Ok, this might be controversial. But when I was in my early 20s I would wake up every morning and read the news. I was also at the time suicidal. I had to stop reading or watching the news. Get offline for a little bit, become a little more ignorant. Because you canât help the world if youâre dead, you canât help the world if youâre paralysed by misery. Itâs doesnât have to be forever, itâs just for right now, just for a bit while you let yourself climb out of misery. During this break from it all first try to actively participate in your recovery (I went home to see my sister and my dad - which involved admitting to my family how bad it was which in itself was massive, it also involved telling my uni I needed extensions, asking for help from a dr, letting my friend Alice look after me, trying to eat better etc). Then if youâre starting to feel a little better, you can begin to start actively participating in your community and in theory. contrary to popular opinion, you donât need to be plugged into exactly what it going on it the world everyday to be active and involved! This can look like reading books on political theory or community building (read some Bell Hooks, Angela Davis, Marx whatever!). It can look like exactly what royallmonarch said in his response! Honestly sometimes now I switch off from actively engaging in the news, and I still can feel involved because I have enough knowledge of my own beliefs, understanding of some theory, and involved and passionate friends that I will almost always know whatâs going on and important through them. literally what is the point in knowing everything when you canât possibly act on everything? People online saying you have to witness the most horrific acts of society in order to understand the world seem to me to be people who clearly donât have as strong a sense of empathy as you or I have! (Also side note: for me important things for my recovery from years of depression and world-related anxiety involved getting of hormonal contraception, a steady and good therapist who I could see for years rather than in like 6 weeks bursts, getting a correct diagnosis and medication, and moving home to be with my family. Nothing happens in isolation, so many things shift and one day you suddenly realise itâs better. I truly believe the fact that you want to feel better is a sign that you can.) xxx
Jun 29, 2024
Related Recs
đ§Ś
man i wish i could tell you. i have felt so scared and demoralized for the past two weeks- my grades are dropping, my anxiety is spiked. but i did talk/cry to my therapist about it yesterday, and she talked/cried too a little bit, and it was very refreshing to drop this front and hear from another sane person about how scared we were for ourselves and our loved ones and everything we hold dear about humanity.
she pointed out that itâs better not to suffer alone, and we should be talking to as many people as we can about our fears and supporting each other.
she pointed out that consuming news 24/7 will probably kill you, and to set a realistic limit- like checking every other day, and if a headline makes you feel scared, force yourself to read the whole article because headlines are designed to trigger a response and oftentimes reading the entire article will reveal things arenât as bad as you thought.
she pointed out that feeling guilt over the privilege to look away from things isnât productive, and to acknowledge your privilege and use it as best as you can, and that shutting down from an overwhelming amount of information isnât helpful so we all need to be taking breaks and taking care of ourselves (as crazy as it sounds right now).
speak out loud to your anxiety as if it were a separate entity. ground yourself with the facts of the situation. are you in immediate mortal danger? probably not. there are probably objective positives and negatives to acknowledge and getting through and above your emotion might help you navigate the day.
otherwise, hold your loved ones close, make art, boycott evil corporations, speak out wherever you can, be compassionate- i feel so powerless but if we all hold on to our integrity, who knows what could happen. maybe truth and equality will prevail. it might be ten years from now but things, god willing, can get better. and i hope it does when people wake up to the class struggle that is happening right now
Feb 5, 2025
â
i too have been feeling a lot of dread regarding literally everything....it's really tough to remain grounded when you are constantly being bombarded with breaking news about heartless acts everyday but this is a time to turn to your community. it's easy to get caught up in the news but what is really happening in your neighborhood right now? what's going on in ur city, with ur friends, ur family, ur local cultural centers? those are the places that need our attention the most not the horrible men doing things to shock us intentionally. now is the best time to start volunteering, see what's up with the non-profits in your area, join some protests, and of course always always always shop local. we can't let our fear paralyze us, yes things are changing and it's scary but we will get through it like we always have.
Feb 5, 2025
đĄ
I think yes mossyelfie has it right - small deeds, connect with your local community and friends, reach out and connect with people when you can. We are all in this together, to varying extents.
That being said, it is really really bad. Unprecedented. If youâre in the US, I would also say that reaching out to your representatives and state AG is important. They are the ones weâve elected to protect and defend the constitution on our behalf, and we have to support and empower them to do their jobs, but there is no question itâs going to be hard.
I also thoroughly recommend being intentional about drawing barriers. Set time aside to stop scrolling, read a book, go for a walk and remember the world is still beautiful. Nature continues on. The world keeps turning.
Feb 5, 2025
Top Recs from @mouse
I am by no means traditionally religious, but I fully understand how being in the presence of beautiful stained glass can feel like being with god. ALWAYS stop off at a church on the way if you think it might have good stained glass. The bluebells in the bottom right corner of this made me loose my breath for a moment.
Apr 24, 2025
Apr 14, 2025
I used to be envious of people who had âMySpace friendsâ or âtumblr friendsâ. Now I have PI.FYI friends. Thank you capyboppy for your lovely letter and this illustration of a capybara and a mouse with fruit on our heads, it made me weirdly emotional â¤ď¸
Jun 11, 2024