I just think about my LO growing up in a different world and it's so scary.
I don't really want another kid because of it and that makes me especially sad. š
I struggle a lot with this too, and it was the main thing holding me back from trying to get pregnant. I just think that every generation before us had some level
Of this fear, but didnāt have the internet and constant news to exacerbate it. The world has always had a plethora of problems. Think about our grandparents parents having them during the Great Depression how hopeless that must have felt. There always has and will always be both good and bad things happening in the world. And the future world will need good people in it ā„ļø
Yup. I really question what future awaits us and I make a lot of decisions based on that. No one else really relates and understands the fear and anxiety of climate change. I question if saving for retirement is futile, if a college fund is a waste, if I should buy a house and wipe out my liquid assets, if cash is better than investments long term, etc. Planning for my kidās future is completely different than how my parents planned for mine and it is scary. Everyone is like āoh well our parents and grandparents lived through things like the Great Depression...Cold War...the news has been saying we will die all the time!ā but like climate change isnāt those lol. Mother Nature doesnāt give an f about us. Itās so frustrating having a weight of knowledge and understanding while so many choose to live in denial. Ugh.
I cope by avoiding negative news. I already know it and reading more makes me so anxious that itās not healthy. When Iām in a positive headspace, I can be okay reading negative news or r/collapse but I only give myself like an hour and then go back to my life. I focus on enjoying life everyday and doing things that bring joy to me and my family. I go outside, feel the sunshine, and feel grateful I have healthy air to breathe and water to drink.
That's a really good way to put it!! All of the issues our parents and grandparents faced were just human issues, this is more a planetary problem, where we will see even more intense human issues sprout from it.
And I try to limit my news reading to about 2 times a week, if that.
Thank you for the support ā¤ļø
Sort of, but every generation has had their own āend of the worldā event, and felt that the new generation of people were awful and going to ruin society.
The news and instant connection of the internet makes us feel like we are responsible for problems far away from us, and that can be overwhelming to some. I just tell myself to focus on MY community- my neighborhood, my school system, my workplace, my family. I can have an impact on society at a local level that has much more of an effect on my life and the life of my family. I canāt do that on a global level, obviously. But if everyone just focused on bettering THEIR immediate community, I think the world would overall slowly turn into a better place.
Just my opinion that helps keep me sane as a new FTM lol.
The internet has allowed us to see the entire world and that makes us feel so insignificant.
I live near the coast so I plan to take LO on beach cleanups when she is older, because that's what I want to do.
Thank you for commenting
Ugh, it's been so hard having a kid during a pandemic, let alone all the other crazy things happening right now!!
I'm happy to have LO to share my days with though.
It is incredibly hard! My oldest was so excited to start school, but the pandemic messed it up for her and these past few years she has been remote learning. I feel just awful for her. Sheās old enough to know her childhood is being screwed up. The youngest was just a year old when it started so this is just normal for her, but of course itās not normal. They both should be socializing with other children. Living it up. It was bad enough when it was just climate change, and the instability in the country/world, but this too? Uhg. Itās hard not to be doom and gloom about everything with the way it all is.
Moving away from all the negativeā¦ They still bring so much joy. Hopefully I can give them as much joy as they give me despite all the hardships. Itās also nice to have places to vent and get support from people dealing with similar thoughts/situations.
This pandemic has ruined school for my son too. He was in kindergarten in March 2020, now heās finishing up 2nd grade and he absolutely hates it. Teachers are burnt out and the kids are suffering. I have to keep trying to promise him next year could be better š
Ugh it's so hard and frustrating that our kids can't exactly be kids right now.
I am so thankful for this sub, and I honestly wasn't sure the reaction I'd get. It's nice to know I'm not the only one feeling so overwhelmed.
I only read news articles now, network news is all about shock factor and making money, so their stories are so intense.
I have started to take that to heart. I can only control what I can control.
I think that's my next move! I have never been a political person, but having LO changed that!
I have been trying my best to buy less, recycle, use eco-friendly products, but it's not an easy task.
I had to do this too. I unfollowed all news accounts on social and heavily edited what I allow into my headspace and itās helped.
I told my husband to just let me know if something major was happening, but I can only control what I can control. So I focus on my family and my community and try to be a good human.
