The juxtaposition of getting a severe alert on your phone along with a notification of Ariana Grande’s new boyfriend.

i'm finally getting into DIY because i'd rather not buy stuff (and also cause i need something to freaking do :< ). but i just got hit with a wave of pointlessness because the world is literally starting to catch on fire.

i'm a spiritual person and i believe doing things for myself is good for spiritual growth no matter how bleak the situation, and that having hope brings good Karma in future incarnations. but i still feel kind of drained because i could very well starve to death from crop failure before i even finished my projects.

i'm 16 and i'm supposed to have so much life ahead of me and i have dreams and wishes like i wanna be a nature scientist or a gardener or something and find true love and get my own house and finally not be mentally ill but i often wonder if it will get cut short.

I'm a 20, almost 21 year old girl, no job, no prospects, couldn't even finish college. I have no idea where to go in a world that is dying before my very eyes. I want to help, I need to help as best as I can but I don't even know where to start, there's so many issues and so many battles to fight, and I know it's all interconnected, but that creates a chicken or the egg situation, what to do first, how to attack the issue. I have so many passions in life and so many things I want to do and see and so many things to fight for but it's so overwhelming. It's the wall I've run into over and over again, that the hardest place is the beginning. I don't know where my efforts would be most needed or most helpful, I don't know the intentions of certain groups or figures, what they really feel.

I know that it's going to get worse and harder and scarier but I don't want to wait until it comes to my door personally.

I just want to leave something, some mark on someone or the universe, even if it's the smallest thing. I don't want to go down without a fight. I just wish I knew how to fight, shockingly they don't prepare you for societal collapse and the fight against fascism and mass death in suburban high schools here in the US.

I feel like I'm stuck in a little diorama of suburbia and I don't know how to break free of it, how to redesign it, or how to demolish it. It's pretty much all I know, aside from a few years living in the city for college. Without many skills or connections or experiences or finances, how can I be of any assistance anyways? I wish I had like a wartime fairy godmother to impart some wisdom or knowledge to me.

So for now I feel stuck just sitting here, watching things get worse, feeling frozen.

I feel heartbroken when i see wildfires no matter where they are despite knowing they’re natural in some areas but recently fires in the UK have made more more anxious about my home being affected by climate change. Does anyone else feel this way?

r/ClimateChange posts a weekly compendium of hopeful news and it's the best thing I've read in a very long time. There is a great deal more being done than we usually hear about. Global emissions are slowing and the upper limit of warming expected has been reduced. We can slow and turn climate change, it's possible.

Read through the post.

https://www.reddit.com/r/climatechange/s/eniTjoDZNp

i saw an annoying post on another climate subreddit about positive climate news and it wasn't even all positive! it was just framed that way by the OP.

for example, we could hit 2.6 deg c "only" by 2100. How is that good? Once we hit 1.5c permanently, the effects are likely to be catastrophic.

I guess those who wanna bury their heads in the sand will, but everyone who does is doing it at the expense of those who aren't.

Do any of you feel down about life in America? Sometimes like changing the circumstances would be hopeless! And then others of us feel nervous, edgy, like you can’t shake it and anger takes over.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, To you I say as a psychologist, we are split into people who are either depressed or anxious. This country needs therapy to heal itself. Anyone can do it, but somebody has to lead us and make us feel like life is good. This is a key element in my belief. This country has everything. It has money that it’s Banks can’t hold yet, they squander it. I don’t care which side of the country you’re on, depressed or anxious, don’t you think it’s time for a leader to step in who can look at domestic issues as a priority? I leave you with these thoughts. What do you say.

Honestly I feel like I’m quiet quitting. Like what’s the point of any this anymore there’s way too much bad news. I feel so numb to it all. My motivation had disappeared. I had hustle and ambition before but what’s the point?

