Indeed. I'm often overwhelmed by my feelings of fear and anger. Reading this gave me such a sense of futility, like wow I must be destined to die a slow and painful death of cancer, if poverty or civil uprising doesn't get me first. Discussion seems silly at this point. Capitalism has sealed our fate, there's little we can do to protect ourselves and our loved ones in this environment. Everyone should be just as angry. To not be this angry one must be dissociating... Which is what I'll go back to now until the next article wakes up my fear and anger again.

[–] cadeje@beehaw.org 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Our fate is never sealed. Undirected anger is as useless as apathy. Have hope, and work towards that hope.

[–] MadgePickles@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Easy to say, harder to do

[–] cadeje@beehaw.org 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I mean, that's up to you. But I guarantee you will both feel better and maybe help save the world if you try doing something beyond getting angry and then disassociating.

Consider the fact that headlines that instill fear and doom work against us. What use is trying if it's all fucked anyway? The thing is it isn't over until it's over. I can't make you have hope, but hopefully you can come to realize that hope does a lot more for us than giving up. If you can envision a better future, you can work towards it! You can help advocate in your local Citizen's Climate Lobby chapter, develop a good garden for local wildlife and pollinators, or even just helping others be aware of the issue can help. There's no one coming to save us, so it's up to us to save ourselves.

Or you can just get angry and do nothing.

I understand the anxiety. I was frozen from it for a long time. But what helped more than anything else was simply going outside and tending a garden. Find a love for the life on this planet, and try to protect it. There's so much worth fighting for.

[–] MadgePickles@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I appreciate the pep talk. I'm an engineer in water resources and do my best to help where I can. Sometimes I have outbursts on the Internet and sometimes I fall into frighteningly deep depression. I removed my ability to have children in my terror of bringing life into a the world so dark. So it's not one or the other -be angry and do nothing or have hope and work towards a better future. I'm very angry and very frightened and very jaded... And I'm doing what I can to hopefully prove myself wrong. I would very much like to be wrong. I don't have much hope most days and do believe the planet would be much better off of humans were at least much reduced in number. But I have loved ones and empathy for strangers, as well as a sense of self preservation so I don't relish the thought of suffering. Things can be more than one thing at the same time. I'm not sure how to develop hope, and I'm not sure how people like yourself still carry any, but I have the kind of steadfast resolve to help my fellow humans reduce their suffering at the end. There's a great deal of good that humans can do as well, art, music, stories, love. Those are the threads that keep me bobbing close to the surface. But yeah, I avoid the news almost entirely except for a few trusted sources and what I can't help but run across on Lemmy, etc. I'm too sensitive clearly

[–] cadeje@beehaw.org 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I'm glad you're doing something, despite the pain you're in. I simply want bring your attention to the fact that the doom and gloom attitude is harmful for the fight. In fact, many consider the onslaught of apocalyptic headlines and the new industry of climate fear to be a new tactic to get people to do nothing. Michael E. Mann, famous climatologist, has talked about this problem as well.

[–] MadgePickles@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 1 year ago

I understand the intention behind when people say that "the doom and glom attitude is harmful to the fight". I've heard it many times. But it's kind of like telling a depressed person to just be happy. It's like, oh wow never considered that k thanks I'm cured now /s. It's just like hey fuck you for being depressed you're killing the planet - it doesn't do a while lot to help. I think you're right of course. I still don't know how to stop being overwhelmed and depressed by it all.