-
Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
I see no reason to have a hope for the future
- Thread starter Hawkster
- Start date
It would help if we knew what country the OP was in so we can help them find these resources.
try not to worry to much about things outside your sphere of influence
concern yourself with things you have control over
be there for your friends and family
"worrying means you suffer twice"
concern yourself with things you have control over
be there for your friends and family
"worrying means you suffer twice"
I'm gonna be real with you OP. Just live your life as best as you can. You can't constantly worry about the future like that. Play some video games, hang out with friends, do what ever makes you happy. Whatever happens, happens.
I mean, the current wave of nationalism is probably going to result in at least a decade of lost progress, but also periods of social backslide are pretty common in human history. It'll in all likelihood be overcome eventually, even if it sucks to be one of the ones living through it. And whatever progress is made then will eventually be backslid on too. That's how shit goes.
And yeah, climate change will take a bite out of things. Even if we fix it completely, the fixes will probably be painful, and not fixing it will be way worse. But whatever happens, people will adapt and survive and find happiness in whatever life looks like at that point. People have survived a whole lot worse, with a whole lot less, and come out ok. You can be clear eyed about the fact that things are trending badly, and that some sort of material worsening of life is likely, without being absolutely despairing.
And yeah, climate change will take a bite out of things. Even if we fix it completely, the fixes will probably be painful, and not fixing it will be way worse. But whatever happens, people will adapt and survive and find happiness in whatever life looks like at that point. People have survived a whole lot worse, with a whole lot less, and come out ok. You can be clear eyed about the fact that things are trending badly, and that some sort of material worsening of life is likely, without being absolutely despairing.
And exactly what is the point of pulling the receipts on OP, outside of shaming them for apparently having issues with mental health?
In all these threads OP is offered advice, apparently turned down, that's the whole point.
There's lots of negativity on ERA, but we're also a great community willing to help. If that help is answered with only more negativity, this is what you get. Does it help? No, but it certainly shows a pattern, which I feel is the point.
Apathy caused by depression is a cyclical issue.
You see no hope for the future, therefore you see no reason to do anything about it, therefore you see no hope for the future.
Humans need a feeling of purpose. In the past that primary purpose has been finding someone to love, and having children to raise and protect, but millennial's are having less children that previous generations and finding someone to love has become commodified, so they have more time to think about larger issues like the state of the world. The problem is looking at the state of the world on a macro level is fundamentally depressing because it brings to light countless issues that don't have easy solutions. Humans like finding solutions to the issues they think about. When we can't, it's easy to fall into a sense of depressed hopelessness. That's why it's easier to find happiness caring for children or loved ones, because the problems that come up caring for loved ones often have tangible solutions. It gives you a sense of purpose and gives you the means to fulfill that purpose. All this to say...
Find your purpose! Therapy is a good tool to help you get there. Don't believe that you need to follow the path expected of you to get there. Don't be afraid to do things that radically change your life. You don't need to have children to find that purpose, but you need to find something tangible that makes your life feel more meaningful than the never-ending rinse/repeat of working to live and living to work, especially if your work doesn't give you a sense of purpose.
I've been working in IT for years. For much of that time, I worked for a company that helped business owners save on costs. I did not feel that the work I was doing was benefiting anyone but the upper class. I felt my life and my work were not helping the people who truly needed it, and that my life didn't have a sense of purpose...
...so I quit and started working at another company that helps children. I don't work with these children directly, I'm in IT after all....but I feel that the work I'm doing is helping the world more now than I ever did before. My job has given me a sense of purpose. If you can't find that purpose in your work, find it elsewhere.
You see no hope for the future, therefore you see no reason to do anything about it, therefore you see no hope for the future.
