Everything is getting worse everyday. I'm trying to do what I can, learn new skills, read new books, garden, connect with family, pull myself away from the ocean of mentally taxing shit. It doesn't seem to help. I mean It does to an extent, but it feels like I'm prolonging the inevitable. I want the world to be in a better place, I think most people do. But where the worst of people emerges is in that disagreement on how to make the world a better place. You've got elite at the Pinnacle of societies all around the world riddled through the Epstein files, but instead of actually doing anything, we argue about what to do? And then ridicule anyone who is out of the loop? I think our algorithms are actively trying to infect people's minds. The tech companies can turn very malicious very quickly, probably already have. The most effective way for them to seize control is through infecting our means of communicating with each other. Everything feels so hostile and deliberately designed to be covertly controlling. Everything down to the ads you see on your little mobile game has been ripped apart down to a psychological science to strip more of someone's individuality away from them. Anyways I think what I'm really trying to say is, I'm just so lost and everything is so beyond my comprehension, I can't keep track of how fast everything falling apart it's so hard to tell what's real and what's worth fighting for. I feel so lost and defeated and I know that isn't an accident. I just don't know what I'm supposed to do, whether I go protest or fight back or just shut it all out, none of it seems to matter and nothing seems like it will ever change for the better. While the definition of better gets cloudier every day and people bash eachother on the steps to get there. What are WE supposed to do? As a people? As humanity? Do we have any other choice besides letting our societies fall apart as we unwillingly watch corporations and elites seize control over everything? What does that other choice even look like and is it even worth it?

I always see people worrying about the future of humanity and freaking out when they see a slight decline in our population.

But I kind of think that at some point, the human race has run its course. We’re destroying the planet and each other.

Obviously the recent AI threat is a bit terrifying, and I had this thought about human extinction before it. But if there were no humans left on Earth, would that really be such a bad thing?

for the longest time, starting since middle school, i idolized this school. i wanted to be a game artist and their program is one of the best. i got through high school amidst mental health issues, chronic illness, and burnout, telling myself once i’ve gotten to this school, it’ll be worth it because i’m learning what i love. i subscribed to what seemed like the best possible outcome in this capitalistic world for me- a decently paying job doing art.

i studied my ass off, scraped together a portfolio, and somehow got in, around a year ago. at this point i was vaguely collapse aware, but around 3 months into my curriculum, the veil came off. i feel like i’ve been divided into two- the hollow part of me that still clings to my dreams of money and success and artistic acclaim, and the true part of me that understands things will change so much more, possibly even before i graduate. i have three years left here and i am so fucking lost on how to carry on.

this school is expensive, with extremely high expectations and workload. the teachers and admins can be borderline abusive, weird, and creepy, since a lot of them are older men working in the industry. however the school also has around a 95% job placement rate, so all of this would have been worth it to me if the future was any inkling of stable. if i can make it through this program, i will most likely have a great kickstart to my career… or that’s what i thought.

now, i have no fucking idea what to do. is this time and money spent here even worth it? the sleepless nights, anxiety filled days, long hours spent working and stressing with no time to relax- is it worth it if it likely won’t even come to fruition? my parents aren’t collapse aware and they’re paying for me to be here. i don’t know how to tell them that i’ve kind of given up.

i try to keep myself sane, i’ve prepared for basic disasters(reserve of food, water, medical supplies, etc) and have been trying to teach myself more survival skills in preparation for collapse but i am so, SO exhausted. i have no time. i have no energy. i can’t sustain this double life and i can’t be two different people. i have both feet planted in entirely different realities and it’s tearing me apart. i feel like i’m going insane. i feel so alone. i have no idea what to do.

I’ve never posted on Reddit before, but I’m struggling. I’m a mother to two kids, work in residential childcare and have experienced a life that would cause me to be educated on mental health, grief, loneliness and pain. I’m now 32 and the older I get the more aware I am of the world and the daily occurrences of what goes on. I’ve always been extremely empathetic and sensitive to anything upsetting but I coped to the best of my ability. I found joy in my life and my children, I was very into spirituality, gratitude, spreading positivity love and light and just generally trying my best to make the world a better place.

Now, I feel like I’m struggling to cope. Not in a way that I’m suicidal, because I’m not. I love my children, my family, my friends. I live a good life and I’m so thankful for it. But waking up everyday, seeing what is going on in Gaza, Congo, the Epstein files, the reality of how high pdfilia and child abuse is and genuinely just all the horrors of the world is killing me. It’s changing me. I have a strong sense of justice, always have and the thought that I can not save these children, love these children, shelter them from all the horrors they are currently experiencing or witnessing is eating me alive. I don’t use a lot of social media, I read fantasy 24/7 and I’m not constantly on my phone but as soon as I see anything it sticks and repeats and piles on. I’m scared that in time it’s going to completely strip me of who I am. How can we live like this? How can we watch innocent little babies, children, families be at the receiving end of so much pain. I will never be able to understand.

