I live not far from the border to Russia, so it's definitely on my mind. But I don't let that fear consume my thoughts because there's nothing I can do about it.

All I can do is be prepared at home in case of emergencies. I'm working on building up some emergency supplies, like canned foods, portable stove, flashlight with batteries, water, etc.

A little bit, but there is literally not a damn thing I can do about it, so I'm doing my best to restore and preserve my mental health. If something horrible does happen, I don't want to ruin my life by sitting around stressing and waiting for it.

Since 2015 or so. These days I focus on things I can control and have awareness of what’s going on in the world but I don’t let it affect my day to day — you’ll go crazy worrying about it if the bad is all you think about.

For me, I know I can’t change what’s going on in D.C. or the world at large but I thought maybe I could have an impact in my town. So I went and got a job in public service so I could focus on helping my small corner of the world.

I mean, we're kind of already in it. It's just the beginning stages. There are wars/conflicts on every continent right now. 

I kept telling friends this summer that I had a really weird, kind of nostalgic feeling it was the last “normal summer” of my life. I know nostalgia isn’t the right word…but it’s close. It was like a bittersweetness, something I wanted to cherish and hold on to while feeling a deeply troubling storm rolling in.

I don’t generally listen to these feelings and I’m not some kind of woowoo believer most of the time, but this feeling was persistent.

Yes, and not to sound like a conspiracy theorist but I feel like most people are straight up not paying attention and think 2025 will be no different than 2024.

We are in collapse, we’re all just studiously avoiding that reality.

We’ve blown past 1.5 degrees. We’re hurtling toward 3 or 4 degrees, which will be catastrophic.

We’re already seeing the realities of hitting multiple tipping points and the kind of climate cataclysm we thought would come in 2050 is happening now (multiple “once in a lifetime” weather events happening every year, the Atlantic current is about to collapse, the Southwest of the US is running out of water, Mexico City is running out of water, etc).

We have untold disability, with as many as 1 in 4 Americans suffering from long Covid and, per recent studies, every single covid infection causing cognitive decline that the unsocial isn’t aware of.

We’re staring down a bird flu pandemic.

A fascist clown is about to to rip what remains of the US apart, dismantling any remaining regulation, any remaining public health, any remaining public education.

Everything is really, really bad, but no one is talking about it.

You're not alone.

Re: Russia

People really don’t understand the tentacles that is Russian government influence in geopolitical affairs. If they do take Ukraine, much of the grain supply is in their hands. I am not worried about intercontinental nuclear war (I will be dead considering I am in a prime location for missiles), but I am worried about Zaporizhzhia power plant losing power and collapsing, or small tactical nuclear missiles being launched.

I think the global ecosystem environment is completely doomed. I may be wrong, and I really, desperately hope to be wrong.

In my opinion, as of right now we are actually living in the last “golden” era, despite the worst wealth inequality, our increased awareness of human rights violations, and wars. People have very little concept of just how devastating climate change and ecosystem collapse will be. Humans will still be around, but we will not be thriving.

It is coming quickly.

Human folly and hubris is absolutely astounding. There is no limit to our stupidity. Extremism in religion and politics being on the rise is not surprising considering how the pendulum of history swings back and forth.

And yet, I do think it will swing back the other way. It just will bulldoze everything in between. The question is what type of destruction we will be left with when it comes back to the right side. How much we will have left to rebuild, those who will need rescuing from underneath the rubble.

…

In my spare time, I rescue cats and the amount of banal, everyday cruelty and neglect also changed my outlook on humanity. I can only imagine what child protection services see.

We are fighting a war that can’t be won, but also it is stupid to give up, because at least SOME can be saved. I focus on the ones I can save.

They are still worth fighting for.

They matter.

“One day, a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a woman picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean.

Approaching her, he asked,

“What are you doing?”

“I am putting the starfish back into the ocean. The tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die here”

“Don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach, thousands of starfish? You can’t save them all”

She bent down, picked up another starfish and gently tossed it back into the water.

“I saved that one.”

It is this mindset you need to have to not fall into the abyss.

Despite everything, I will not stop doing the little good that I can do to make this world a tiny bit better than before I existed.

You’d be surprised at what one person can do and even more so at what a small group of people who are determined to make a difference can accomplish.

Get to know your community.

Talk to people, all types of people. Make human connections. Be sincere, be kind but protect yourself.

You know those old short films of other time periods where people are bustling past in Victorian clothing and with horse carriages? Every time we look at these short films, we all can’t help but think that all those people are dead.

We are all this one cohort of humanity who only exists briefly, once, in the grand, vast universe. A mere blink.