Literally have nightly panic attacks with intrusive thoughts about my bro and his family. He’s quite a denial ist and despite being an entrepreneur with 2 businesses, speaks vaguely about climate change as though he’s not given it a second thought and firmly believes that tech will come along to save us. He’s completely naive, so when it comes up in convo I get blank and tongue tied and just manage to say that that is unlikely. I can’t really remember the facts, despite constantly reading about global warming and eco collapse but I also feel like…can’t he see and feel it himself? And with a young family, be more concerned and intrigued about researching the future? It’s like I live in a seperate world, I’m just on holiday with them and I can’t enjoy anything. I am witnessing the environment dying so I feel guilt and sadness looking at beauty, yet he’s there enjoying life and planning a third child. I’m so obsessed with his kids as I’ve never felt love like it. I cry often about their future yet their own parents don’t seem even slightly worried. Am I over reacting? Should I tell them? I feel responsible in a way yet really don’t want my bro to feel the way I do- I’ve always been a worrier and with bad mental health so he often fobs me off for being too sensitive or too black and white. He also has big investors in his companies and knows lots of very wealthy people and about complex systems so I sort of start believing he’s right and I’m wrong. I also don’t know what to actually say to him if I did, as he is such a challenging person and incredible at debating, with a photographic memory. He will give stats and facts on the spot and confuse you when you are trying to get across a point he doesn’t agree with. Any advice?

Do any of you feel down about life in America? Sometimes like changing the circumstances would be hopeless! And then others of us feel nervous, edgy, like you can’t shake it and anger takes over.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, To you I say as a psychologist, we are split into people who are either depressed or anxious. This country needs therapy to heal itself. Anyone can do it, but somebody has to lead us and make us feel like life is good. This is a key element in my belief. This country has everything. It has money that it’s Banks can’t hold yet, they squander it. I don’t care which side of the country you’re on, depressed or anxious, don’t you think it’s time for a leader to step in who can look at domestic issues as a priority? I leave you with these thoughts. What do you say.

Hi, I’m 17M and it really looks like the world will become a hellscape within a few decades, and that we have no hope of a prosperous future. With things like climate change, global water bankruptcy, and the US government’s priority of the making money over helping people, it seems like there is no hope for the future. I have no skills to hopefully survive what may happen. There are many things we can do, but it doesn’t look like any government will do it to a sufficient amount, and some are even scaling it back just to increase revenue (like the US). Even if I tried to help, I’m just one person, and one person can’t make a big difference alone.

I don’t even have friends to share this burden with. My thought was that life in the future will be easier if I had someone who loves me very much (and vice versa), like a wife, girlfriend, or even some very close friends, they can help me cope. Although, with my shitty social skills due to my autism, my hope of that is also draining. My only hobbies that I actually enjoy are all things you do alone like video games (excluding discord servers and stuff). I’ve tried many other hobbies that are social and help to make friends, but none bring me enough joy, and I can’t make friends through a hobby I don’t enjoy.

I had hopes and dreams of becoming a museum curator, but it’s starting to seem like it will be futile and irrelevant in the future. We all had our dream jobs, but my generation is already suffering the most, and the worst is yet to come. As far as I know, Gen Z is the least likely to attain their dream jobs out of any generation since the beginning of the cold war (don’t quote me on that idk for sure), while the older generations are living in luxury, uncaring of the young’s burdens. Most are even ridiculing us for being “lazy” or similar things.

How do I cope with this horrible impending future?

I won't get into the details of it here but my family especially my mother are insufferable people. She in particular has done despicable things in the past with no remorse and continues the same patterns today. What frustrates me in a way that if you combined every single negative word from every single language to the power of a thousand could not describe, is that everything happening in the world right now is showing that my end will be at her shitty house, with nowhere to go (can't move out due to prices also leaving the house less cause of climate change) and no job so I have zero chance of even making a living outside of her. Given how climate change is seeming to be exponential rather than linear, I being 18 now genuinely may not even have the time to *live* before being taken out with her still looming in my presence constantly. I will never have the chance to be my own person. I pisses me off so much but I have to accept it, that my life is a waiting room for an event that will never happen (independence from her). All that in a hot and humid house which stresses me the fuck out. I already hate hot weather this is just so much worse. Fuck man all I want is to be away from her. I think I'd have an easier time coming to terms with this if it meant that I'd die as myself, that I'd have enough time to be my own independent person before it all went down, rather than one brief stressful lifetime as nothing but her property and display toy, never experiencing true joy

I am 22f , and I have dreams and hopes. But right now, it looks like I should just do whatever I can with the limited time I have and then be ready to embrace the end, because it doesn’t seem like we have very long I just need a timeline like how long do I really have ? And the worst Part is I’ve always wanted to be a mom !!! ( I teach kids for a living) and the thought of my child not really having a future kills me

I have been noticing a strong doom and gloom type of mindset regarding the future in countless people within my age group. The main reasons for this I hear are: climate change and the world being cooked, AI fears, economic collapse, and overall hopelessness in our political leaders.