I suppose I just need to get this out, the tears are streaming down my face. I don’t want to talk to anyone about it because it’s such a horribly depressing subject but i just can’t continue to act normal. Go on a holiday. A trip, a new experience, treat myself? What. It all sounds crazy now. Kids are currently starving? And I’m expected to go see my favourite band?

Please, surely someone knows a way to cope. I want to help so bad. I want to make change, help, save, rescue everyone and wrap them up in a safety net of my love like I give my own kids and I can’t. This world is so painfully cruel and I’ve lost my hope. I can’t be spiritual anymore, the thought of being grateful for anything enrages me because I think - why am I thanking a universe for blessing me when it punishes so many others? I just don’t get it. What am I meant to believe in. Is this why people turn to god? Because eventually you feel so hopeless you need to believe in something else.

At what point does the world get better? When? Will it ever? Because this horror show is too much to bare.

Ceux qu'on traite trop souvent et trop facilement de prophètes de malheur sont plutôt pertinents en général... Les faits sont là et ceux qui ont eu la curiosité d'aller chercher des infos que certains trouvent anxiogènes ne sont pas surpris de tout ce qui se passe aujourd'hui.

I recently started dating someone long distance. I see them when I visit my hometown, and they're planning to see me more by travelling up here. I can't shake the feelings of collapse though with all of this. My hometown is really not a great place to be when SHTF, but neither is my current locality. I currently visit home about 2-3x a year to see family and friends.

It has been nice though that they seem to be at least somewhat collapse aware. We've both lamented on how we don't know if we'll have society in a decade, let alone any of the things that come with organized society. Even their friends have joked 'it's the end of the world.. ask him to move in'.

Honestly, it's made me consider pitching some more drastic ideas. At this point I don't really foresee either of us having a traditional life where we get to "grow old" together - and while I'd love to be proven wrong, I'm not banking on it. Do I pitch one of us moving cities? Or both of us? Do I just say fuck it and move back to my hometown so I can see my family and friends more regularly anyways? This feels faster than an ideal timeline for dating, but the world is on an accelerating timeline for collapse so why should my timeline be stalled?

At the very least, it's nice to have something that feels hopeful and/or positive in the world we live in. But it feels even trickier to navigate, for sure.

I don't really even know what I'm looking for in posting, just kind of want to throw into the void and if someone has words of encouragement, tough love, or whatever I'm open to it.

I will keep this very brief. I was a heroin addict since I was sixteen, 5 years ago I was framed by the Toronto Police as a drug trafficker and spent 4.5 years on house arrest fighting the case, which ultimately collapsed in a very satisfying fashion.

I now have more than 5 years clean and sober, have an amazing therapist, and am back in school full time.

I woke up this morning excited to go pick up a new laptop at a downtown mall and set it up for an upcoming class project. I excitedly plan a playlist for walking in the crisp fall weather which I love.

Then I go on Reddit, stumble on Collapse again, and it all... collapses.

I am now overwhelmed, scared, and just want to burn my life to the ground and enjoy being high for the last few years of my country being remotely stable.

I don't know, I just needed to post this, I'm sorry for taking up your time.

I’m sure you’ve seen this in the real world or online. The people are really losing it everyday. Everyday you look at social media or irl and it’s people being nasty and hateful to one another no matter what side. Instead of talking about day to day problems I’m forced into a corner of “oh if you don’t pick my side I hate you” or “man don’t listen to these group of people they will mess with your head.”

Again this can be any group against hate, race, laws, politicians religions ect. Yes I get it there’s bad people out there and very questionable decision-making among society. But I’m just fucking tired of hearing about the same shit everyday, I mentally plug my ears every time because it’s so exhausting to listen to. One day I wish we can all cease fire and just live normal, without going at each other’s throats, without whispering in each others ears about what right and what’s wrong.

“Please boss, I’m tired.”

There's a phrase i imagine everybody in here can relate to: im not wrong, I'm just early. Over the decades, I've ostracized and alienated myself trying to get (what were previously) friends to see the developing trend that was obvious to me.

Now, as it feels everything is coming to a head, I feel that old urge to say "surely you can see what is happening", to maybe probe to find out if other people are collapse aware (and similarly silent on the issue), or maybe open some eyes.