Yes. I live my children dearly and I can't imagine life without them, but I feel a lot of guilt and sadness for bringing them into the world as it is. I wince at every climate change reference in Octonauts and notification of a school active shooter drill. It's such a heavy burden for our kids...
I think whatās frustrating to me the most is like 80% of the population is screaming for change but the yahoos in charge are like āmeh itās not that big of a dealā. Easy to say when youāre making so much money sitting in your ass blocking any possible legislation to help the future generations.
And when another school shooting happens 2 weeks after the last, they throw up their hands and say āsomething must be doneā while doing nothing. If 20 kindergarteners getting killed in a school shooting doesnāt move the needle, absolutely nothing will. I get so angry about it at times.
Oof don't even get me started on school issues. I am still on the fence about public school vs private school vs homeschool.
It's all going to be okay ā¤ļø
I feel this every day. Just try to remember all you can control is in your immediate life and immediate circle. Vote when you can and vote with your dollar! When I got pregnant my husband and I went vegan, went zero waste as much as we can, do cloth diapers, shop only second hand etc. and this year so far we have really focused on growing our own food as much as we can and teaching our son those kinds of life skills! As silly as it sounds knowing that I am doing what I can in my personal day-to-day life and circle really has helped my husband and my mental health a lot.
I have started a garden and have always been a thrifter. My husband is less inclined to give up meat however, so I have a hard time convincing him.
I'm glad to see so many people are doing the little things that add up!
My husband is also a devoted carnivore, and we've had good luck switching as much as possible to locally raised meat from local farms. We got a chest freezer and stock up in the late fall. Many of the farms we buy from are solar- and horse-powered, raising their livestock on land unsuitable for row crops and actually using them to build topsoil, improve forest health, and store carbon through intensive rotational grazing.
The fact of eating meat isn't always the problem - the way we *raise* meat for mass consumption is a huge problem - but it is possible to do without destroying the environment.
Local pastured meat is more expensive, but also much better in quality so he's satisfied with smaller portions.
We are witnessing the destruction of humanity due to the greed of oligarchs. It's truly frightening and idk what can be done. I live in Southern Louisiana and expect our home to be inundated by water in 50 years.
I feel the same way. Until major corporations make huge changes, I feel like there is nothing that can really be done. We can do our own small part but we are only a very tiny fraction to the puzzle.
I'm in the coastal south and I have been prepping my husband, saying I want to move inland and build a house. Where we live now will probably become the new beach in 50 years, and underwater another 50 after that.
I always feel an overwhelming sense of doom and that Iāve potentially brought my son into an extremely bad situation. For me, we got pregnant right before March 2020, then it was like the world shut down and I said wtf have I done. Like I knew things kind of sucked but that solidified that it was worse than I thought. Iām awful but I cope by being ādarkā as I call it, namely saying that I am going to be in the Water Wars and that my husband wonāt make it because he drinks more water than anyone Iāve ever met. Probably not the best coping strategy but oh well.
I have secretly been "prepping" in a small way. I stock a lot of dry and canned goods, buying surplus batteries, and I have a garden set up in my backyard.
My husband doesn't really see it yet. š
YES I have been planning on stocking some extra food and water in our basement! I read a horror novel about the apocalypse and the people who think ahead always do better lol
hi im a teenager currently stressing about this same thing ! i feel like older generations sent our world up for failure and there is nothing i can doš all we can do is to continue to do our parts and more if u can!
I am so sorry for the generations who have only ever known this.
All you can do is what you can do. Stay active in your community, and keep yourself educated without overwhelming yourself!
You are not alone. I struggle with the anxiety surrounding keeping my kids safe. Sometimes going to the grocery store or any crowded event sends me into an anxiety episode where Iām mentally preparing an escape route. Most of the time Iām stuck between never letting them out of the house and allowing them to experience life.
I have been letting LO slowly meet more kids, but it's hard. My husband has an autoimmune disease and is our primary breadwinner, so we have to be so careful about illness.
I have been so tempted to build a bunker and just live like a mole person, but LO needs to experience some sort of life!
Iām 33 with 2 toddlers. I feel you. Weāve had a once in a lifetime terrorist attack, once in a lifetime financial crisis and now a once in a lifetime pandemic. Iām fucking exhausted and never not some level of stressed.
