As someone in the US it’s so easy to see so many depressing issues from the ravages of capitalism, to war, imperialism, and genocide. How can one care about these issues and hope for change without allowing themselves to be affected mentally?
I’ve been considering this for the past week, connecting it with Buddhist compassion towards the world and a need for mindfulness. But it’s so easy to fall into emotionlessness.
I’ve also thought through the world has always had issues and though some are getting much worse some are getting better.
I have gone to counseling before but they just make it an individual problem when it’s the world.
Edit: doesn’t have to be US centric. Just I’m writing from that pov
That’s the neat part, you don’t.
Right? I’ve never believed that depression is a brain chemical issue. It’s an issue of being aware of the true nature of the world and species.
Edit: Take your pills the fancy drug dealer prescribed you for your “depression” and break your dicks. Numb yourself up to it all and live your best life, man. I don’t give a fuck. I drink, so it probably isn’t much better. Heh. Sorry I struck a nerve, but my perspective on this matter isn’t changing in my lifetime. This is the same industry that used to electrocute and shove ice picks into your brain. Now they do it with chemicals. Still just clueless throw shit at the wall and see what sticks nonsense that will never solve the real problem.
It’s both.
I think they’re 2 different things. being acutely aware of how totally an utterly fucked we all are doesn’t stop me from doing things I like.
No other animal suffers from depression. If it were a brain chemical issue, where are all the depressed squirrels and buffalo? It’s a human problem. That brain chemical imbalance shit is a neat way for the pharmaceutical companies to push their expensive poison on us. Break your dick and ruin one of the few good things in life. Happy now? Pass.
Depressed? Congratulations. You’re more intelligent and aware than most.
Of course animals suffer from depression. This isn’t something I need to prove to you. This comment just goes to show that you’re either not very observant in any context or you’ve never been to a zoo. And no dipshit, it doesn’t make zoo animals not depressed because humans cause it in the cases where it’s easiest seen. By virtue of us being human, of course those examples would be seen by us. Jesus Christ some people trip over themselves to hold an insanely wrong viewpoint.
Yeah, I’m sure being held captive by terrifying ape creatures isn’t what causes their mental issues at all just like the conditions that terrifying ape creatures inflict onto us isn’t what causes ours. It’s just a brain chemical imbalance you are born with, you see, and you have to electrocute the brain to solve everything… wait, no, shove this ice pick up your eye… well, that was problematic… take these chemicals! Hmmm… let’s try a dozen more until we find the “right” one.
Fucking hell no.
You seem like the type of person who cannot accept that things are complicated and multiple things can be true at once.
Only thing I need to know in this case is that I don’t trust that industry and find it terrifying that they have been given any credibility and legal power over others. Quacks with degrees in pseudoscience whose book of diagnostics was written by the same people on the pharmaceutical boards. I will have nothing to do with it.
You do you and follow your own beliefs and practices.
No other animal suffers from depression.
Behind a paywall so I unfortunately can’t read it. These are animals being held in captivity and being tested on by their captors? Heh. Pretty apt comparison if that’s the case. I’m sure the solution is to give them pills to numb them rather than free them no doubt.
Unpaywalled
Seriously, you don’t know what you’re talking about. SSRIs saved my life. I was recently barely clinging on to my job as I was on the verge of a panic attack nearly 24/7. I’ve been off and on SSRIs before so I do know they’re very difficult to quit, but I was close to institutionalizing myself from the level of anxiety I was dealing with.
Yes they have downsides and yes they should be used as a last resort, but writing them off entirely is a stupid mentality.
Numb yourself up to it all and live your best life
Yes, I will
I personally am writing them off entirely for personal use, but I am happy they work for you. I’ve been saying the entire time in this thread that it’s a personal decision… I’ll admit I was playing it up for that one user who was super rude to me because it was fun to piss him off, but you are cool.
Thank you, and I do get it. I have a love/hate relationship with SSRIs, but 2024 was really rough for me and they were the only thing that pulled me out of it all.
They are a heavy drug though with withdrawals worse than any other drug I’ve tried. I’ve fought to get off of them before in the past (when my mental health was doing better). I’ve spent entire years slowly tapering while still dealing with brain zaps and mood swings.
Like I said, last resort thing.
Yeah, I was there when a former best friend went through it after her online psychiatrist put her on a cocktail of Adderall, antidepressants, and who knows what else and she was having the brain shocks, withdrawals, vomiting. That’s definitely very real.
It does make me angry when they prescribe it all willy nilly like that without trying other things first.
Wish you the best of luck getting clear of them and living a happy life.
Yeah those symptoms sound accurate. It’s not fun.
Thank you though, you as well!
I’m curious. Have you always been a complete jackass?
To become this enlightened has taken some time, so fret not. There’s hope for you. Perhaps once you’ve lost a couple of friends to this destructive industry. Until then, I can see you’re quite comfortable in the circle jerk.
So, yes.