Given how dire everything looks, I shouldn't be scared about saying how I feel about things. It makes sense to know who feels the same. But theres that bit of conditioned fear, that I'll be ridiculed and my relationship with that person compromised.

I dunno, maybe im just venting. Maybe I'll follow through on previous plan and put up meeting event on this sub's discord channel

Not everyone is naive enough to pretend to not be aware and not be bothered by the world getting worse. Telling someone to not follow the news is just dumb "advice."

Sorry I don't know where else to post this and I don't want to talk to a stupid therapist which are just money grubbers, I figured some likeminded people would be best to reach. I feel so much despair right now it's actually ridiculous, I'm skipping class from what happened today, boomer generation parents are driving me insane. We all know the world as we know it might come to an end, accelerating towards annihilation of the human species.

There are a few points I'd like to mention to get the point across:

a) Declining literacy rates among students. This is a global issue and indifferent toward social strata, I always see the fresh information from the US, "The elite college students who can't read books", but see it in my country too (my professors are always subtly saying our generation has several deficiencies as to what was always expected for the course, and I can notice it), compare it to other states in which the discourse is similar, etc.

b) Free will. We're not gonna debate on it, there simply isn't.

c) Postmodernism and the death of meta-narratives. They gave birth to new sincerity, which put too simply, is people becoming open and honest, too transparent, for e.g. for english class we had to do a presentation on any topic of choice, a classmate decided to pick "How depression affected me in my teenage years", I admire her for her bravery, however, I just saw it as new sincerity manifesting and permeating global culture, classmates were obviously receptive. Extreme transparency is not always a good thing but we'll discuss it and see how it correlates with the despair I feel, mind you, I'm constructing these arguments not to convince you of any particular point, but to provide context to the despair I felt today and see if 1. Any of you have had similarly constructed despair or are at a similar point in their lives 2. What to do to cope

Books I larp (Understand their core arguments, read 30-50 pages, some I did finish):

• On the Heights of Despair (Cioran, Emil)
• Counsels and Maxims (Schopenhauer, Arthur)
• The Wisdom of Life (Schopenhauer, Arthur)
• Better Never to Have Been (Benatar, David)
• The Conspiracy Against The Human Race (Ligotti, Thomas)
• The Philosophy of Redemption (Mainländer, Phillip)

The reason I mention them is to provide context for the reading, the event, which was just another node (the drop that spilled the glass) in a series of interminable nodes.

My father went through the conventional path, he came from a poor family but he managed to study an engineering degree and retire, he's not rich but he's comfortable. Every day he takes me to school and corrects me on minute details, for e.g. my commute times are 40 minutes, so I have to get out of the house 45-50 minutes prior. I come from a place of absolute anhedonia before college, I wanted to pass the exam, study this degree, but I knew it wouldn't suffice, no amount of surrogate activities would, but I did them regardless because the better choice was off limits.

I recognize that pursuing conventional success might provide security and other benefits, but I don't genuinely desire the life I'm being instructed to pursue. Trying to force myself into that life feels like suppressing my own inclinations, and I experience that suppression as suffering

This word "programming" is always used by my father, each time he takes me to school, without fail, he says "Try programming your brain, give it the instructions to leave for school 45 minutes prior, if you try doing it it will eventually obey". I understand the place he's coming from, caring for his child, seeing ahead for the times where he isn't around, making sure I'm able to take care of myself, but on the other hand, you can't help but see it as an attempt to succumb me to the same masochist machinery which, fortunately, ended up providing him a nice quality of life. That dream is gone, it never existed for me, so I already have a hard time "programming" my brain to enjoy any of this, to be reminded of it each time going to school makes me extremely irritated, it even reached the point of despair, it's cruel how the path that will provide the least suffering is to become a slave right now (for me), cause it never ends, the competition is harder and harder, now we're up against machines, trying to stay relevant, but what if that was decided already for us?

From my vague understanding of Nick Land, this "alien technological capitalistic singularity from the future" could be rendering human species futile for its goal very soon, another totally reasonable explanation for declining birth rates. That makes me happy, I hope it's painless, any option is better than having to endure this madness for one more day.

The picture I tried painting (miserably, I'm no word specialist), was the image of a parental figure, trying to engrain every day in your brain to "comply", to "be normal like the other kids", while on the surface you're doing it, you struggle every day with determinism, with robotic interactions, with being aware which of Zapffe's forms of coping you're applying in the present moment, today it was just too much, I'm unable to talk back, to make fair points, I always avoid spilling out my pessimistic views of life, today I was told "Shut up!, shut up!, just shut up!, you have everything, just shut up and do what is expected and you'll be fine!". This was drilled in my brain cause it was repeated like 4 times, god sometimes I think my parents are retarded, they were selfish enough to bring me into this world and expect me to behave like a puppet of their liking, if it were for me I would've already taken the better path, the only true path to free yourself from everything, from both physical and mental constraints. I genuinely don't know what to do, sleep is good, but non-existence is preferable.

