How can we bear all the bad news in the world today?

The destruction of the earth’s eco-system as we know it (and as it will support us and many other familiar species) is the one that gets me no matter what.

The other prospects are also dire (especially if the eco-system is going to collapse), but for those, you might find comfort in reading some history, as humans have done worse to each other.

Also cultural and psychological ideas have been developing, at least amongst non-backwards people. I think the culture wars are actually a sign that culture is developing in an overall progressive way, but what we’re seeing are reactions from people chafing at that.

From childhood to adulthood, my generation (Gen X) has been plagued with the threat of thermonuclear war, watching the space shuttle blow up and kill our heroes, watching endless wars/actions, watching our country devastate other countries, watching the destruction of the planet and the sad state of our oceans, watching the extinction of animals, and all kinds of scary thing’s we can’t control. Many of us had to practically raise ourselves so we didn’t really learn HEALTHY coping mechanisms from our parents.

One thing that always stuck with me is we should ‘be the change we want to see.’
Maybe we can’t clean the entire world, but we can clean our neighborhood or city.
We can recycle and compost, and try not to add to the trash heaps. (There really is no trash, everything you throw away is landing somewhere else.)
We can not have children, and not add to an overpopulated world with limited resources.

~You cultivate an attitude of gratitude by taking time out every day to focus on the positive. Any time you experience negative or pessimistic thoughts, use this as a cue to shift gears and think about something positive. In time, a positive attitude will become a way of life.~

On a personal note, I’m sorry you’re feeling so stressed. Try to remember we’re all in this together.

@KNOWITALL Good advice but the sad thing is we’re actually not “all in this together” with the new laws in Texas, people denying climate change, anti-vaxxers, etc. That’s the most depressing part; that we could solve some of the big problems but we don’t collectively have the will to.

@janbb People die to come to America every single day. People live in dictatorships who wouldn’t even be allowed to post what you did today. Only you can find reasons to be grateful, it’s very easy for me because the news shows us daily what life is like elsewhere.

I get it and feel exactly the same. I ended up deleting the news shortcut on my phone and computer. While I do still get a steady trickle of information, it’s not as easy to read about it for hours in a spiral of doom. It’s made a difference in my energy level, for sure.

You say it doesn’t feel responsible to ignore the headlines completely – well, you don’t have to. You can get one of those warning apps for local weather-related news to protect yourself, and check in on global news for a couple hours once a week or so. You’re a conscientious penguin living life according to your values already. In reality, the world benefits more when you can use your energy to bring that into your local community and the world, instead of reading about what’s left to be fixed.

Here’s someone who struggled with depression for thirty years:

“Equally important, I resorted to turning off the news. I don’t need more information on how badly broken we are as a society anymore. All additional information seems gratuitous. Unnecessary additional trauma distracting me from my ultimate goal: radically reimagining society. What I do doesn’t solve societal collapse, but it allows me to process it better and adapt to it better, so I can make it better.” – John Gorman.

Good question.

I don’t think we can bear it. Some degree of turning it all off and ignoring it is necessary to stay sane. That really dawned on me earlier this year when I was browsing news headlines on my phone and saw one that said “as bad as the delta variant is, the next one may be even worse” and I just had to question what I was even doing. Why was I wasting time “doomscrolling”? If the next variant is even worse, there’s nothing I can do to prevent it. I’m already doing everything I can (I’ve been vaccinated, I wear a mask, I don’t go to big gatherings, etc.). The key is to focus on what you can control and not get bogged down in everything that’s completely out of your control.

This became even more relevant this past month. I’ll admit that as bad as the social turmoil is, it’s the worsening climate that gets me down the most. No one can tell me it isn’t getting worse because I’m seeing it get worse with my own eyes. I’m seeing California get drier and drier by the year (we received six inches of rain this year—it’s supposed to be closer to twenty), I’m seeing the dead trees, the smoky sky, and places I loved (El Dorado National Forest) burn to the ground.

One thing that has worked for me is becoming a bit more insular. I’ll pay attention to what directly affects me (what are the current masking rules? is there an outbreak in my county? what is the air quality like? is somewhere I was planning on visiting soon currently on fire?) but I can’t worry about everything that’s wrong with the world or I won’t be able to handle it all. Because there’s no denying that I’ve been more pessimistic about life in the past couple of years than I ever have before.