I’ll be whatever you all need me to be and I’m quite confident in my beliefs on the matter. I will also continue to be able to achieve an erection and orgasm until my age naturally catches up with me. You do you.
I wanted to say there is some truth in what you’re saying but the more I read, the more clueless you sound. Depression is real, and drugs that fuck your sex life up are probably worse. I have a lot of bad days but good days, good art, and a well placed joint help. Just because a lot of the current understanding of depression is flawed or wrong doesn’t make it a fake made up condition. You probably aren’t depressed if you can say that. Being the kid who was always super sensitive, would cry for hours, and getting really sad just thinking about something briefly are all things I experienced which prove to me that depression is real. No one else in my family was suffering like that. And I could say I was of higher intelligence and that’s why, if I wanted to jerk myself off like you’re doing, but the truth is it’s a lot more complicated than that.
One thing I do — and it sounds like you may have tried a version of this — is take media breaks (social media included). Go camping, read fiction, play video games or whatever floats your boat. You’ll almost always find that nothing major has changed and you were just dwelling on things beyond your control.
I’m not saying stick your head in the sand and pretend nothing is wrong. I’m more saying you can keep just as informed without wallowing in the news slop.
Let someone curate your news for you and don’t doomscroll. I suggest PBS Newshour or one of the three major broadcast news programs.
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The cure for grief is action. Go to a DSA meeting, join a mutual aid society, volunteer at a community garden. Help out at a food pantry. Put the values you believe in back into the world.
You know you’re going to die right ? How do you deal with that ? Philosophically, Stoicism has some of what I need for coping.
I’d also suggest that journalism is mostly interlectual trash that clutters your mind. Really important events will find their way to you.
An example, I’m not an American (i did live there back in the mid 1990s, before I relaised it wasn’t for me) and I will likely Vote Green until I die. I’d prefer a livable biospbere and little better treament of minorities. Others prefer the opposite but their entreaties to get me to think their way won’t work so why would I bother listening?
Journalism isnt really about reporting “news” but selling advertising.
Reading through all the other doomposts I felt obligated to share my view.
I read national/international news every day, and I’m still optimistic about humanity’s future.
First off, I don’t bother with local news at all. That really is just a cesspool of crime reporting. My dad summarized local news pretty well: “someone was murdered today, and heres some footage of blood on the pavement.”
As far as national and international news goes, I read it because I think it’s interesting and it’s good to stay informed, but you can’t use it as a barometer for how the world’s doing, because news is just inherently negative. It doesn’t mean the world is actually doing bad!
Which of the following do you think would get reported as a headline?
“Indonesia enjoys another year without a tsunami”
“Thousand killed as tsunami ravages Indonesian coast”
“Global poverty rate continues slow, steady decline”
“Millions at risk of starvation as African crops fail”
“Good news, no new deadly infectious diseases this year”
“Scientists raise alarm over spread of bird flu”
I think maybe it’s helpful to think of the news not as objective reporting on the state of the world but rather like a police blotter that just logs bad things that have happened. And I think it’s perfectly fine to tune it out and just live your life. If you’re interested in a particular issue, like homelessness or an election maybe look at a less sensational information source like Wikipedia or something.
Also, just a little mini-rant: the two types of people who are most negative about the state of the world are religious missionaries and leftists. Because in order to convince you that the world needs a savior they have to convince you that we aren’t on a path to do it ourselves. So, maybe steer clear of news on Lemmy as well haha
Kinda sad to see the local news comment. I’m not sure if there’s just a really bad local news station by you or there’s some preconceived notions floating there, but you’re more likely to remember the reporting of a death versus Grandma Martha’s award winning plant that got recognition.
If you have other techniques for staying up to date with local and state events please share them, people need to be involved with local more than national (both are important, statistically you impact local more though). I have a couple of local news stations that I follow with their online postings. I feel it’s important to comment and discuss on those because the only vocal people seem to be extremists on there, people need to see that there are like minded people nearby so it’s not so weird to think differently to them.
I’m also confused by your religious missionaries and leftists comment, are you including the right-wing with religious? I can’t argue that everyone doesn’t push the whole savior narrative, just not sure why you singled out those two groups and left everyone else out lol.
The reason I singled out leftists is that over the last couple decades, in the ideological struggle between socialists and capitalists… the capitalists pretty much won. There are are still some holdouts around the world but in general leftists are left on the outside looking in as the capitalist-led world grows more prosperous (and lots of bad things too, I’m not trying to play it off as capitalist good socialist bad). But in their position, all leftists can really do is criticize the status quo. And, again, there are plenty of valid criticisms to make, but because they are removed from power leftists can’t do very much “look at the good things socialism is doing,” it’s 99% “look at all the bad things capitalism is doing”. At least in the US/Western Europe.
The right-wing can at least say things like “the economy is doing well” and “technology is advancing due to [Company]'s breakthrough” in between fear-mongering about immigration.