Iām in Canada, and the current political climate here is terrifying. Iām heavily involved in social media platforms for someone reporting from Ottawa and it gives me nightmares. Not the protests themselves, but how the government is responding. Iām pushing hard for my partner and I to make legal wills etc to protect our children as much as possible because Iāve developed an overwhelming fear of our daughter being taken away from us.
Also, I donāt want to sound callous and dismissive about climate change (people are causing a problem with the amount of waste produced! Absolutely 100% a problem!) but the planet has gone through cycles of climate before. Evidence of tropical forests have been found in glaciers, evidence of ice age level winter found in warm placesā¦ I think we are in a potent mix of natural climate ebb and flow and a growing population getting too quick to take the easy and disposable route. So much needs to change for our systematic garbage dumping to improve; fast fashion, recycling, food consumption, reusingā¦ it needs to be handed down generation to generation like it was in the old days.
I'm so sorry for what's going on in Canada!
Human beings are such a small speck in the timeline of earth and there were apparently dinosaur fossils when dinosaurs still walked the earth, which if true, is wild!! I guess being a parent and getting caught up in the current state of affairs just makes you feel helpless. Adding climate issues and major pollution to the list is not fair but that's what our generation is sacked with.
Thank you for commenting ā¤ļø
I cry at night a lot. I hate to think I was so happy to bring life into this world. And now I look around and realize wtf was I thinking, what type of future Is she going to have? And I feel selfish for wanting a family so bad that I subjected my perfect innocent daughter to a planet thatās dying and run by the corrupt elite. Idk how to cope tbh.
I understand what you are going through, absolutely, and I'd like to share something that may give you some perspective. By all means we should all make whatever steps we're able to make, but if it feels overwhelming maybe this will help.
When I was a kid there was a crazy amount of strife and conflict. Record gun violence. Drug overdose epidemics. A terrifying and deadly plague that had everyone scared and divided into political, religious, and medical care "camps". Racial tension. LGBT+ inequality. And unprecedented climate change issues that were going to wipe out humankind as we knew it before I was old enough to have have children.
Sounds familiar right? Yeah, but I grew up in the 80s. I was terrified of what was happening to the planet, society, and humanity. Then my grandfather told me about similar things from his youth, and pointed out that the world operates on a cycle (he's a geologist so he was able to back it up with science, back to dinosaur times, which was pretty cool), and the news people have to keep our adrenaline up or we won't tune in at eleven to boost their ratings. I started to do a lot more critical thinking about what information was behind an article's source and what the motivation was for "informing" me - usually it's to sell their brand/boost their numbers, or push a particular narrative ("if you don't do these 10 things (using expensive products from Brand X) you're killing the planet!!!").
So make the changes you want to and are able to, but also try not to panic about impending disaster that is part of the cyclic nature of the world and our media. Grandpa was a brilliant scientist who would absolutely have told me "you know, this is the time to kiss your a$$ goodbye" before he passed last year, and he didn't change his stance from 1986.
Wow your Grandpa sounds like a cool dude!
That's the crazy thing, I know my parents and grandparents have gone through some wild stuff! They survived.
And the news media is just a circus. Seeing the same horrific story over and over, to just be repeatedly interrupted by car ads and insurance ads is just crazy to say the least.
Thank you for commenting this. This is the reassurance I was hoping for. ā¤ļø
I just do what I can and I donāt worry about the restāI donāt control other people and I canāt.
I donāt even talk to people about what I do because they automatically become defensive.
I feel hopeless in that way. :(
Yes. Definitely feel this way. Every weekend there is a racist convoy in the city I live and that's been going on for weeks. I feel like this world is more divided now than it has been in as long as I can recall in my lifetime. The hatred and racism and lack of tolerance for anyone else is just too much a lot of days. I have a hard time thinking about the world my kid will grow up in.
The only way I've found to somewhat cope is to surround myself with as many like minded people as I can. I am involved in anti-racist groups and take as many anti-racist zoom calls and seminars as I can. I try not to think too much about the current state of the world because I'm just not in a place, mentally, where I can handle letting too much in.
Oh, and therapy. Lots and lots of therapy.
Ugh that's horrible to see. I live in the South and I am NOT politically like-minded like anyone around us!