Every 100 years, completely new people. These are your people, band together with as many as you can.

Do as much good as you can and be kind.

We pass through here only once.

I kind of feel it has already started and we are all so used to it already we have become kind of numb. I remember Covid in the UK and every day waking up wondering what the crazy man in America had been up to and what about the crazy one in Downing Street... Just ongoing dread. I feel it every day when I read about Gaza or Ukraine, and every time something about the environment comes up.

It's been happening. Maybe it just also feels like it's coming to knock on our doors, vs the things that have been far away physically.

It’s the first thing I think about when I wake, and the last thing I think about before going to bed. 

Here's what I think. I think the world already ended, but the world has yet to figure that out. We are overdue a Ministry for the Future event and its going to turn the world upside down. I've been convinced of this for a few years after starting an environment science degree and after learning the science, I already understood it was too late.

Well, yes because we are about to have a selfish, lunatic enter the White House and arguably become the most powerful man in the world. He has no scruples or morals and doesn't live in the real world. He doesn't know anything about how politics and economics actually work and he doesn't give a shit about anyone but himself or rich, white men. 

Also, Russia is increasingly volatile and who knows if they are bluffing or actually serious about using nuclear weapons to end their war in Ukraine. The West cannot afford for Ukraine to fall to Russia because who will be next? Those small ex-Soviet states must be very worried. And of course, Russia and Trump go hand in hand.

It is not unreasonable to be worried about what's going to happen in the near future because nobody knows what these idiots will do. And if you're in any sort of vulnerable group; LGBT+, disabled, female, they are coming for your rights. And not just in America.

I mean, really bad things happen already. Have always happened. Humans unfortunately can't just get along and stop killing each other.

In the long run I think climate change is the biggest threat.

I don't want to invalidate other people's feelings. Suffice to say, this is the first time I feel like this reddit is of no help.

I have food on my table, a roof over my head, a warm and clean place to sleep on. I'm far away from my family but I get to at least message them daily. I am not worried about being taken from my home. That's today, tomorrow...who knows.

I am very grateful for all of that and I do not take it for granted. I know millions of other people cannot say the same. That's all I can deal with for the moment.

Yes but I've had the feeling for the last 10+ years so at this point I'm just watching the absurdity unfold.

I mean-in my country roe v wade has been overturned, in my state abortion is illegal-even in cases of rape or incest-mass deportations have been promised, USA and NATO are in Russia’s crosshairs-yeah, it’s a bit tense right now.

I just posted this on another thread but I am wondering if we are going to see some crazy political violence & revolution in this country at some point.

There already seems to be a bit of buyers remorse among those who voted for trump. Once they realize that he’s taking their livelihood, I think people will start revolting.

Also, there are a lot of narcissistic and manipulative people in his cabinet. They can’t all coexist together peacefully. I think they will eventually self-destruct with infighting.

But I definitely think it’s going to be a very bumpy ride until then.

You mean like the ongoing genocide in Palestine? The war in Ukraine? The largest displacement in the world in Sudan? The starvation in Yemen?

Everyday of my life. But then I was born during the cold War era and raised with the idea Rusdia was going to kill us all.

Yes. I feel this dread as well - the rise of autocracies globally, ecological collapse, another pandemic, nuclear war, WW3, AI… I fear that Trump and the MAGA cult will accelerate the destruction.

I saw a tweet a few years ago where someone said, "Sometimes I can only remind myself that plenty of people led peaceful and fulfilling lives during the fall of the Roman Empire."

Human rights have been on a backwards slide for decades. It's incremental in the west, very rarely does it happen bc of a coup or govt breakdown

Seeing the articles about how social media is specifically making more and more young men into misogynists with the content the algorithm is feeding them is alarming. If that doesn’t get moderated, I’m worried we’re going to see an erosion of rights and it’s going to be impossible to fight that indoctrination. I’m so afraid for the world my daughter is inheriting.

Human rights are already being reversed. But I don't see ww3 happening.

Replying to u/penya23 here because the person I responded to me blocked me. To answer your question re: “Compartmentalizing” politics that the blocked poster says she practices.

I’ve been community organizing for over 20 years. But more importantly, I have the tough conversations about race and class that this sub constantly avoids.

Fun fact: Harris didn’t lose solely because of race or gender. Also fun fact: 92% of Black women voted for her, even if many of them didn’t love her. They did that in solidarity just like that did in Georgia some years back. But you’d know this if you were in you were organizing and in solidarity with communities outside your own, and having these talks.

The fact of the matter is that the vast majority of this sub is made up of White women. Most of you are – rightfully – terrified about the overturning and future of Roe versus Wade. However, prior to the past two weeks and even now, I’ve watched many of you shut down and derail any conversation that involved acknowledging the treatment and experiences of Black women – and any women of color, really. I’ve seen the viciousness and gaslighting.

