come to accept.
World war, nukes, climate change, etc.. Those are big bads. But they aren't every day bads.
Its the every day bads that grind you down, and the world seems to have forgotten that that a good society to live in requires the commitment and work of its people to maintain it. I blame consumerism for training people to believe they can just shop for the things they want in life and don't have to build them. You can't shop for a better society; you can only build it. This lack of civic duty to me is the real problem beleaguering us, and these other ills extend from it. Individuals need to recognize themselves as responsible for the state of things and to take responsibility for making it better. The government is not some third party to you; its an extension of your-self and if it isn't functioning well, its on you to get involved and fix it.
I blame consumerism and the lack of personal responsibility it seeks to create in its patrons. People seem to have gotten caught in a mist that they are subject to the forces of this world, rather than recognizing themselves as the force that moves the world. Its a convenient thing for authoritarian leaders to take advantage of. Modern political leadership doesn't want voters involved except in the occasional, minimal interaction that implies consent to be governed.
We really need to figure out a way to get out of this frog-march into authoritarianism and fascism, because we can't address any of the other issues if that's the direction the whole ship is going.
If WW3 will happen, there's nothing you can do about it anyway except keep going and make your living better.
I’m not trying to spread fear but the Doomsday clock is 90 seconds till midnight, during the Cuban missile crisis, it was 7 minutes before midnight.
That's because they thought history was over in the 90's, and effectively changed the scale. The CMC was so much worse. People thought of nukes as normal weapons and if an extra officer hadn't been on a particular Soviet sub it 100% would have gone hot.
I have no idea what our chances are, long term. Unavoidable success and unavoidable failure are both possible scenarios. Short term, the Middle East could blow up and millions there could die, but I can't see it spiraling into a nuclear world war on it's own. MAD is strong and the rest can survive without them. Medium term it all depends on American politics, as well as AI if that actually happens.
The reality of life is that we will all die. Some will die quietly, peacefully, surrounded by loved ones. Some will die messily, painfully, alone and afraid. This is the reality we must all live in and accept.
It’s very possible that our species will die out. That is not an inherently bad or evil thing. Countless species have come and gone from Earth. Whether we destroy ourselves through war and ignorance, or we continue to thrive, doesn’t matter right now. What does matter is you.
You describe symptoms of depression and anxiety. You are sad and scared, and this is in part due to feeling powerless to fix the world. However, the only thing you have power over is yourself. Focus on helping yourself before you try to help the world. Try to find peace within yourself before seeking it in the world. The world is not, and has never been, a place of peace.
If you’d like practical advice, then I’d say stay away from weed and THC if it’s making you anxious. Keep away from alcohol as it will just exacerbate your depressed feelings. If you haven’t already, please discuss your feelings with a therapist and see a psychiatrist for mental health diagnoses and treatment. If either of these hasn’t worked for you before, I’d urge you to seek second opinions.
Maybe we're f-ed maybe not. Feeling sorry for yourself isn't going to do shit though, is it?
You're just spiralling into a depression at this point. All the while most of the things are completely outside of your control. You want to turn into the 'old man shaking fist at clouds' meme? Stop it.
Chances of a ww3 are incredibly low. Why? Because of the dependency on the global supply chain. Stuff is made from stuff shipped from all over the planet. Food, electronics, clothes, etc. We cannot just turn that off, and set up the infrastructure at home....build factories, have workers, have the raw materials... It's incredibly complicated. We are already a global society.
Consider all the shit that is happening 'ironing out the kinks', we all know that the perfect future is fully automated gay space communism. Just try and be on the right side of history when you can help it.
Nah dude, we were all fucked from jump thats what a lot of people can't face. We're a slime mold on a mote of dust stuck to a spark flying through a cloud.
Just be glad you ever existed, selfishly existing to prolong your own existence is spitting in the face of everyone who ever died for something and dancing on the not even grave of all the people who were never born. You better go out there and live your life to the fullest, because it's not coming around again, there is no next time, no do over. Just love and be honest, especially when it hurts.
First:
You are dying. Let that in; dwell on it.
Being alive can be pretty amazing; the world, people, life… But the price of entry is that your time is limited, and will end. oh, and you have no idea when. :)
So “being alive” is, by definition, to be actively dying.
Second:
Anxiety (worry, dread, etc) is always and only ever based on an imagined future. This is where you are right now, imagining outcomes you have no way of knowing. Sadness (regret, self doubt, etc) is entirely focused on a remembered past. We all experience both.
Right now is all you really ever have. Learning to put (and keep) your attention there takes work, but it’s worth it!
There are problems in the world, but it's important to remember that both news and social media get way more engagement when showing you doom and outrage, so the most extreme takes rise to the top.
It's good to be informed, but don't let the doomsaying scare you out of living your life.
Yes, and no. It will likely continue to get worse before it gets better, but as things ramp up, eventually the band will snap and change will happen.
It's up to us to work towards that change being positive, rather than negative.
The best cure for this is to read more news about people. A healthy dislike for people in general makes you worry less about the future of humanity ;-)
As another commenter already mentioned:
There is a technique I call circles of influence.