Ah, guess we’ve just hit different perspectives in life. I live in the rural south of the US. So radio, local news, politicians, and social conversations all basically skew either religious or right-wing (often times mixed). The fear-mongering is constant. One of the reasons why I was so discouraged by the DNC this last election cycle; they lead with fear mongering lately, which I was already inundated with.
Yeah I guess you’re right. Both sides have been pretty…apocalyptic lately.
Ignorance is bliss - dogs are the happiest people I know. We should all strive to be more like dogs.
To be really dumb?
It’s tough. Just keeping up with “trying” to be aware is a full-time stressful job (there’s literally only so much time in a day to absorb information, some have less/more). That would be hard even if everything was awesome news all the time in a world so connected.
It helps to realize that it’s always been this way, the world is a busy busy place. Everything going on, all the time, never stopping. It doesn’t pause, you sleep and the world continues on without you. It’s overwhelming, but kinda cool at the same time.
So for me, I take a step back with “mindfulness”. It’s just a word, but what you’re going for is a feeling. For instance, if you’ve been on here a long time, turn off your screen for a minute and look at your surroundings. Don’t let your mind wander back to the screen. Literally give your mind a second to realize you are just existing in a small space. Look at your wall and pick out a detail you haven’t seen before, or a tree (anything to let your mind think about something else).
Take some deep breaths or stretch or feel your toes, there’s lots of different techniques people use. But, you’re going for the disconnected feeling. If you’re breathing and still thinking about what’s online you gotta refocus to your immediate area. That argument or event is not in your vicinity. You are not helping by stressing out over it. Don’t be a fire-fighter who’s in a firehouse worried about all the houses catching on fire.
You can compensate your mind’s news addiction, by realizing you are better prepared to interact and absorb information online if you’re more stable. At some point your cognitive mind is tapped out but you’re still scrolling from habit, or you’re less likely to get your point across with proper communication if you’re not in your best mindset.
By just giving your mind a little room to breathe you’ll start figuring out what you want to do with that time. Local organization, hobbies, chores, your mind will try to fill that void with something and you’ll be able to hopefully choose something that helps your current overwhelming feeling. Fire-fighters check equipment, play games, shoot the shit, etc. They’re still extremely helpful when the time comes.
From recent events I believe online discourse is an important part of society interaction. Look at the media attention over the CEO, instead of just demonizing him, they had to spend time trying to fight all the online support and looked like fools during it.
I just try to channel Gramsci:
“You must realize that I am far from feeling beaten…it seems to me that… a man out to be deeply convinced that the source of his own moral force is in himself — his very energy and will, the iron coherence of ends and means — that he never falls into those vulgar, banal moods, pessimism and optimism. My own state of mind synthesises these two feelings and transcends them: my mind is pessimistic, but my will is optimistic. Whatever the situation, I imagine the worst that could happen in order to summon up all my reserves and will power to overcome every obstacle.”
and this dude was dying in a fascist prison and able to hold this outlook. i find it inspiring
Build community locally, spend time with friends and family cultivating relationships, do something generous for someone else, volunteer for a charity or activism, build an interest in a creative hobby that exercises your imagination. Follow your curiosity and our common interests in discovery and exploration through education and experimentation.
Act to change it and be at peace mentally knowing that you have dedicated your life to the struggle and you have done all you can.
Watch the telly. Television tends to keep people somewhat informed but apathetic.
If they’d make people actually feel the horrors of the world, then people would stop watching. They know this so what they do is deliver it all in a way that promotes apathy. They do show you things but structure it so that the implicit message is: don’t worry, do watch but whatever you do, don’t worry, it’s all fine, business as usual. “New report comes out, humanity is destroying the planet faster than ever before, biodiversity is plumetting […] (jingle) there’s a genocide going on and we are supporting it […] (jingle) in other news: a baby panda was born at this zoo. […] (jingle) now for the weather. . […] (jingle) thank you for watching, see you tomorrow.”
What you’ll find is that despite you being somewhat aware of current events, most of the time it all feels like an abstract thing that doesn’t really worry you. Seldom does anything you see on the telly push you to do anything. “Some important news just reached me through the telly, that means that I will now do so and so…”, yeah right. I do nothing, maybe I walk to the fridge to get a soda, since ads do have calls to action. The news has a subliminal call to apathy. So I sit back down and continue to watch my entertainment.
Don’t fall into doomerism - news companies are companies, and negativity gets people on their platforms for much longer than positivity, it’s easy to get addicted to it. Set time limits or limit the amount of news you consume per day/per week.
Recognize that caring about something requires mental energy - if you had 1 friend who asks you to care about their hobby or learn a bit more, then you might agree, but if you have 20 friends with different hobbies asking the same thing, then there’s no way you can care about all of them. Similar thing applies to the news, recognize that you can’t care about everything and try learning how to stay informed without giving up lots of mental energy stressing about things you can’t really influence.
It’s admirable wanting to keep up with the news, but it also can be a bit of a trap and does require a degree of skill to not fall into what you describe in your post.