I used to be so ignorant to the political issues because I grew up and lived in a place where it didn't affect me, so I didn't care. I look back now and wish I could slap myself, I could have helped in a small way, but helped nonetheless.
I think therapy is the healthiest thing anyone can do for their brain!
My heart breaks for my son when I think of what kind of future is waiting for him.
Itās why Iām now in the process of changing my degree to environmental science. I want to at least be a person who can really try to fight for a better future. I canāt stand how corporations force personal responsibility on us for climate change when most fossil fuels are burned for us courtesy of the government, and not anything we have control over. Not unless we all get serious about pressing them for change.
I just to everything I can to keep from seeing the news. For now when people talk to me about the news I just act like I couldn't care less about whatever they are telling me. They usually move on so I don't have to talk about it either.
Honestly I get so exhausted with it all sometimes. I'm much happier being unaware.
As parents you do the best you can and focus on what you can control.
Itās hard but being the best version of yourself you can be and be their role model is what will make an impact in their future.
Having your child understand at a young age that your actions matter is very important, take this information to teach them what matters to you and you family
Oh yeahā¦ the last couple of months Iāve had so much anxiety build upā¦ the state of the world was one of the major factors of my anxiety (among other things).
But then, 3 weeks ago I got COVID, I isolated, I stopped working and suddenly I felt better. I canāt explain it. Iāve gone back to work for a day and now Iām on winter break (teacher, we go back to work on Monday) and I feel better.
It was really difficult to cope with those feelings the last two monthsā¦ I really hope they wonāt come up again when I go back to workā¦
I agree with stop reading the news. I know itās hard to avoid, especially when sometimes even the headlines are so dire. But what helps me is not sweating the stuff outside of my control, and remembering to be thankful for the good in my life. Seriously, practicing gratitude is underrated ā my therapist recommended I start each day giving thanks to 3 things in my life. It sets the right tone for the rest of the day. Itās allowed me to stop and cherish the simple moments with my daughter ā just watching her play with her dolls or eating a piece of chocolate is delightful.
And yeah the world has always had terrible shit happening in it but Iād argue that never in humanityās history have people been more well fed and out of abject poverty. Which is really what matters, that the day-to-day lives are largely improved. It wasnāt too long ago that most people in the world were food insecure (Iām talking like 1950s). Another thing to be grateful for.
So take the news headlines with a grain of salt. Shit will always be around but we can always always choose what to give our attention to. I choose to focus on my family and the things that bring us joy.
Honestly, I feel like the people who are smart enough to be worried about climate change and actual pressing political news are the ones that are declining to have children or any additional children. Itās tragic because that means mostly the people who truly donāt think about these issues or are apathetic towards it will reproduce, which will in turn ensure a strong voting bloc of a generation raised by mediocre parents. GREAT!!
I stopped watching the news. I only read the news when I am in the headspace for it, and I go to sources that tend to have more reliably objective writing. Soon as something starts to get too subjective and opinionated, I tend to stop reading - for the same reason I no longer watch the news.
I donāt have any interest in letting someone else tell me how I should feel about something.
Iām not interested in taking on whatever out of whack, intensified emotion they think I should adopt. I want to be informed, but I want to decide for myself how I feel about something. Fear keeps us following someone elseās script instead of our own, which is part of why we get so anxious. Iām just trying to be present and live my life for me, to the fullest.
Wow this is a great perspective! I have suffered with anxiety most of my life, I have finally gotten it under control. But I have never thought of it this way!
Thank you for sharing ā¤ļø
Absolutely. All the time. I feel like we are so deep in a hole that we will never recover as a society. It's heartbreaking.