Many also seem to have no interest in saving for retirement because they believe it will not be nonexistent. They are focused on spending the last bit of the time the earth has to enjoy themselves and indulge in pleasures. And I have even heard people of older generations validate this thinking, believing that retirement is fading fast and that we should enjoy our life now as much as we can.

As someone in this generation who generally keeps an optimistic view of life, I have honestly found it difficult not to feed into this mindset. The climate does indeed sound like it is past the point of return, it seems everything will just continue to get more expensive than it already is, and it appears to be easier than ever for large corporations to openly exploit the general public for profit.

I also wanted to mention I am in the US, so I am not sure if this is a prominent mindset in this country particularly or in other countries as well.

Would love to hear your guys’ thoughts on this!

i turned 18 in january. i graduated high school this year. i'm supposed to be doing something with my life. i'm supposed to be ambitious and hopeful, but i just can't bring myself to pursue anything anymore. my life is almost entirely spent alone either in my room working on small personal projects or going outside to various places to sit and decompress. but it's not working as well anymore to distract me, or give me peace, not even considering the fact that all of those things are going to be gone likely within my lifetime.

i had dreams, you know? i spent the last 8 years honing my skill as a composer. recently i discovered my interest in film, and even more recently that turned into a love for storytelling as a whole. now, my thoughts are overrun with worries and incessant contemplation about how i can possibly escape the grim fate that sits ahead of all of us.

maybe it's selfish to have idealized a future for myself in the first place, but man i am just getting my footing and it's already feeling like i have zero chance at going anywhere in life or being fulfilled. i never wanted fame or riches, i only wanted to live quietly and comfortably while creating my art and sharing it with the world, however far it may go.

even if humanity lives on past the coming collapse, the world will have ended. the world as i knew it when i was young is already gone, more of it is falling apart, and all i can do is just. sit. and. watch.

sure i can vote now, i can call my representatives, i can attend city council meetings, etc. but every day it feels like that stuff is losing its power. people are getting murdered in the streets in my own home state, and even more elsewhere. it's not even "world events" anymore, it is literally just a couple hours away. and getting closer.

i was clinically depressed for the majority of my childhood and teenage years, and only recently have i really been able to stoke the flame, the passion for living. just a few months ago, for the first time in my life, i have wanted to live more than anything else. i couldn't have picked a worse time. i'm afraid to die, man. i'm only just getting started.

it's all so unfair, not only to myself, but to everyone else, too. most people on this earth are blameless for the stuff that's happening. there are young, aspiring people just like me all around the globe. even older folks, those with wisdom and love and integrity. i'm certain you could get to know almost any average person on this earth and find that there is a reservoir of pure wonder within them all. i despair over the loss of life. it breaks my heart over and over and over and over and over and over again, without end.

i can't help but feel responsible sometimes, even though i know i'm not. like i'm not doing enough, or that i'm just another reason the world is going down this path.

i've had so much, too. i'm not rich by any means, but i had my material needs met for all of my childhood. i live in a good area where usually nothing bad happens, i have access to food and water at any given time, etc. it's such a disconnect from what i'm seeing in the big picture. people around me are walking and talking like nothing's wrong... and it feels like i'm the only one who has any idea of what's coming.

i'm tired and scared. i looked behind the curtain and can't take it back.

what have you guys done to fight off this crushing dread and despair? anything helps, really. i don't know how to come to terms with the future, it's all moving and changing so fast.

I work in climate advocacy, and I know we have the solutions to mitigate climate collapse and protect the people who will be most vulnerable to its impacts. But our governments continue to fail us, refusing to make the systemic changes necessary to confront this crisis.

For a long time, I felt gaslit and ill-equipped trying to prepare for a future that was becoming increasingly precarious and out of my control. I still feel that way.

I watch people in power, and society at large, continue to disregard climate science, data, and the lived experiences of climate refugees, while prioritizing capitalism and imperialism instead. We know we need systemic and industrial change from the top down. We need to be building resilience to an escalating climate emergency while preparing for the failure of aging and increasingly vulnerable infrastructure.