Humans need a feeling of purpose. In the past that primary purpose has been finding someone to love, and having children to raise and protect, but millennial's are having less children that previous generations and finding someone to love has become commodified, so they have more time to think about larger issues like the state of the world. The problem is looking at the state of the world on a macro level is fundamentally depressing because it brings to light countless issues that don't have easy solutions. Humans like finding solutions to the issues they think about. When we can't, it's easy to fall into a sense of depressed hopelessness. That's why it's easier to find happiness caring for children or loved ones, because the problems that come up caring for loved ones often have tangible solutions. It gives you a sense of purpose and gives you the means to fulfill that purpose. All this to say...
Find your purpose! Therapy is a good tool to help you get there. Don't believe that you need to follow the path expected of you to get there. Don't be afraid to do things that radically change your life. You don't need to have children to find that purpose, but you need to find something tangible that makes your life feel more meaningful than the never-ending rinse/repeat of working to live and living to work, especially if your work doesn't give you a sense of purpose.
I've been working in IT for years. For much of that time, I worked for a company that helped business owners save on costs. I did not feel that the work I was doing was benefiting anyone but the upper class. I felt my life and my work were not helping the people who truly needed it, and that my life didn't have a sense of purpose...
...so I quit and started working at another company that helps children. I don't work with these children directly, I'm in IT after all....but I feel that the work I'm doing is helping the world more now than I ever did before. My job has given me a sense of purpose. If you can't find that purpose in your work, find it elsewhere.
These types of comments are very unhelpful. Please approach these kinds of discussions with more kindness an empathy. This just comes across as a complaint and not actual concern.
Don't underestimate how much YOU can contribute to change. If you aren't participating and learning how you can contribute, no wonder you are hopeless.
Don't take this wrong, but I think it's deluded to mistake cynicism with realism
Every generation has had this sense that they'll see The End or be the last.
Imagine, for example, growing up between the 50s and 80s with the threat of global thermonuclear war hanging over your head.
I get the feeling that doomsayers are an expression of a sort of collective, generational existential crisis more than anything. Everyone's death is the end of the world to them, and maybe those anxieties get unconsciously expressed in the blah blah blah. No evidence; just a hunch.
There are a ton of reasons why everything seems particularly gloomy at the moment, but the big one is - as banal as it is - the internet and it's economy of clicks/outrage/worst case scenarios, coupled with 24 hour rolling news cycles.
No attention is ever given to any stories with nuance, nor are they given sufficient room to be expressed (tweets, for example, are small and zip by), so every story tends to lean towards the extremes simply to get noticed.
(That's not to suggest that climate change isn't an immediate threat, I just think the single biggest hurdle to overcome in combatting it is the nihilism - and thus, inaction - it inspires because of how huge it seems.)
I would suggest going offline for a while, get some sunshine and friends, and see if that makes a difference to your outlook.
Only 75 years ago the planet was involved in a worldwide war, with mass genocide and millions dying. Less than 200 years ago, black people were literally owned by white people from cradle to grave. Less than 50 years ago the US was using napalm and bombs to kill hundreds of thousands of civilians in a country half way across the world. 40 or so years ago we had an ever increasing hole in the ozone layer that protects the planet from bombardment with dangerous radiation from the sun.
The things we are currently worrying about are horrible and deadly and scary. But they are no where near the scale that has happened in recent history.
I don't get the hopeless stuff, especially from White Liberals. Your ancestry survived the bubonic plague and all that Braveheart shit, climate change will be survivable.
Go on the front lines and fight. Make some good trouble!
Go on the front lines and fight. Make some good trouble!
Last edited:
History is both fast and slow. It feels like WWII and nuclear weapons were tragedies from a bygone era, but we still have people alive who witnessed it all. We feel like time has stood still and nothing is getting better, but people move slowly, let alone whole countries or the priorities of the world.
We are on the cusp of the first step to recovery. Think of all these wrongs you hear about now. Just 5-10yrs ago, we were blind to a lot of it. Just knowing what the evil is is half the battle. The other half is on execution. Is the response perfect? Hell no. Would I even describe it as "good"? Hell no. But it will get better. Because that's just how the world has always worked. People tend to be and do good. It's like investing in stocks. You can try to make money on evil winning here and there, but the trend for as long as the world has been around is that good happens, and you should bet on that trend continuing.