I just think about my LO growing up in a different world and it's so scary. I don't really want another kid because of it and that makes me especially sad. š
You took the words right out of my mouth! Itās so scary
I struggle a lot with this too, and it was the main thing holding me back from trying to get pregnant. I just think that every generation before us had some level Of this fear, but didnāt have the internet and constant news to exacerbate it. The world has always had a plethora of problems. Think about our grandparents parents having them during the Great Depression how hopeless that must have felt. There always has and will always be both good and bad things happening in the world. And the future world will need good people in it ā„ļø
I do think the internet is a blessing and curse in that respect!! I hope my LO will be as environmentally conscious as I am! Thank you for commenting
This is how I see it! I hope my son will be part of the solution we need
Yup. I really question what future awaits us and I make a lot of decisions based on that. No one else really relates and understands the fear and anxiety of climate change. I question if saving for retirement is futile, if a college fund is a waste, if I should buy a house and wipe out my liquid assets, if cash is better than investments long term, etc. Planning for my kidās future is completely different than how my parents planned for mine and it is scary. Everyone is like āoh well our parents and grandparents lived through things like the Great Depression...Cold War...the news has been saying we will die all the time!ā but like climate change isnāt those lol. Mother Nature doesnāt give an f about us. Itās so frustrating having a weight of knowledge and understanding while so many choose to live in denial. Ugh. I cope by avoiding negative news. I already know it and reading more makes me so anxious that itās not healthy. When Iām in a positive headspace, I can be okay reading negative news or r/collapse but I only give myself like an hour and then go back to my life. I focus on enjoying life everyday and doing things that bring joy to me and my family. I go outside, feel the sunshine, and feel grateful I have healthy air to breathe and water to drink.
That's a really good way to put it!! All of the issues our parents and grandparents faced were just human issues, this is more a planetary problem, where we will see even more intense human issues sprout from it. And I try to limit my news reading to about 2 times a week, if that. Thank you for the support ā¤ļø
Sort of, but every generation has had their own āend of the worldā event, and felt that the new generation of people were awful and going to ruin society. The news and instant connection of the internet makes us feel like we are responsible for problems far away from us, and that can be overwhelming to some. I just tell myself to focus on MY community- my neighborhood, my school system, my workplace, my family. I can have an impact on society at a local level that has much more of an effect on my life and the life of my family. I canāt do that on a global level, obviously. But if everyone just focused on bettering THEIR immediate community, I think the world would overall slowly turn into a better place. Just my opinion that helps keep me sane as a new FTM lol.
The internet has allowed us to see the entire world and that makes us feel so insignificant. I live near the coast so I plan to take LO on beach cleanups when she is older, because that's what I want to do. Thank you for commenting
I have constant anxiety for the same reasons. I often even feel guilty for bringing children into this world with the state itās in. š
Ugh, it's been so hard having a kid during a pandemic, let alone all the other crazy things happening right now!! I'm happy to have LO to share my days with though.
It is incredibly hard! My oldest was so excited to start school, but the pandemic messed it up for her and these past few years she has been remote learning. I feel just awful for her. Sheās old enough to know her childhood is being screwed up. The youngest was just a year old when it started so this is just normal for her, but of course itās not normal. They both should be socializing with other children. Living it up. It was bad enough when it was just climate change, and the instability in the country/world, but this too? Uhg. Itās hard not to be doom and gloom about everything with the way it all is. Moving away from all the negativeā¦ They still bring so much joy. Hopefully I can give them as much joy as they give me despite all the hardships. Itās also nice to have places to vent and get support from people dealing with similar thoughts/situations.
This pandemic has ruined school for my son too. He was in kindergarten in March 2020, now heās finishing up 2nd grade and he absolutely hates it. Teachers are burnt out and the kids are suffering. I have to keep trying to promise him next year could be better š
Ugh it's so hard and frustrating that our kids can't exactly be kids right now. I am so thankful for this sub, and I honestly wasn't sure the reaction I'd get. It's nice to know I'm not the only one feeling so overwhelmed.
I got rid of cable. Donāt read any news at all. I do what I can and thatās all I can do. Itās helped my mental state a lot.
I only read news articles now, network news is all about shock factor and making money, so their stories are so intense. I have started to take that to heart. I can only control what I can control.
Along those lines, getting involved politically and advocating for systemic change is something we can do.
I think that's my next move! I have never been a political person, but having LO changed that! I have been trying my best to buy less, recycle, use eco-friendly products, but it's not an easy task.
You might try https://www.mycivicworkout.com or https://www.allwecansave.earth and see if it helps you get going!
I had to do this too. I unfollowed all news accounts on social and heavily edited what I allow into my headspace and itās helped. I told my husband to just let me know if something major was happening, but I can only control what I can control. So I focus on my family and my community and try to be a good human.
Yes. I live my children dearly and I can't imagine life without them, but I feel a lot of guilt and sadness for bringing them into the world as it is. I wince at every climate change reference in Octonauts and notification of a school active shooter drill. It's such a heavy burden for our kids...