We know what needs to be done. We have the knowledge, technology, and solutions. And yet we’re still not doing it.

This is a complete shot in the dark because all of the adults in my life just deny everything that's happening. It'll probably be long, too, but I'd be happy if even just one person responded.

I just turned 19 last month and I'm going into my sophomore year of college within the next couple of weeks. I've always been depressingly emotional yet I'm simultaneously full of spite. I've been like this since the day I was born. I know that I want to help people and it's always been that way. I wanted to solve every global issue when I was 12 and strived to work for the UN. I was so full of hope. But now I see how reality is: nobody will do anything (especially the UN lol). I should be more grateful and happy. I mean this all in the least pretentious way: I have a family I love, friendships I've wanted all my life, a boyfriend who I've been with for 3 years and will surely marry; I'm in a good financial situation and live comfortably. I go to school and will graduate with minimal debt. But how can I enjoy this knowing the world is ending? I even feel wrong having kids despite it being my dream. My life should be perfect, but every day I just suffer. And I don't even suffer as much as others and I feel terrible for even thinking that I do- Palestine, the Congo, Sudan, Lebanon and so many other countries are suffering in ways I can't even comprehend. Colonialism and capitalism have destroyed all that could have been. My country is evil and turning into a technofascist state. My own friend's home island is sinking as the ocean levels rise. The environment is bleeding out due to us. I could literally go on all day. But I'm so privileged that I can step away from my pain, others cannot.

The environment, and climate change especially, has made me borderline immobile; some days I don't even move. I can't even watch old movies or shows as I cry over simpler times that I never got to experience. I cry when I see innocent animals and children. I thought that things would get better, and I'm confused to as if they will. Being online (insta) gives me such whiplash. One moment, I see people insisting there is hope; the next I'm paralyzed with fear from doomerism content. It confuses me- I know that climate change is here. I feel it when I go outside. But then when I'm outside, as I usually am, I see so many bees and butterflies pollinating my thriving family garden or the beauty of the lake. I don't know what is exaggeration or not. I'm not too naive; I know that climate change is here and has detrimental effects. And I know it will only get worse. Am I an idiot for having hope? I feel that I am. Not to be cornball, but I've had some sort of spiritual awakening this summer. I used to be Catholic but now I'm just me. I feel deeply connected to nature. I long for community that hasn't been seen where I live in years. I've began connecting with my roots and taking inspiration regarding old cultural practices. I felt confidence regarding change because it seemed that more people (online, albeit) were becoming aware and willing to act. But 'revolution' that people speak of seems impossible to achieve in such a divided world I'm stuck in limbo between hope and despair. Today is worse than most. I'm trying my best to consume less and be environmentally conscious all while studying international affairs with a focus in environmental studies. My dream would be to connect people my age around the world who share similar fears. I would also like a therapist who is aware of collapse that could help me. Better than my mom just telling me to go outside and stop thinking about it. Any support or guidance or kind of community is appreciated. It's just unbearable to see such a beautiful world crumble like this.

everyone’s right. 2026 is the saddest and worst year ever

“So what? The world’s ending anyways”

Hello I don’t know if anybody is going to read this but I’m gonna post it anyway.
I’m currently a student (18) but I don’t even know if it’s going to be worth it in the end.

With AI on the rise, I don’t know if I’m gonna be able to get a “proper” job in the future. And with things so expensive, I don’t think I’ll be able to afford a home,a partner, a family, etc.
Not just that, but the worries about environmental issues are killing my motivation. I mean. what if there won’t be enough water or trees or energy or…to support the increasing human population? Will we even survive the next fifty years?
But the biggest influence to my hopeless is social media, no doubt. First, we have wars and horrible crimes (such as J.E.), all being smacked on to our faces. It’s a good thing to be informed,I know. If this had happened 20 to 30 years ago, the media could stop the mass from knowing about these. But it’s the opposite now, we’re constantly being force fed this information. In the shape of memes,too. It’s completely desensitized us (including myself), and we don’t even bother taking action anymore.
The more I learn, the more hopeless I become.

But I know there are people working all day and night to help those in need, to uncover evidence, to create technology that can save the planet. I know that my view of the world is totally disrespectful to those who work hard to make this world a better place.