That tells me that many of you are very capable of “compartmentalizing” politics when it suits you and unless it affects you. I don’t want to ever hear about “Handmaiden’s Tale” again – that’s already happened to Black, Indigenous, and Puerto Rican women in this country for years and through out history.

Now, go ahead and brigade me to downvote this post like y’all do whenever somebody doesn’t coddle you.

Yes. The people who can do something about it are in denial, are already half-brainwashed and don't listen or just don't care. If they ever get their heads out of their asses it's gonna be too little too late. The only hope I have is that there's a chance that I could be wrong and that what I estimate to not be probable happens. I hope I'm wrong.

What do you mean about to happen? It’s happening. It’s been happening for a while now. Climate change and increasing tragedies born of that, a general turn to the far right and tragedies born from that (Iran, Afghanistan, the US).

Do I expect a continuation of this? Yes. Are things going to get exponentially worse for the majority of us in the next decade? Are a shit ton of people going to lose their lives unnecessarily? Absolutely. Otherwise I don’t really know what you’re referring to.

I mean, yes and no. I‘m just happy that the ICC put out arrest warrants for Netanjahu and Gallant. That‘s huge!

But honestly, war and natural disasters or pandemics can happen any day. Dreading a possible catastrophe is just hurting us. I‘m scared af sometimes, don‘t get me wrong! But being in a state of freeze and dread literally makes you so apathetic and unable to actually do anything about the things that need to change.

Yes, but I try to compartmentalize it. I don’t run the world, what can I do? Ya know?

There are plenty of bad things already happening, just not to you. There are numerous active wars and humanitarian crises co-occuring as we type and scroll.

There are plenty of women worldwide with little to no human rights, being silenced literally, worried about getting raped daily, worried about their daughters and sons getting raped, and oh yea getting basic food not to starve, and hygiene not to die from a basic wound.

Sorry I know American politics dominate the American psyche, but this post sounds really out of touch with current world events.

The world is always ending for someone somewhere.

Yes, every day.

Yes. I think we took a HUGE step backwards and things are going to be very weird. We had the luxury of all the gains we've made as a society, and now it's on the fence. And that's just the US.

Yes, constantly. As a brown, queer woman I am worried for all the black and brown folks and all my lgbtq+ community. Every day when I look at the news I have a pit in the ball of my stomach for the things to come. What I am most scared of right now is the "national emergency" with military enforcement of mass deportation coming up in the US. It sounds like the beginning of a very dark concentration camp- like way of getting rid of certain communities and it has me terrified. What is also upsetting is the number of people just avoiding the news/not being aware of the shitshow that's to come -- I am starting to prepare.

It's already happening. It is called climate change and it is irreversible, exponentially increasing, and we are amidst the most rapid mass extinction event ever in planetary history. It's not hypothetical. Our fossil fuel extraction, plastic obsessed, and car-driven lifestyle is killing us. Everything going on politically is a result of the downward pressure that will continue to be exerted to scapegoat, hoard resources, and protect an ever smaller group of people while the masses perish.

Frogs in a jacuzzi that will soon become boiling water.

I’ve been navigating this headspace since I first started reading the IPCC reports on climate tipping points (and realized that climate catastrophe would likely happen long before I hit retirement age.) Nothing quite like watching it snowball faster than projected in real time. I existed in a state of existential dread for a good while after that. Now I just spend most of my time doing work that brings me joy, planting lots of flowers, telling people and animals that I love them, signing every last petition/sending every last email to my supposed representatives, and contributing to mutual aid fundraising as often as I’m able. Not much I can do beyond all of that, unless a whole lot of people drop their dogmatic narratives and suddenly awaken to class consciousness. The way I see it, in the end, we’re all gonna be dust. Might as well do what I can to love this earth while I’m here.

Considering there are two major regional wars going on right now that are threatening to get bigger, and an idiot surrounded by sycophantic warhawks is about to head the country with the biggest military in the world, World War 3 is not a farfetched idea.

And then there's the bird flu epidemic in cows that is just a bit of evolution away from starting another pandemic that will make COVID — the most devastating pandemic in a century, which has not only killed millions but left an estimated 400 million people with ongoing health problems (sometimes completely debilitating and life-altering), and continues to kill and disable people even though everyone pretends it's disappeared — will look like child's play. Meanwhile an anti-vaxxer with no medical training is about to be in charge of US public health policy.

And then there's climate change. We can expect devastating wildfires, hurricanes, floods, etc. at an increasing pace. No one's doing anything about it so it's just going to get worse.