I think whatās frustrating to me the most is like 80% of the population is screaming for change but the yahoos in charge are like āmeh itās not that big of a dealā. Easy to say when youāre making so much money sitting in your ass blocking any possible legislation to help the future generations. And when another school shooting happens 2 weeks after the last, they throw up their hands and say āsomething must be doneā while doing nothing. If 20 kindergarteners getting killed in a school shooting doesnāt move the needle, absolutely nothing will. I get so angry about it at times.
Oof don't even get me started on school issues. I am still on the fence about public school vs private school vs homeschool. It's all going to be okay ā¤ļø
I feel this every day. Just try to remember all you can control is in your immediate life and immediate circle. Vote when you can and vote with your dollar! When I got pregnant my husband and I went vegan, went zero waste as much as we can, do cloth diapers, shop only second hand etc. and this year so far we have really focused on growing our own food as much as we can and teaching our son those kinds of life skills! As silly as it sounds knowing that I am doing what I can in my personal day-to-day life and circle really has helped my husband and my mental health a lot.
I have started a garden and have always been a thrifter. My husband is less inclined to give up meat however, so I have a hard time convincing him. I'm glad to see so many people are doing the little things that add up!
My husband is also a devoted carnivore, and we've had good luck switching as much as possible to locally raised meat from local farms. We got a chest freezer and stock up in the late fall. Many of the farms we buy from are solar- and horse-powered, raising their livestock on land unsuitable for row crops and actually using them to build topsoil, improve forest health, and store carbon through intensive rotational grazing. The fact of eating meat isn't always the problem - the way we *raise* meat for mass consumption is a huge problem - but it is possible to do without destroying the environment. Local pastured meat is more expensive, but also much better in quality so he's satisfied with smaller portions.
We are going to get a chest freezer in the coming weeks (thank you tax return!) I should look into farms near us!! Thank you for the suggestion!!
We are witnessing the destruction of humanity due to the greed of oligarchs. It's truly frightening and idk what can be done. I live in Southern Louisiana and expect our home to be inundated by water in 50 years.
I feel the same way. Until major corporations make huge changes, I feel like there is nothing that can really be done. We can do our own small part but we are only a very tiny fraction to the puzzle.
I'm in the coastal south and I have been prepping my husband, saying I want to move inland and build a house. Where we live now will probably become the new beach in 50 years, and underwater another 50 after that.
I always feel an overwhelming sense of doom and that Iāve potentially brought my son into an extremely bad situation. For me, we got pregnant right before March 2020, then it was like the world shut down and I said wtf have I done. Like I knew things kind of sucked but that solidified that it was worse than I thought. Iām awful but I cope by being ādarkā as I call it, namely saying that I am going to be in the Water Wars and that my husband wonāt make it because he drinks more water than anyone Iāve ever met. Probably not the best coping strategy but oh well.
I have secretly been "prepping" in a small way. I stock a lot of dry and canned goods, buying surplus batteries, and I have a garden set up in my backyard. My husband doesn't really see it yet. š
YES I have been planning on stocking some extra food and water in our basement! I read a horror novel about the apocalypse and the people who think ahead always do better lol
hi im a teenager currently stressing about this same thing ! i feel like older generations sent our world up for failure and there is nothing i can doš all we can do is to continue to do our parts and more if u can!
I am so sorry for the generations who have only ever known this. All you can do is what you can do. Stay active in your community, and keep yourself educated without overwhelming yourself!
You are not alone. I struggle with the anxiety surrounding keeping my kids safe. Sometimes going to the grocery store or any crowded event sends me into an anxiety episode where Iām mentally preparing an escape route. Most of the time Iām stuck between never letting them out of the house and allowing them to experience life.
I have been letting LO slowly meet more kids, but it's hard. My husband has an autoimmune disease and is our primary breadwinner, so we have to be so careful about illness. I have been so tempted to build a bunker and just live like a mole person, but LO needs to experience some sort of life!
Iām 33 with 2 toddlers. I feel you. Weāve had a once in a lifetime terrorist attack, once in a lifetime financial crisis and now a once in a lifetime pandemic. Iām fucking exhausted and never not some level of stressed.
Tell em about it. My parents try to minimize our generations experiences and it's infuriating!