We are on the cusp of the first step to recovery. Think of all these wrongs you hear about now. Just 5-10yrs ago, we were blind to a lot of it. Just knowing what the evil is is half the battle. The other half is on execution. Is the response perfect? Hell no. Would I even describe it as "good"? Hell no. But it will get better. Because that's just how the world has always worked. People tend to be and do good. It's like investing in stocks. You can try to make money on evil winning here and there, but the trend for as long as the world has been around is that good happens, and you should bet on that trend continuing.
Since the dawn of time there's been issues and things will continue on that path. With that said humanity will get better but slowly, so just enjoy life.
This is a good answer. Talk to a doctor man, I was feeling pretty hopeless myself recently and had started sabotaging personal relationships because my depression had gotten out of control before I finally said anything to my doctor.
That was January of last year. These forums are great for letting off steam, but you also need to be making a concerted effort to help yourself as well. Sounds corny, but it starts within.
Concern is good. It makes you care and try to make a difference.
Despair is not. It's paralyzing.
There is always hope.
And even when things are imperfect or even bad, life is still worth living. You can always make a difference.
The arc of Justice bends just. A handful of years ago, gay marriage was illegal in the US. Now it's legal in Taiwan.
Be a decent person to those around you. Try to always do the right thing. Live your life. Maybe it's time for you to step back and focus a bit on your own self care.
Despair is not. It's paralyzing.
There is always hope.
And even when things are imperfect or even bad, life is still worth living. You can always make a difference.
The arc of Justice bends just. A handful of years ago, gay marriage was illegal in the US. Now it's legal in Taiwan.
Be a decent person to those around you. Try to always do the right thing. Live your life. Maybe it's time for you to step back and focus a bit on your own self care.
Get off the internet, OP. That's the first step in not being so down - there's always hope, and it depends on each of us to stir up hope in each other.
Get off the internet, turn off your TV and go out and see the world and you realise its actually full of awesome, kind, and thougthful people, and beautiful nature. There's lots of good in the world.
Sitting on Era reading doom and gloom and non-stop bickering about console wars and star wars does nobody any favours
Sitting on Era reading doom and gloom and non-stop bickering about console wars and star wars does nobody any favours
Yo I totally forgot about this shit but it was a big deal in the 90's/early 00's. It was like the prequel to climate change. We fixed it right? I think it was because of CFC's/aerosols which are mostly banned now
OP- focus on getting a therapist ASAP and cut down on your twitter/era/news consumption. These things are generally bad for anyone's mental health
I'm glad you're in therapy, it takes a great deal of courage to take that step, more than people can imagine if they haven't done it. Good for you
This is obviously a specifically western-centric comment, but people way back were too busy trying not to die from dysentery or whatever to have the time to be depressed.
Plus, I doubt depression was understood or even recognised as it is today, so if people were suffering, it probably wasn't 'reported' as much.
Listen to the advice of people in here, and then maybe take a break from era a bit, unless there's a particular community or threads that provides a welcome distraction for you.
As good as the advice is this Thread(particularly nepenthes) the shared dismay and anger at the current social and political paradigms across the world must do a real number.There's a lot of always online folk on here that could benefit from a break now and then, me included in some aspects.
As good as the advice is this Thread(particularly nepenthes) the shared dismay and anger at the current social and political paradigms across the world must do a real number.There's a lot of always online folk on here that could benefit from a break now and then, me included in some aspects.
Life is terrible but amazing at the same time.
We get to exist for 80 or so years if we're lucky, all we can do is try to make the best out of it.
Focus on what makes you happy and try your best.
We get to exist for 80 or so years if we're lucky, all we can do is try to make the best out of it.
Focus on what makes you happy and try your best.