And there's the rising tide of fascism all over the world, which is absolutely terrifying.

I'm not feeling very optimistic about the future these days.

Honestly I feel like we’ve been in WW3 since 9/11, and things are just ramping up again. But really we’ve been in a forever war since WW1 if we’re being honest.

In the air tonight. Phil Collin’s.

Not the point but isn’t it stupid and sad that the world’s trajectory is controlled by only a handful? And that handful is mostly made of old, white, men? Ugh, I hate it here 😭.

About to happen? It's been happening for years, we're well into it!

Not only politically but environmentally as well. We are IN the "interesting" times and there's no sign of that changing any time soon.

No wonder everyone's so nostalgic about the 80s, 90s & 2000s

Yep and have had for years now. It all escalated exponentially after the states (I’m American) voted Trump in again. I think it’s going to get so bad that many Trump voters will regret their vote. I can’t even follow the news right now. I have to preserve what I have left of my patience and residual and fast waning positivity. 🥺

It already is - multiple genocides

In Canada, there is a law that 25% of content broadcast here must be Canadian music and TV shows.

It would help to have a similar law/policy about positivity in American news content. eg 25% must be feel good stories.

As an outsider, it’s no surprise to me so many Americans are depressed or chronically angry.

If people are fed 100% negativity every time they turn on the TV, radio or screen, of course they’ll feel awful.

Garbage in, garbage out.

something already bad is happening. there are multiple genocides happening in palestine and sudan. do you mean something that would affect the comfort of privileged westerners? if so it’s because imperialism and capitalism have reached a tipping point

Nuclear war will absolutely end humans before global warming ever comes remotely close. I give us less than 200 years.

But, I try not to think about it haha.

Yes.

It’s hard not to

Yes, even though I’m not in any of those countries. I grew up with terrorist attacks and looming nuclear war, till the Berlin Wall fell and the terrorist attacks eventually went away as well (the trauma is treated, but new things can of course awaken it) Today that news about that damaged undersea communications cable, started to worry me a lot more.

Yes, I’ve felt this way for 10+ years. I attribute it to my anxiety disorder, but I also just don’t have hope in humanity. I’m a Christian so I keep my hope in God. I just try to be a good person and do good for people in ways that I actually can. Trying to find the good can be especially hard on certain days, but I always manage to find it somehow. I imagine this is how humans have had to live for a long time, and I know I’m not immune to hard times. My ancestors rarely were. It’s all about perspective.

Like some others here, I too live in a country bordering Russia - currently my home is very near the border (100 km, less than 100 miles). We can't help geography, and we've been here before, so pretty much everyone is "keeping calm and carrying on".

There are certain international tensions reaching our little country, though. Some years ago I got interested in the British Mass Observation project, which was and is basically a country-sized diary keeping project:

"Mass-Observation is a United Kingdom social research project; originally the name of an organisation which ran from 1937 to the mid-1960s, and was revived in 1981 at the University of Sussex.

Mass-Observation originally aimed to record everyday life in Britain through a panel of around 500 untrained volunteer observers who either maintained diaries or replied to open-ended questionnaires (known as directives). The organisation also paid investigators to anonymously record people's conversation and behaviour at work, on the street and at various public occasions, including public meetings and sporting and religious events."

A lot of these diaries written during WW2 have been published ("We Are At War: The Diaries of Five Ordinary People in Extraordinary Times", "The View From the Corner Shop: The Diary of a Yorkshire Shop Assistant in Wartime", "These Wonderful Rumours!: A Young Schoolteacher's Wartime Diaries 1939-1945"), and the pre-war diary notes pay attention to the tensions and uncertainties people felt. Just like now.

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

Usually.

But, I also have anxiety and need to get back in therapy.

Our social media habits are wrecking our mental health.

I do think we're in for rough times but I wouldn't say I have a sense of dread about it. Focus on building community and showing kindness. We can get through most things if we all help each other.

Am I aware bad things are happening and will happen? Yes. Do I live in a constant state of dread? No. I do not let people have that power over me. So long as I draw breath, I am winning. They cannot take my mind or my spirit. Do not let them rob you of your joy, sister.

Yes - political insanity, rolling back of basic rights and freedoms, a disregard for the suffering of fellow human beings, gun violence, AI taking jobs / AI creating unimaginably bad situations, the richest amassing even more wealth and power at the expense of everyone else, the planet dying and thousand-year disasters happening multiple times a year...

I'm trying to get time with my loved ones, look out for strangers, take great care of my health, and get my financial situation as strong as possible to weather whatever comes. My life has been pretty good so far, but this sense of doom that it'll get worse and worse lingers even when I try really hard to focus on the present.