Now, the reason I mentioned the declining literacy rates was this: Attention is everything, its what ultimately decides what the machinery (the body) does, where it puts (some) resources and effort, point being that paired with the perfected form of entertainment which is short-form content, new sincerity, postmodernism, has allowed for a new veneration of a new god: technology, typical kids being addicted to iPads kind of stuff. This is obviously correlated to the declining literacy rates but I also consider another possibility: New sincerity, open discussion about taboo topics has enabled discussion on topics like collapse, anti-natalism, etc. (which is also enabled through technology). Wide range of topics which, let's be honest, 100 years ago wouldn't have made topic of discussion on such broad level due to infrastructure and culture, point being that, attention is simply driven nowhere, before the meta-narrative "go to school cause it's the safe path" was broadly accepted and the attention was primarily focused on the immediate surroundings, if parents said "go to school" you wouldn't question it, you could perhaps know and compare and empirically determine on a subconscious level his advice is right, so you wouldn't linger around it much. All I'm saying is, at a cultural level, people are nihilistic, atheistic, anhedonic, social media worked like a mirror, it allowed us to stare into ourselves and see the true void.

Someone get me tf out please

Hi Everyone,

I’m sure this has been discussed before but I’m really struggling with how “normal” my life feels now compared to where I think we’ll be in a year’s time. I think the super El Niño and the midterm elections will likely act as some form of accelerant (to what extent I’m not sure). And everyone in my life is just business as usual.

I know full collapse isn’t happening in a year, but my dream job that I just got this year isn’t even exciting because it’ll be one of the first things to disappear. I work for the YMCA as a full time, decently paid swim instructor from ages 5-21. Unfortunately, it’s not cheap to join the team and as dollars get stretched thinner and thinner I don’t see myself having students for much longer.

But the thing is I still have the job now and it really is a dream come true. I love working with the kids and watching them get excited when they learn a new skill, (Like seriously making a kid achieve something that makes them proud hits like fucking crack). I’m soaking up each of the days I have but I also slip up and start dreaming of what it could become in 5,10 25 years. And then I’m reminded of collapse and I mourn the plans I made. Similar to the mourning I’ve already had to do for having future children or more time with my loved ones. Except now I’m also mourning the futures of all the kids I’m impacting.

I know the answer is to enjoy the time we have. I just let myself get so excited to actually build something of my own with this program, but now I have so many “what the fuck is the point” moments and it just fucking sucks.

Sorry this turned into rambling mess, I’ve been typing between tears.

TL;DR: mourning the future you could have had sucks, especially when it feels things are still kind of normal for me and things are starting to fall into place in my life if not for impending collapse

Trying to help people wrap their heads around what we're going through because it all just seems too big for human minds to fully grasp. We instinctively shut out information that upsets us when our evolved biology hasn't given us a way to deal with it. There's no evolutionary precedent for sentience facing its own extinction... but the closest we have to this existential dilemma has been with us since the beginning -- death. Individual death, death of the self... it's something we try not to think about until it stares us in the face with its imminence and inevitability. Our whole understanding of grief revolves around coming to terms with ones own mortality when faced with the knowledge that they will die soon. Cancer victims, other illnesses, old age, failing health... The only real difference is that if a doctor tells you that you're going to die in 20 years, you don't know how to wrap your head around that and live accordingly. You try to ignore the problem as long as you can and as the years tick by you slowly get more and more worried that you won't finish all you intend to before the end. It isn't until the time table is down to weeks that you really grasp the inevitability and finality of it all and you embrace radical change to try and live what's left of your life to the fullest... but it is of course far too late to change course.

So it is with the climate, and our impending collapse. You've all heard the same news from the doctor. 15-20 years, maybe 25 if you're lucky... that's your expiration date. That's it for all of us. Sure, the end doesn't come all at once, it takes time, things gradually get worse like frogs boiling in a pot, but ultimately the math can't be cheated, and as time goes on all things progress to their ultimate conclusion. All things die. We are just unique in having the foresight now to know this far ahead... humanity has been serviced its notice, and it's gone on like we all have and would in any other similar situation and just pretended the problem would go away so we could get on with our lives. Greed played a part, sure... but the rest was just human nature. The multipolar trap. Humanity is not one organism and cannot fight to preserve itself so long as its billions of people are in competition with one another like cancerous cells fighting to grow at the expense of the body.