You have „close“ things you can directly influence like things in your home, „near“ things which you can indirectly influence like your friends, family and local politics. Then you have the weather which you cant influence in any significant way.
The best approach I‘ve seen myself, friends and even clients do was prioritizing close over near and forgetting about the weather.
In other words: go ahead rn and change something in a positive way which you can absolutely influence. You will feel less anxious and more in control. If you have done enough in your immediate vicinity, you will feel a lot better. Then start influencing friends and family to do the same. Dont let up. Just repeat yourself and dont bother about the weather.
I‘m doing the exact same rn with you, stranger. Have a good one.
I'm enjoying peace everyday ol shaky ass dude 😎
When ever I get like that, with my dad being into conspiracy theories, I just drive out into the country for a while. No matter what happens, it will always be there. You may just need to drive farther, but the grass and trees will always be there. (Im sorry for spelling)
Not sure if you can switch your Facebook to Canada but because of a recent law Facebook stopped serving Canadian all news. I swear it's less anxiety inducing.
Rest assured If it happens, it'll be over in a flash.
Look I'm not saying you're wrong in your assessment of global affairs, but believe me when I say that there is more to life than that. I'd advise you to spend some time each day looking at the world at a different scale than that, for example the life of insects, or the world of classical music or mathematics. Perhaps pick up an interest from your childhood. We're not dead yet! It may also be advisable to see a doctor and tell them about your wanting to spend all your time in bed and your panic attacks while smoking. Hope you feel better.
We are probably fucked sooner or later and I feel terrible for what family and friends and good people will go through. But also I think Earth will bounce back and would be better off without humans. Only issue is I don't think humans will be eradicated.
Otherwise just try to vote for the best choices and try not to follow the news too much, it's mostly negative because that sells.
Only worry about the things you can change right now. Everything else is a waste of energy.
You can't fix stupid in anyone else no matter how hard you try or how much you want it.
Yes
Not an answer to your question, but for a long time I couldn’t enjoy smoking weed anymore due to the anxiety. After my state legalized recreational weed, I could talk to pros about it. Find either a strain that has equal or maybe even higher amounts of CBD to THC, or have a cbd tincture in your system before you smoke.
I missed smoking weed. It had been years. But I’m very glad to report that I fully enjoy it again, no anxiety. No shitty feeling associated with it. It’s all nice.
I also got my feet wet on this journey by just smoking hemp, which has a really, really nice effect all on its own. Just something to consider if smoking weed was something that used to help you.
Live your life and enjoy what you can.
Be glad that you got to experience what you did.
If you have the funds, go tour things we know are vanishing, so that you at least have a living memory of them.
I think it's largely just news that is sensationalized to get additional advertising revenue. It's there to get you worried so you constantly check for updates. IIRC this concept was started by CNN back in the 80s or 90s, when 24/7 news became a thing. Now that the Internet is around fear mongering is everywhere. It's what makes money. And if you don't pay for the news, you are the commodity. Frequently a conduit for advertising.
I can’t even smoke weed anymore without having a near panic attack.
Funny, it's the exact opposite for me. I get panic attacks when I run out.
are you worried about nuclear war? why? you've got reminded that russia has nukes? everyone has, everyone has been keeping everyone else at gunpoint (missilepoint?) since 60s in giant mexican standoff. have you died in the meantime? i don't think so. what makes you think it's gonna change anytime soon?
here you have well informed take on escalation ladder (tldr: it's nowhere near putin's interest to actually do a massive escalation) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWKGYnO0Jf4 and a writeup https://acoup.blog/2022/03/11/collections-nuclear-deterrence-101/
i, for one, will enjoy one day of peace when russian regime falls. not holding my breath for this tho
Yes, we're all going to die. Get over it. As others have said, find something else to do with your spare time; an activity. Worrying about things that are out of your control is a waste of your time. Fill that time with something else.
News and the media in general preys on fear. They want you to be terrified because it makes you watch the news and read the papers and their websites. They hype up anything that will scare you.
The whole COVID period proved that.
Very. But, if you can aloofly accept that you have very little control over the big stuff, it can help free you from having to worry about it. Shrink your world down to what you can control and try to have a positive effect and let go of the big stuff. I suspect that something catastrophic during my own lifetime seems inevitable. Why worry about that when I can enjoy today?
Not to worry. Every time we have a nuclear war we all just wake up the day before it happened again.
Unless you’re one of the unlucky few who survives it, you’ll never have to experience a nuclear war.
Hmm... it sounds like the media sources that you use may be exaggerating information. Not to say that there aren't truly horrible things going on in the world, but I wouldn't say that it's bad enough that the world as we know it will end. Frankly, that's kind of how things have always been. There's always some existential crisis in every generation. And we've never aced a crisis, and we probably never will. But we'll probably crawl our way past the finish line in a kind of half-assed victory. Not the best outcome, but not the worst either.
The problem with comparing things to "how things were like in the past" is that we only remember the things worth remembering. This applies to everything - we only remember the good movies but not the bad ones, the good songs but not the bad ones, the good times, etc. Inherently, comparing things to the past will make it seem like society is going downhill. Not because things are worse now, but just because everyone forgot all the trash that were in the past and only remembered the memorable parts.