I watch and read less news. Out of sight out of mind is really true for most of us. Focus on friends and family and fun and helping others.

At the same time I do think about what if the worst happens, and I do bits of thinking and researching about what I need to have know if I had to leave the country, but not obsessively or compulsively.

I realize that “bad News” is what the media concentrates on so in that vein I balance it with good news as well.
I end the day thinking about whats good in this ever changing world but I don’t shut out the news entirely as one day it would be imperative to know especially in a crises.
Balance is more important for all to stay sane.
Media lives on reporting the News even if its bad.
I look at it as being informed of the world and bad news makes me more appreciative of my life in a free country and if I can alleviate some stress for others I do when I can comfortably.
I donate to causes, get on platforms ( social media ) and offer whatever positive actions,or sentiments where I can.
That’s all we can do at this time, but its something.

Stop dwelling on the negative and think about some of the positive things that have happened. A hundred years ago we could not have grown enough food to support our population. With advances in farming techniques and yes, genetic engineering, we now can. Pandemics have been around since the beginning of time and will always be a danger but we always find a way to solve them. Species are always evolving or dying out. Dinosaurs went extinct before humans even existed. We didn’t cause that. Every time we advance the human condition we also create problems but the truth is we keep living longer and better with each decade. In 1920 our life expectancy was 54, now it is 75. Seems like a good thing. Fires and floods are natures way of rejuvenating the land, we either learn to manage the them better or nature will manage them for us. Things may not be as wonderful as you hope but they are not as bad as the doom sayers would lead you to believe. Don’t sit back in your air-conditioned house, living a long and fruitful life, and watching TV while worrying about the end of the world. We’ll be fine as long as we don’t allow the doom sayers to destroy everything we’ve built.

Thanks all for the advice!

Amen to that.
I focus on my grandchildren, and remember we have gotten through worse trouble before.

I wondered about that myself!!! I looked at the news the other day and saw: Afghanistan withdrawal, Houma destruction from Hurricane Ida, Covid spreading, Antivax disinformation, the port on Louisiana responsible for off shore oil is knocked out along with 2 million people with no power, billions of dollars worth of weapons and equipment falling into the Taliban’s hands.
I always thought the stock market was a fair indicator of the state of the world itself. Each one of these should be enough to rattle the market.
Instead it actually went up. Koyaanisqatsi
Maybe the world is in better shape than we think.

This poem says what I wanted to say.

Yes

It could happen any time, tornado,
earthquake, Armageddon. It could happen.
Or sunshine, love, salvation.

It could, you know. That’s why we wake
and look out – no guarantees
in this life.

But some bonuses, like morning,
like right now, like noon,
like evening.

William Stafford

Humanity has been through much worse. The period of 1930s through early 50s was a bad time to be alive. World War, Great depression, Holocaust in Europe, Japan and Germany swallowing half the world. London and environs being bombed almost daily. And the early cold war years, some of which I can remember. Bomb or “disaster drills”, where kids hide under our desk, as if that will protect you from nuclear fall out. Life has never been a bowl of cherries, at any point in time.

Know that people and the planet have survived much worse, many times before :
https://youtu.be/CMOoDAOhgwM

And remember this -

“There were two weaknesses more serious than the rest: Lack of persistence and lack of self-control. Persist and resist. Each morning when you wake again, tell yourself you are rising to the work of life”.
– Marcus Aurelius, 172 AD

@JLoon I like that quote.

Well, here’s some good news at least:

https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/03/politics/jack-markell-afghan-resettlement/index.html

How much can you drink??

@janbb I’ll raise you 5,000 refugees

^^ Great!

Watch and dance with this

Stop looking at the bad news and subscribe to good news only.

@YARNLADY That is an antidote but it doesn’t put out the fires burning up the West or quell the hurricanes.

@janbb It doesn’t guarantee that an asteroid won’t wipe us all out tomorrow either, but since there is no guarantee, stop the worry

Telling someone to stop worrying is not helpful. @janbb has some real concerns that patting her butt and sending her on her way doesn’t work.

@chyna See the site I linked for more information.

Just keep cool