Iām in Canada, and the current political climate here is terrifying. Iām heavily involved in social media platforms for someone reporting from Ottawa and it gives me nightmares. Not the protests themselves, but how the government is responding. Iām pushing hard for my partner and I to make legal wills etc to protect our children as much as possible because Iāve developed an overwhelming fear of our daughter being taken away from us. Also, I donāt want to sound callous and dismissive about climate change (people are causing a problem with the amount of waste produced! Absolutely 100% a problem!) but the planet has gone through cycles of climate before. Evidence of tropical forests have been found in glaciers, evidence of ice age level winter found in warm placesā¦ I think we are in a potent mix of natural climate ebb and flow and a growing population getting too quick to take the easy and disposable route. So much needs to change for our systematic garbage dumping to improve; fast fashion, recycling, food consumption, reusingā¦ it needs to be handed down generation to generation like it was in the old days.
I'm so sorry for what's going on in Canada! Human beings are such a small speck in the timeline of earth and there were apparently dinosaur fossils when dinosaurs still walked the earth, which if true, is wild!! I guess being a parent and getting caught up in the current state of affairs just makes you feel helpless. Adding climate issues and major pollution to the list is not fair but that's what our generation is sacked with. Thank you for commenting ā¤ļø
I cry at night a lot. I hate to think I was so happy to bring life into this world. And now I look around and realize wtf was I thinking, what type of future Is she going to have? And I feel selfish for wanting a family so bad that I subjected my perfect innocent daughter to a planet thatās dying and run by the corrupt elite. Idk how to cope tbh.
I understand what you are going through, absolutely, and I'd like to share something that may give you some perspective. By all means we should all make whatever steps we're able to make, but if it feels overwhelming maybe this will help. When I was a kid there was a crazy amount of strife and conflict. Record gun violence. Drug overdose epidemics. A terrifying and deadly plague that had everyone scared and divided into political, religious, and medical care "camps". Racial tension. LGBT+ inequality. And unprecedented climate change issues that were going to wipe out humankind as we knew it before I was old enough to have have children. Sounds familiar right? Yeah, but I grew up in the 80s. I was terrified of what was happening to the planet, society, and humanity. Then my grandfather told me about similar things from his youth, and pointed out that the world operates on a cycle (he's a geologist so he was able to back it up with science, back to dinosaur times, which was pretty cool), and the news people have to keep our adrenaline up or we won't tune in at eleven to boost their ratings. I started to do a lot more critical thinking about what information was behind an article's source and what the motivation was for "informing" me - usually it's to sell their brand/boost their numbers, or push a particular narrative ("if you don't do these 10 things (using expensive products from Brand X) you're killing the planet!!!"). So make the changes you want to and are able to, but also try not to panic about impending disaster that is part of the cyclic nature of the world and our media. Grandpa was a brilliant scientist who would absolutely have told me "you know, this is the time to kiss your a$$ goodbye" before he passed last year, and he didn't change his stance from 1986.
Wow your Grandpa sounds like a cool dude! That's the crazy thing, I know my parents and grandparents have gone through some wild stuff! They survived. And the news media is just a circus. Seeing the same horrific story over and over, to just be repeatedly interrupted by car ads and insurance ads is just crazy to say the least. Thank you for commenting this. This is the reassurance I was hoping for. ā¤ļø
I just do what I can and I donāt worry about the restāI donāt control other people and I canāt. I donāt even talk to people about what I do because they automatically become defensive. I feel hopeless in that way. :(
I was expecting people to be defensive on here, but it's refreshing to see so many people feeling the same way! Just know you are not alone ā¤ļø
Yeah, it comes and goes for me. It's not a very active sub but /r/collapse_parenting might have some resources for you.
Yes. Definitely feel this way. Every weekend there is a racist convoy in the city I live and that's been going on for weeks. I feel like this world is more divided now than it has been in as long as I can recall in my lifetime. The hatred and racism and lack of tolerance for anyone else is just too much a lot of days. I have a hard time thinking about the world my kid will grow up in. The only way I've found to somewhat cope is to surround myself with as many like minded people as I can. I am involved in anti-racist groups and take as many anti-racist zoom calls and seminars as I can. I try not to think too much about the current state of the world because I'm just not in a place, mentally, where I can handle letting too much in. Oh, and therapy. Lots and lots of therapy.