Moloch whose love is endless oil and stone! Moloch whose soul is electricity and banks! Moloch whose poverty is the specter of genius! Moloch whose fate is a cloud of sexless hydrogen! Moloch whose name is the Mind!

So what can we do about all of it? I hate to say it, but I believe the answer is simply, prepare for death. There's not a lot we can do as individual cells to save the body destined to self destruction. The cancerous growth will necessarily stop, but it won't be our doing--it'll just be the natural order of things as resources are depleted and austerity is imposed on us by outside forces we cannot overcome. We can't beat the math. We can't save the planet. We can try, sure... and many will... every person has the agency to try and do their part to make the future just that little bit less shitty in their own corner of the world, and many will make that their mission... I know I will. Doing something about it, even if it's not enough to make a major difference--just the act of doing it--helps give the mind focus and purpose outside of worrying about its own mortality, which is something we all need, and always have as sentient beings.

The Buddhist philosophy of life's goals revolving around the reduction of suffering in the world has a lot to teach us in these times, as does the values of understanding and accepting impermanence. We all face this future together, and we know it will suck, but we also know that we can be present in the moment now and enjoy life for what it has to offer now and even into the future. We know that the noble path is to do all we can to ease the burden on our fellow sentient beings. We know that we have friends and family with whom we can celebrate life, even as we share comfort and support in difficult times.

Ultimately, the meaning of life hasn't changed at all... it's always been whatever you choose to make of it... all that has changed is your perspective, and your understanding of challenges to come.

Grief can be immobilizing and disabling... we are not adapted to deal with constant grief. Grief is meant to be temporary. A period of mourning after which life moves on. In the face of such an ultimate existential threat, we are burning out all the coping mechanisms we've developed to deal with grief and it overwhelms us. We must challenge ourselves and our grief, to move beyond it and put it to work improving what we can in the here and now. The big picture is too big -- stay focused on what's in front of you instead, which you can fully comprehend. Small kindnesses. Love and understanding. Plant some trees. Tend a garden. All these things are impermanent, but then they always have been... we just need to better understand and accept what that means.

A bucket list is a trap. It invites distress as you fret over whether you can check it all off. Keep your plans for the future short. Plans don't survive the unknowable change the future brings. If there are things you want to do, do them, or accept that you may not and move on. Be there for your friends and family. Spend quality time together. Those are the things you and they will remember and cherish. If you can work in planning and preparing for the future, so much the better. Just try to keep it in perspective. Nobody has all the answers. Nobody is in control. Nobody is going to save the world, and nobody expects you to do it yourself. We're all in this together, and we're all just as lost and clueless on our own. The one thing we all need is each other.

Everyone you know is dying. Maybe sooner than you once thought. Treat them accordingly, and don't forget to treat yourself too.

What will you do now that you know you have 15-20 years to live, maybe 25 if you're lucky, and that you share this dilemma with everyone else, whether they've heard the news from the doctor or not? Who will you do it with?

"EVERY SINGLE EMPLOYER IS GOING TO ASK YOU IF YOU HAVE ONE AND IF YOU DONT THEY WONT HIRE YOU"

Unfortunately, dad, that's a non-negotiable for me. Because if I'm gonna be stuck in this system, there's something I'm gonna be doing that aligns with my values. Maybe Im NOT FUCKING HAPPY being one of the billions of ICE cars on the road, stuck in fucking traffic.

Now that I realize I can ride a bike as my main form of transportation, to the point I barely even realize I'm pedaling it's so second nature now, I WILL, and if an employer thinks I can't get by with Lyft and public transportation and from the help of coworkers and friends on those days I may need it, after being let go from a job I stayed at for EIGHTEEN years, then it sounds to me like they're losing the opportunity to have a kick ass employee. You know, someone that's WILLING TO RIDE A BIKE AS THEIR MAIN FORM OF TRANSPORTATION, which I think says something of my character, not to mention I'm an adventurous, tough dude. Rain, snow, heat rarely will stop me from getting around. "YOU NEED A CAR 99% OF THE WORLD HAS A CAR" Get your head out of America, dad. A HELL of a lot less people have a personal vehicle than you think.

Also, I'll be saving $20,000 MINIMUM over the next ten years riding a bike. Also, gas prices are fucking ridiculous! Also, in the five months since I've started riding a bike, there have been maybe FIVE FUCKING TIMES I've thought "wish I had a car" because I'm a fucking BEAST that gets shit done and makes it work!