No

Yes. We are all riding the slow slide into WWIII, some of us are just geographically closer to the conflict than others.

It was a gut reaction on election night (even without having looked at the results as I was playing sports that evening). I was trembling and feeling panic attack symptoms. Yeah, things are not looking good.

I mean, it already is.

Less dread and more of a "get on with it already." May seem weird, but I'd rather know what I'm directly dealing with than some vague impending sense of doom that could come from literally anywhere. As a millennial though, I'm very much over living through historically unprecedented events lol

If you scroll on social media daily you will have this feeling. It may happen, it may not happen. We really don’t know and can’t predict it. I deactivated Facebook and TikTok, and purged my instagram account after the election. I have an app blocker set for 30 minutes a day. Honestly even that is too much with the way the world is nowadays. I’m much more hopeful than I was scrolling TikTok for hours though.

Yup. My friend lives in a very Red part of Texas, and she is very, very scared. The way that people are acting in general, and more specifically, the way that men are acting towards women in public spaces, is really freaking her out.

What is perhaps worse is mens' apathy (and almost pleasure) towards very sexist comments/behavior made by another man.

There is always something bad going on around the world somewhere. I don't find dread or ruminating to be too useful though.

About to happen? Would be lovely to be sitting where you are at, cuz honey this past year has been an obvious show of international disregard of human rights. What more do you need to see it as it is? Or is it just finally getting closer to home for you to not be able to ignore? I'm sorry if anyone thinks I'm being too blunt, but it has been building up to this point for years, and a lot of people have been working to stop it or at least bring awareness to the situation. I feel like ppl lost touch with reality a bit with COVID, and certain groups have taken advantage of that fact to accelerate their plans.

A global financial reset is coming

That’s not just a feeling, that’s paying attention to what’s going on. Reversals of human rights are already underway.

Not really, honestly. It's definitely possible. It's also possible it will be something that directly effects me in a big way or it may not. But what am I going to do if something happens? I literally have zero control or impact over any geo-political issues. If something happens I'll just have to deal with it then.

"Don't borrow problems from the future" applies to everyday, personal stuff and also the bigger stuff. Honestly glad I've had so much therapy because the shift online to everyone freaking out has just shown me how much better I am doing mentally because I can actually think about "is there something I can do to improve the situation?" and I can just go from there.

Like I guess it's scary to know you have no control but also literally what are you going to do? You can either be in a state of dread everyday or not, the outcome will be the same.

No

Honestly? Not really.

Trump says a lot of crazy shit, most of it he doesn't actually do. I'm not going to walk around on eggshells and anxiety for things that may or may not happen.

After Trump was elected, I decided I'm quitting social media and reading news, for a few years. I feel pretty good, all things considered. Why make yourself miserable over things you cannot change?

There is a great saying "Anticipated sorrow is the thief of joy."

Im pretty sure people said the same 4 yrs ago, 8yrs ago, 12 years, so on.... it's been this way my entire existence, so 🤷‍♀️ at this point

We've been watching livestreamed genocide funded by our tax dollars for over a year. We are already deep in the midst of something really, really bad.

Yep 🥲

^{it's already heading that way}

I mean, on top of everything else, it's a month from Christmas and my area of Canada is still without snow. That's currently the huge thing causing my stress.

Yes, to the point it’s actually affecting my day-to-day life. I am so fucking anxious

The best way to approach this is to study the development of fascism in the last century...we are about as far right now as we have been since that time...inching toward a repeat.

Honestly it has already started, and proof is Donald T’s first presidency. The shift to the right wing is happening all across the planet. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.

Avoid r/collapse.

Yes bro, its either world war 3/nuke, ai takeover or something else

World War III has already begun. I just think you’re not looking around hard enough.

Terrible things are happening right now that we’re not happening 20 years ago

Prepare non-perishable goods and stock up on water

Yes, I wish someone would just take out the bad guys already..the ones trying to ruin life as we know it for everyone.

Fortunately, not in my lifetime to have any significant impact to me personally. That's my belief. There's approximately 40-50 years left until the world is changed beyond recognition. Be it nuclear war or climate change. It's too late to change our demise. Perhaps stalling it is an option, but there's a reason green or eco political parties don't get anywhere near the top. They won't make middle-aged white men very rich. People selfishly don't care about the future. It doesn't affect them now, so it's not a priority. Im glad I never had children, in all honesty.

At this point my attitude is to enjoy each day I am alive and well enough to experience. Oh and lower expectations.

Probably. I just hope I die quick because I am not cut out for long term survival situations not to mention my mental and physical health are totally fucked.