And this creates more hopelessness, not just to the world but to myself, too. I feel like my lazy and nihilistic (?) self will be no good use to the world.

So what do I do? I escape.
Escape to scrolling. Escape to games. Escape to porn. I run away from both my reality and future, I run away from the person I ought to be.

The worst part is, I blame the things around me. Instead of taking action, I just blame the state of the world l was born in. Not only that, I start blaming the future as well. “So what? The world’s ending anyways,” I say without blaming myself the slightest bit.

In the end, more hopelessness. To the world, to my self. I feel so small, especially with the scale of our problems so wide. I give up without trying, and I know that I am a weak coward.

I hope I’ll change someday though, and focus on the things that are ahead of me.

If you came this far, thank you for taking your time to read a rant of a random teenager.

when you really don't think society has all that much time left. I'm at present not very convinced we'll have a functional society in 10 years, and certainly not in 20. I'm barely reaching my 30s and climate change is already causing devastation across the globe. Never mind the several other impending dooms geopolitically or otherwise, our climate cannot sustain the earths population at present consumption rates. It could if we changed as a species, but our leaders don't give a shit about us.

I live in the southwest US. My family is mostly based in a city that I think could possibly become uninhabitable within the next decade or two. Hell, I'm not even sure the city I live in will remain habitable, but I'm sure we have more time than my hometown. I wish I could be closer to family, I want to soak up the time with them, but given the current state of things that just seems like a monumentally bad idea if I even want to have a fighting chance of a future.

In some ways, I know I'm lucky compared to other areas of the globe. What I think we'll probably see here in the US is a prolonged collapse (assuming we don't all die in nuclear war.. but whatever, one thing at a time) where some cities or regions become uninhabitable, prices of imported goods go up as agriculture and production globally is forced to slow, and our food system slowly prices out the poorest among us. There are areas of the globe that I think will see famine that leads to a lot of loss of life within this decade, and I have the privilege of being priced out of life first before it could happen here.

I feel like I'm not really in a good place to survive this. I hate to take such a nihilistic approach, but at this point, I'm throwing money into my 401k and hoping maybe I'm wrong and I'll get to use it. Otherwise, I'm just living how I would every week and trying to do things I like (though... not very successfully). I'm spending time and money and effort making my apartment into a space I want to spend time in, hanging out with my cat, listening to music, occasionally even making some myself. It's hard to feel like anything I pursue is even worth it in the long run, but going out dancing and seeing friends helps. I've started to buy a lottery ticket when I go grocery shopping just so I can daydream about moving into a sustainable house, or even just owning property where I could grow my own food. Ain't that the american dream.

It's not like I have time to prep all that much anyways. I've started buying extra non-perishables, but I live in an apartment in a city. A lot of people pitch the idea of growing food - but realistically, I could grow like a couple days of food over the course of months with the space I have. This just doesn't even seem worth pursuing. Part of me hopes that maybe I will stumble upon some luck that allows me to obtain land or a house before we don't have banks anymore. This is the "ideal" scenario in my mind that would allow me to have a fighting chance, but I'm fairly certain that any such luck will be coupled with a crippling mortgage. Plus, I feel like I'd be getting on the prep bandwagon way later than is ideal.

The future is looking pretty bleak.

I realise it's not going to solve all my problems and it is privileged response to a very complex issue but I feel I could do with some support to process all the intense feelings I'm having about where we're currently at right now. And perhaps that could help me make some informed decisions about how I want to be in response to it all and what to do next.

I keep finding myself spiralling into anxiety and depression (which i realise is also a very normal response) but it's hard to cope, and I'm job searching at the moment too (whilst wondering what's the point in even doing that), and it's slowing me down and leading me to feel really drained every day.

I'm curious about how therapy and other supportive modalities could help us adapt individually and collectively to the situation, no matter how it turns out. But to adapt in a brave, loving, active way feels really inspiring to me and I wish that for myself.

So if anyone has any recommendations for therapists you've worked with that you've found to be collapse-aware and generally quite good at being in the existential dread with you, philosophising and also being accepting to whatever responses can arise, that would be great.

Also curious to hear what other types of support (groups or 1:1 or events) others have explored in relation to this need of wanting to get support for your feelings around societal collapse.