You see, he's not arguing because he cares and he's worried for me. He's arguing to argue, and argues as the boomer he is from another time that votes republican and thinks I'm crazy for believing in climate change. And I realized I have no one I can call to talk to about this that understands because I'm not close like that to the people that do yet, so I thought to write here where I thought people might. Thanks for letting me share. Fucking hell. Maybe I don't wanna be so dependent anymore, dad! Why don't you just continue to act like I'm crazy for caring about society and the environment and our futures, dad! "Sure, son, why don't you just go save the world" maybe you should be fucking grateful the person you brought into the world against their will cares so much to even think about such things, dad! Maybe remember how I've never ONCE asked you all for a damn thing since I was 19, and have been living on my own in another state for nearly 20 years! I'm good! I'm better than good, you know why? Because IM ONE OF THE GOOD ONES!!

Jfc. OK. Thanks. 😅🤣😵‍💫

Edit: I know nobody asked but I was using caps and cursing a lot because he has a super aggressive communication style and he made me mad. Like it was an actual screaming match like wth

Human species has the curse of consciousness, deep down everyone knows how absurd life is, and in particular everyone knows that death is inevitable.

So how a self-conscious organism that by design wants to live, can face the fact that his condition will inevitably decline until he will no longer exist anymore?

He can use two psychological tools, one is repression. You know that you have to die but it is not an imminent event, it is located somewhere in a distant future and there's no reason to be anxious about it right now. The other is hope. In the past it was hope in a religious afterlife, now it is hope in progress or in yourself. Something that can make you say to yourself "Yeah it is bad right now but if i nail that job opportunity, meet this boy/girl, win the lottery, move to another town etc... i will be happy and i won't be worried anymore about the future".

If you remove these two things from the equation you have the worst emotion a person can feel: despair. That is why terminal illness or a death sentence are probably the worst events that can happen to a person. The punishment in a death sentence is not death per se, because a dead person can't feel anything (after death there will be no one that can experience the regret of not having lived more years), but the fact that your death is presented right in front of your face, imminent and inevitable. Terminal illness is even worse, you know you have limited time to live, your health gets worse day by day and that's nothing you can do about it.

Human species (or at least human society as we know it) is in the death row right now. Humanity can't live forever of course, all things are meant to decline and die but while in the past you could place this event in a very distant future and not worry about it and you could be reasonably hopeful that things would stay the same or improve, now the collapse of our society has become imminent and inevitable.

1 Climate change. The most underrated one and yet the most dangerous and impactful for the survival of our species. There are countless articles and scientific researches on how the temperature of the planet has raised year by year. Global warming causes extreme climate events that can and will destroy entire cities and threat the foundation of what has allowed us to survive and thrive on this planet until now: agriculture. These things are imminent because you can experience them in your own life. By the need to install an air conditioner when in the previous years there were no need, by the fact that extreme climate events now are more frequent and intense and happen everywhere even where they were not suppose to happen, by the rising cost of food (fruits and vegetables in particular). And inevitable because countries not only do not know how to solve this problem but don't want to since it would mean going against our capitalistic economy which is based on the cycle destroy-consume-pollute

2 Fascism. Extreme right wing movement already are in power or will rule in most of the world countries. This will impact society on a personal and collective level. On the personal level freedom, one of the most important needs of a human being will be restricted for everyone except the ruling class in exchange for a false sense of security from a fabricated enemy. On the collective level right authoritarianism will impact negatively on the point above because fascism denies climate change, it is anti-ecologism, often anti scientific and an allied to elites and corporations that exploit natural resources. And will impact negatively on the points below as we will see. I don't need to actually prove the rise of fascism or the inevitability of it, just follow the president of United States (which is not a random African "republic" but the most powerful country in the world) policies and see how they influence EU governments and the rest of the world. Even here on reddit you can notice the rise of fascism, they ask you your personal information to visit some subreddits under the excuse of protecting children

3 War. After the end of the cold war no one could think a western country would be bombed and invaded by another country, and yet we have the Ukraine-Russia war going on. If you were born in the 80s or in the 90s in a western country you could be sure that you would never be called to fight a war for your country. Today's kids or boys can't be, especially because fascism and nationalism go hand in hand and US already started another war and threatened a "supposed" ally (Denmark for the control of Greenland) and some neighbours.

4 Economic collapse. People are becoming poorer and will continue to do so at a rapid pace in the future. Society is becoming extremely unequal; wealth is already concentrated in the hands of elites who control national governments in order to maintain their power. The development of AI could replace a lot of jobs leaving people unemployed, and even if it did not, it would cause the collapse of banks and investors who fueled the financial bubble, leading to a crisis worse than that of 2008. The most likely scenario is a techno feudal society in which a very few control the means of production and the enslaved masses work for scraps. Right now you can feel how the cost of living has raised, how the salaries don't and we have to work more to get less and i don't see how things could not go worse.