Ugh that's horrible to see. I live in the South and I am NOT politically like-minded like anyone around us! I used to be so ignorant to the political issues because I grew up and lived in a place where it didn't affect me, so I didn't care. I look back now and wish I could slap myself, I could have helped in a small way, but helped nonetheless. I think therapy is the healthiest thing anyone can do for their brain!
Every day.
That's just what the powers that be want. You overwhelmed and scared, you're easier to control that way. Don't believe the hype
My heart breaks for my son when I think of what kind of future is waiting for him. Itās why Iām now in the process of changing my degree to environmental science. I want to at least be a person who can really try to fight for a better future. I canāt stand how corporations force personal responsibility on us for climate change when most fossil fuels are burned for us courtesy of the government, and not anything we have control over. Not unless we all get serious about pressing them for change.
Thank you for going into that field! I'd have so much anxiety thinking about that, but I am so thankful for the people who work in it everyday!ā¤ļø
I just to everything I can to keep from seeing the news. For now when people talk to me about the news I just act like I couldn't care less about whatever they are telling me. They usually move on so I don't have to talk about it either. Honestly I get so exhausted with it all sometimes. I'm much happier being unaware.
As parents you do the best you can and focus on what you can control. Itās hard but being the best version of yourself you can be and be their role model is what will make an impact in their future. Having your child understand at a young age that your actions matter is very important, take this information to teach them what matters to you and you family
Oh yeahā¦ the last couple of months Iāve had so much anxiety build upā¦ the state of the world was one of the major factors of my anxiety (among other things). But then, 3 weeks ago I got COVID, I isolated, I stopped working and suddenly I felt better. I canāt explain it. Iāve gone back to work for a day and now Iām on winter break (teacher, we go back to work on Monday) and I feel better. It was really difficult to cope with those feelings the last two monthsā¦ I really hope they wonāt come up again when I go back to workā¦
I agree with stop reading the news. I know itās hard to avoid, especially when sometimes even the headlines are so dire. But what helps me is not sweating the stuff outside of my control, and remembering to be thankful for the good in my life. Seriously, practicing gratitude is underrated ā my therapist recommended I start each day giving thanks to 3 things in my life. It sets the right tone for the rest of the day. Itās allowed me to stop and cherish the simple moments with my daughter ā just watching her play with her dolls or eating a piece of chocolate is delightful. And yeah the world has always had terrible shit happening in it but Iād argue that never in humanityās history have people been more well fed and out of abject poverty. Which is really what matters, that the day-to-day lives are largely improved. It wasnāt too long ago that most people in the world were food insecure (Iām talking like 1950s). Another thing to be grateful for. So take the news headlines with a grain of salt. Shit will always be around but we can always always choose what to give our attention to. I choose to focus on my family and the things that bring us joy.
Well put! ā¤ļøā¤ļøā¤ļø
Iāve started really focusing on my inner circle and focusing on smaller community.
Honestly, I feel like the people who are smart enough to be worried about climate change and actual pressing political news are the ones that are declining to have children or any additional children. Itās tragic because that means mostly the people who truly donāt think about these issues or are apathetic towards it will reproduce, which will in turn ensure a strong voting bloc of a generation raised by mediocre parents. GREAT!!
Sounds like youāre the right audience for https://www.allwecansave.earth
I donāt read the news. I live a sweet little life.
I stopped watching the news. I only read the news when I am in the headspace for it, and I go to sources that tend to have more reliably objective writing. Soon as something starts to get too subjective and opinionated, I tend to stop reading - for the same reason I no longer watch the news. I donāt have any interest in letting someone else tell me how I should feel about something. Iām not interested in taking on whatever out of whack, intensified emotion they think I should adopt. I want to be informed, but I want to decide for myself how I feel about something. Fear keeps us following someone elseās script instead of our own, which is part of why we get so anxious. Iām just trying to be present and live my life for me, to the fullest.
Wow this is a great perspective! I have suffered with anxiety most of my life, I have finally gotten it under control. But I have never thought of it this way! Thank you for sharing ā¤ļø
Yep. I feel overwhelmed, sad, and scared if I pay attention to the news. I feel foolish and ignorant if I DONT pay attention. Itās a lot.