There was no time in history when people weren't depressed but people really need to use the law of relatively in their lives. We all have days we think suck but in comparison to what? People on a PC or phone in a home or whatever complaining about shit on the internet when there is obviously an enormous population of people doing far far worse even if there is also a population of people doing better. The things people complain about most is shit that already happened so all you can do is control what you do after that and the other things they complain or scared about literally have not happened. Their lives are controlled by shit that has never even happened or other people's perceptions making them mental slaves.
OP you need to get some help. How many of these threads have you made? A brief look at your history and I see 3 or 4
Good answer, i think this is where thing will get more ugly then never before...
Hang on, are you talking the disorder or the mood?
Relativity works both ways though. People are under a different set of pressures.
Simply saying "well, other people have/had it worse" or "be grateful for what you've got" isn't all that helpful, even if it is true; doubly so if you're talking to people who are clinically depressed (which, judging from some earlier posts, the OP may well be).
Indeed. For-profit news organizations and social media websites are a cancer on society. Especially given that so many of them are intentionally aiding the agendas of the worst people in power across the world. They either want us to give up and accept our miserable status quo, or they want us to regress even further. Either way, late capitalism wins and destroys us all. We can not allow them to have victory.
No one here is qualified to help people with real depressive thoughts. A forum is not the best place to do that anyway. I honestly believe OP needs help, he's been posting things like this for months. What is the goal here? Is it a call for help, I don't know. I just wish he would meet a professionnal in the real world. I actually worry for some folks here. The future ain't set but the present is fucking real, and people under depression sometimes do terrible things.
I stopped thinking about things in terms of hope or no hope. All I know is I'm going to continue to support, donate to, volunteer and vote for people and organizations that fight the good fight - political, environmental, social. That's all you can do. As far as climate change: we'll learn the hard way but Ultimately we'll have to respond, even if by the time we do it's really bad. The only thing that truly pisses me off about that is the poor and indigenous people will be most affected by a problem they didn't cause and have the least resources to mitigate the damage. That's one of the reasons you gotta do everything you can to help.
Besides college and health care costs, we have so many more opportunities than our parents ever had.
Encouraging people to seek professional help is a good thing, but just complaining about the existence of the thread is not. While your fellow forum members cannot replace a therapist and professional help, sometimes people just need someone to talk to as a coping mechanism. Perhaps they don't have anyone else who can do that for them in real life, or at that moment. Facing rejection once you do that can be very damaging for someone who is in a vulnerable state of mind.
Also, sometimes even if what you're saying is technically correct, the delivery of the message can make it very harmful. These are just things to consider. If you don't feel equipped to respond, there's also the option of not replying at all.
OP
OP
Alright, since I've given myself some time, I may as well get it out of the way:
First of all, I'd like to heavily apologize to all the people for propagating those endless despair threads I've put for the last several months. It was unacceptable and irresponsible of me to keep doing that.
Secondly, I am dearly sorry for ignoring or pushing back against any and all advice from fellow ERA members to seek professional help.
I felt so lonely and in utter wreck mentally that sometimes I create these threads as a cry for help. Should've known that I might've hurt some people in the process or at least talk to a family member or a close friend
Once again, I am very sorry for this and I feel utterly ashamed that I kept making these threads until now :/
First of all, I'd like to heavily apologize to all the people for propagating those endless despair threads I've put for the last several months. It was unacceptable and irresponsible of me to keep doing that.
Secondly, I am dearly sorry for ignoring or pushing back against any and all advice from fellow ERA members to seek professional help.
I felt so lonely and in utter wreck mentally that sometimes I create these threads as a cry for help. Should've known that I might've hurt some people in the process or at least talk to a family member or a close friend
Once again, I am very sorry for this and I feel utterly ashamed that I kept making these threads until now :/
I'm glad you'll be looking into seeking professional help. We have a mental health thread on the forum, and there's a discord for the mental health community too. I hope they can be of help as well if you're not already part of the discord.
I understand the despair you're feeling. Just know that you don't have to feel this way forever. You can get better, and you can find purpose and happiness. You're a lot stronger and more resilient than you think. ❤