Anyways, it also sounds like you may have depression, and it's causing you to let bad news stew for longer than they should. Might be a strange question, but have you talked to a mental health professional about it?
I'm sorry to ask, but how old are you? The level of fucked does varies
I found that reading The Zhuangzi really helped me get perspective on the state of the world.
I feel you, more than you know. If you aren't on an SSRI, i can't recommend seeking a doctor that will prescribe you one, I had to quit smoking myself because I had a panic attack that sent me to the ER before I was medicated, qnd havent started back since cause the antidepressant works so well. Really hope you can get your shit sussed out, i was spiraling just as hard if not harder than you before I decided to seek medical help for my mental issues. You dont need to completely disconnect from the internet and news like everyone is saying, just get your mental health to a level where you can deal with how heavy shit is getting lately.
Are we only on III somehow ?
Feels like we should be hitting ... like ... ww8 by now
The only thing we can do is live the lives we have.
For as long as I've been alive we've always been on the brink of one thing or another. Worrying about the bits that you cannot change will only do you harm.
While big imperialist superpowers are quick to kill innocent civilians and sacrifice their own soldiers, the fear of their own death is enough deterrence to make them not use nukes.
I think this being an election year in the US also makes the whole world more wacky. It will decide if the world gets one more dictator or not, and one that would have a massive military at his disposal.
Some of us are most likely fucked, some of us are probably pretty lucky.
Same shit, different pile basically.
You can't control the world so you have to find your own peace and maybe find ways to make the world around you better, even if only in some small way.
Yes we are, just not all at the same time.
I worry! Every. Single. Day.
I worry about my social media addiction, about the fact that I’ve read once books like a maniac, but hardly read any books at all now. I worry about Fake News and racists on the internet and about ignorance on the streets and fascists in the government. I worry about hot summers and warm winters. I worry about the future of my young nephews. I’m worried about war. I’m worried for the world and thus for the whole of humanity.
I’m fine! My life is good. I don’t have panic attacks. But there is always this slight worry in my mind and if I think about it, it gets bigger.
Others recommend a social media detox. That’s a start. Chill a bit. Relax. Enjoy the spring. Maybe learn a new thing, get a new hobby, like cycling or cooking. And then maybe, start doing something about the things you can change. I’ve learned a new phrase this week, it’s „productive restlessness“. You can’t do anything about world war 3, but maybe you can change other things.
And please, don’t allow others to take advantage over you, using your fear. Don’t buy a nuclear bunker for your garden if you can’t afford it, please don’t start believing in crazy conspiracy myths and tell the tankies to go to hell, when they try to tell you that you should vote for trump if you want peace.
A fellow worrier.
Doomsday clock don't fucking work except for this.
I do just need to point out that the Doomsday Clock is run by a media organization with no ties to any government. There's no hard facts about what the number represents, it's just a small group of academics who decide how close we are to apocalypse off vibes. While I think the problems they point out are valid concerns you have to remember that their main thing is to drive clicks. Of course this is easier if you're constantly scared.
I know it seems like we're in the worst time possible, but crime and violence is as low as it's ever been and the standard of living for human life in general is also as high as it's ever been. I'd echo the other commenters, sounds like it's time for a social media detox.
I mean, you could log out.
That isn't going to change the fact that the US is becoming a fascist state and the rest of the world will follow, but you can get a day of blissful unawareness.
The key is to learn to accept our inevitable doom. It gets easier if you design yourself to it and just go play video games or something to pass the time.
I have multiple borders with Russia and it's alies and live kinda close so I am kinda fucked
Well weed can give you panic attacks so maybe it's time for a break on that in the first place, but a straight answer to your question is yes, we're fucked.
With this winter that has just passed, we are into Original Prediction territory - the original Shell (i think they worked for Shell?) engineers who discovered that CO2 was a greenhouse gas and did the math to predict the effects - this winter puts us back in line with that work. Every single prediction that has been made since has been watered down, dumbed down and spaced out. The original catastrophe predicted by those engineers is coming true right now.
Don't listen to these hippies saying erry li'l ting gon be awright, they simply haven't been paying attention and are a big part of the reason why nothing has been done about it in the first place, and there's nothing left to do but point fingers anyway. Barbarism and fire are coming; their heads are too far up their asses to see the shit that's about to mess up their diligently coifed hair.
To quote Matchbox 20, "Oh well, I guess we're gonna pretend"
Sounds like you need to lay down the weed and touch some grass bro
I've stopped caring really, humanity can go extinct. We don't deserve this world. It will be a much better place when it's just deers and wolves frolicking about.
Not really. Just the firstworlders
If you really look around things are way better than they ever have been, like hugely better in practically every metric.
It's OK to enjoy life
Yeah we're fucked. Take the average person and they'd sooner become a nazi when push comes to shove than believe in a better world.
It's not if society is going to fall, that's going to happen regardless of what you do, it's if you personally are going to survive the fallout.
@lemmylem@lemm.ee dude we are so fucked. We are heading to a dystopian cyberpunk fascist future, so we are fucking up the planet and we fuck ourselves that way
Stop being a druggie.