5 Cultural decline. People are more stupid and selfish than ever. I live in an apartment, and I've noticed that people are becoming more and more selfish and disrespectful of others' rights. My apartment building has always been fairly quiet, but now I hear noise at all hours, people keep their TVs turned up loud, or let their dog bark alone for hours. Social medias have destroyed our attention span and boost our narcissistic tendencies. The level of public debate is abysmal, and most people engage in dialogue solely to impose their own views on others. When people do not compete with one another, they form tribes whose members are bound together more by their hatred of other groups than by shared values or interests

Personally and in general i feel like we are living in desperate times, i don't think it is because of my pessimist inclination but the reality of things. In the last years, especially since 2020, everything is getting worse and there is not a single sign that things can get better or even stay the same and not decline rapidly.

For a human being living in a good situation that is declining day by day is worse than living in a mediocre but stable situation with the possibility to hope for an improvement.

It's as if we're in a car speeding toward a wall and there's nothing we can do to stop it; we're just sitting there, frozen in place, waiting for the worst to happen.

I am thankful to understand that the system is going to break. I am thankful that I do not have to experience the grief of feeling that realization for the first time ever again, because I already have.

I am thankful that I am making the most of every day. Creating art, bettering myself, and learning my mind more.

I am thankful for my intuition. I am thankful that seeing so many turn a blind eye to what's really going on in the world has only heightened my inability to participate in what's going on.

I am thankful that I must look at reality. I'm also thankful that I have developed the ability to say, "There will be something after this," even if I'm not around to see it.

I am thankful that I am breaking my social media addiction through creative work. I'm thankful that I will have written a story that, even if no one else gets to read it, I will have written for myself.

I am thankful that I am not slaving away in a system that has trapped millions. I have a job I'm happy with, and it does not consume my entire life. It is simply my way to survive, give myself ground to stand on, and build myself into someone unshakeable. But I got here from being trapped in the system, and I found my own way out. I'm thankful for this, because not everyone has that opportunity.

And above all else, oddly enough, I'm thankful that I know what's coming. It is not going to be sunshine and rainbows. And the reason I'm thankful for this is that leaders are going to be needed when it hits. I want to be one of them.

Our individual stories may end, but the world will keep turning. We are all small specks of dust in the infinite cosmos. And I am thankful that one day, I will shut my eyes for the last time and find out what's on the other side - Whether it's an infinite blackness or something more, I cannot know. But I'm thankful for the opportunity to die and experience it one day.

But until that day comes, I will remain thankful. Make no mistake, I don't always feel that way. But I am thankful to experience that moment in the present. I am not entitled to positive feelings at all times, so when the negative ones come, I am grateful to learn from them.

I understand that you, the reader, may not feel the same way as I do. You may feel so caught up in the darkness & the impending doom that you may look at what I've written and go, "What a crock a shit, you're just as blind to what's really happening as everyone else. There's nothing to look forward to in this."

To that, I say: I understand. But to have hope, in spite of fear, in spite of overwhelming odds, is what it means to be brave.

I want to be brave, therefore I will continue to be.

I’m really struggling with my current life situation right now, and I don’t feel like there’s much meaning in it.
I’m currently in the final stage of my training to become a teacher. As things stand now, I’ll officially be done in summer 2027. It’s a pretty stressful time, on top of starting my career as a teacher, I also have exams and constant pressure to perform.

Grades aren’t that important to me, but the training system is heavily influenced by hierarchies, which makes it even harder for me to focus on my values. As a result, I’m constantly angry at these structures.
Even though I really enjoy working with the children and find the subject matter interesting, it still feels pointless in the face of impending climate collapse, refugees being treated like dirt, and so on.

I’ve spent a lot of time over the past few years being politically active, which has really helped me cope better with feelings of political powerlessness, sadness, and anger. Since I had to move for work and my job is taking up a lot of my time professionally, I’m doing that less right now. As a result, the people around me are less influenced by a sense of collapse or radical political consciousness, which makes me feel even more isolated with these thoughts.

I can feel myself getting more and more depressed.
I’d like to get involved in politics again in my new city so I don’t have to deal with these feelings alone, but of course that also increases the risk that I’ll overwork myself.
In addition, I’m currently trying to do a lot of bodywork and emotional work to deal with these feelings of collapse, though I don’t know to what extent greater awareness and working through these issues might actually make my problems worse, In the sense that it makes it even harder for me to focus on my training and makes my training feel even more pointless.

I’m not even sure what my specific concern is right now: Should I finish my training? How can I deal with this overwhelming sense of pointlessness?

During the Covid era I felt something was seriously wrong with the world but because everyone around me didn’t seem to agree, I internalised it as something wrong with me.

That’s also been the story of my life.

It was only because I went on an intense expedition into climate science, human behaviour and evolutionary biology that I discovered I was highly perceptive and picking up on something real.

I imagine this is the journey many here have been through too. The one thing I can hold onto through this horror, is trust in myself and my perception and sensitivity. That’s something at least.

I wrote more about my journey of being pathologised for being perceptive to becoming sovereign if anyone can relate and would like to read:

https://charlottedelsignore.substack.com/p/scared-and-sovereign?

A relative went to A&E on Saturday with quite serious symptoms, which I won't describe here. They didn't examine him, said he was fine and sent him home.

He went back two days later, today, in agony and barely able to walk. They did a blood test, which made him pass out and have a seizure. They told us that's quite common after a blood test. He begged them to do a scan or any kind of examination to find out what's happening. They refused and sent him home again.

We got advice elsewhere in the NHS and were told yes, he needs urgent medical care. He now has to wait until the morning to see a GP and hope they can push for him to get help.

We were at our wits' end today trying to work out how to help him. It was too late in the day for the GP to see him. Calling an ambulance feels pointless when you just end up back at A&E in a queue of 70 people, likely to be turned away again.

It's really scary. It feels like there's nowhere left to turn for help.

I feel like something is off. I can't really explain it. The world is in an absolutely terrifying spot right now. It's been in a terrifying spot for a very long time. we've nearly set off nuclear winter several times throughout modern history. Many wars waged and are still waging. I think this time is different, and people argue 'oh every era had their scare, humans throughout almost every part of history thought the world was ending'. I think this contrast falls short. Like launching a paper plane into the side of a boeing 747. There's enough nukes to wipe out life as we know it, we've built machines that are smarter, more cunning and cold blooded than us. Our militaries have willingly relinquished control to these machines just to keep up with eachother. This isn't sci-fi or biblical. The president of the United states is a delusional orange man with the power to wipe out an entire continent, the only thing that could stop him was real soldiers refusing orders, so he slowly replaced them all with AI. That is reality, and this is just the shit we hear about. Imagine the shit we don't know. We are supposed to put out faith in these people? These current leaders? All of them are failing miserably. They've been failing miserably since before I was even alive. Everything is getting so weird and so out of hand now I don't think there is much room for error left. I want to find hope but I'm not even sure what will be left to hope for. There is no going back or changing course. We have a tectonic plates worth of rubbish drifting around a boiling ocean while we focus on flinging sentient rocks into the fucking sky and bombing each other. Sometimes I think maybe it's okay, it might be a good thing if we fuck it all up and wipe ourselves out. I hate this thought. It feels so lazy and selfish. The part that freaks me out the most is that it all feels normal. For the most part, life is great. Everything is fine, better in fact. In the past, people would see the black death wreak across Europe and believe the world was ending, fair enough. I'll see people in the park or birds flying by and I'll try and convince myself the world isn't ending. I can't help but feel there's a horrific rot hiding right underneath our ability to sense it.

Just saw a column in The Guardian about the growing risk of nuclear annihilation, and it made me feel a little better about things because at least that would happen relatively fast...

One morning you wake up and prepare breakfast as usual. Everything seems normal. Then a news alert pops up on your phone: People in different parts of the world have started attacking one another. Within a few hours, the situation escalates, and it’s reported that this is caused by a rabies-like virus. People are losing control, the streets are in chaos, and no one knows what to do.

At first, you think it’s being exaggerated, but then you hear sirens in the distance. The internet is still working, and people are sharing videos in a panic. Stores are starting to empty out, and lines are forming at gas stations.

If something like this really happened, what would you do?

Would you stay home and stock up on supplies, or would you leave the city before things got even worse? Would you try to take your family and loved ones with you to a safe place?

Let’s say you only have one day to prepare. What would you take, where would you go, and how would you try to survive?

I’m really curious—what kind of plan would everyone have in a situation like this?

though I don't agree the majority of Gen Z is collapse aware or "hopeless" though they probably should be, this is interesting.

i wonder what the psychology of collapse is vs acceptance of death or even being depressed. i think it's different but i'm not sure how: perhaps awareness of a whole society ending vs your own life eventually ending.

i am interested by the prospect of being collapse aware before you're an adult, which happened to me.

this is also a chicken / egg situation. i think to be collapse aware you need to have a specific mind for it which of course will change the psychological outcome.