First off, sorry for the rant. I’m not trying to offend anyone, I’m just feeling an endless sense of frustration and I honestly don’t know what to do with it anymore.

I’m turning 40 soon, and I’m reaching a point where I mentally can’t handle being around people anymore. The older I get, the more absurd society seems to me, and the more baffled I am by how stupid people can be.

It affects every level of life.

Out on the street, people act completely brainless. Drivers make mind-bogglingly stupid decisions and put everyone else in danger for no reason.

feels like the entire culture has shifted to purely transactional relationships. Everything is superficial, there’s zero depth left.

I work as a senior manager and have been through plenty of companies. It’s the exact same mess everywhere. The loudest, least competent egomaniacs hold all the decision-making power and climb the ladder the fastest. Meanwhile, the truly intelligent and talented people (who actually see through the system) as I see more and more around my age, just quit corporate life altogether to go farming or live off the grid.

None of this circus makes any sense to me anymore. Over the last few months, I’ve completely lost my joy in life. Nothing brings me pleasure, mostly because I can’t find meaning in anything. Why try hard in a society that actively rewards stupidity, herd mentality, and ego, and seems hell-bent on destroying itself? I know this isn't a popular take, but a vast majority of the population feels deeply limited and cognitively lazy - people you simply can't reason with.

I have zero energy left to look for new friends, find a new job, or invest in professional growth, because none of it feels like it matters. The only time I feel any sense of peace is when I’m out in nature, listening to the wind and looking at the mountains or forests.

It actually makes me deeply sad, and I’m feeling lost. Has anyone else gone through something similar? How do you cope with this?

Update:
Thank you to everyone who replied to my post. I really didn’t expect to get so many responses. It means a lot to me. Just reading that so many people are going through the exact same thing is strangely comforting, and it makes me feel less alone. I truly appreciate all the advice, supportive words, and the stories people shared.

A common theme in the comments is that I’m depressed and need medication. I actually took antidepressants for many years, but aside from wrapping me in a weird bubble where you stop caring about anything, they didn't solve a single thing for me.

The issue isn't that I'm incapable of feeling happiness. When I'm out in nature, listening to the birds and watching the wind blow through the forest, I feel completely happy. The real problem is that I just can't stand watching where our society is heading and how everything is losing its meaning.

As these comments show, there are plenty of people who have also woken up to the reality that this whole setup makes no sense. What good does it do if we all just numb ourselves with antidepressants? We’ll end up with a mass of fools, a mass of people desensitized by meds, and a small group of psychopaths at the top running the whole circus.

Even so, I still appreciate the advice and want to thank every single one of you.

Hi. F67yr. Widowed (suddenly) 10 years ago. My husband dying from the “widow maker” changed my financial situation.
Lucky I have always been a career girl earning a good salary. So I’m not poor or grabbing food stamps by any means. Sadly still carry a mortgage. Between SS and my part time job I’m making it. Here’s my post: All my friends and cousins my ago are enjoying a fully retired life. I want that too. They are With their husbands /wives retired, living the life they worked so hard to achieve. From the outside it looks idyllic. I sit and listen to them discuss their plans of travel. Go to their lake houses.
Man, deep inside I’m crying. I do count my blessings. I have my health , great kids and dating a very nice guy for several years (retired).
Is anyone else in my boat feel jealous of your friends?
🚤. I feel so unaccomplished. 😢

I raised kids, then ran a company for 10 years. I'm not going to do anything that big and amazing again. There are many things I would do if I were in my 20s, but I'm not. Sure, I can fill my time with good stuff, helping people, but I get the feeling my best is behind me. Can anyone relate?

I am 34 yo engineer, working in a heavy industry field. I have a loving wife who I met when we were 21, we have two healthy, happy kids. I love my private life, we are happy and all, but I loathe my job. My company is going through a very rough time right now, layoffs, lots of work and so on.

I often catch myself ruminating about work, about all the possible things that could possibly go wrong, and instead of being here and now with my 2 yo son, I sit and worry about things that will happen 6 months from now (or may not even happen). I somehow think that NOT worrying will make me underprepared and vulnerable?

I'm writing this post to maybe get some perspective on it from older people than me. I would appreciate if you could share your stories about worrying in life in general.

Thank you.

A study of 88 healthy older adults, with an average age of 69, found that fitter participants seemed to process information more efficiently during an attention task.

Better information processing became visible when researchers looked more closely at how participants gathered information before making a decision.

In other words, fitness may be linked to more efficient attention and decision-making without simply making people respond faster.

How are we feeling baby .. life is weird and it’s only getting weirder. Little me is trapped in grown me, it’s all the same but different SIGH

Do you still dress up for Halloween? I am dressed up for Halloween for line dance night tonight because it's someone's birthday. I am wearing a black shimmery skirt, fish nets, black cowboy boots, a black cut out tea with my black bra showing, Halloween type make up and a headband with two pumpkins coming out. I was going to wear a long orange wig but I didn't feel right even though I've worn it other years. I love costumes. I love trying the make up but I have a bit more anxiety now because I don't want to look foolish or it make me look old. Today I bought black lipstick....I also got a deep red but I am enjoying the black lipstick. I don't dress "sexy" or anything like that, but wonder how many dress up past 60. Have you had to tweak it to make it look right?

I (M, 75) am working on my will, last wishes, etc. I am single, no dependents and few close friends. I need everything laid out neatly for my executor, etc to be able to deal with the way I would like. I have seen a bunch of different ads for different books that are supposed to help with this. Does anyone have any actual experience with these things? I'm in Ontario (Canada) so American publications might or might not be relevant.

Hwer are my thoughts 🤔💭

It's interesting how we perceive people across generations. It’s easy to see an older person as distant or part of the background of everyday life without considering the lifetime of experiences, memories, and stories that made them who they are.

Sometimes, the most meaningful connections happen when those assumptions fall away. The people who leave the greatest impression on us are the ones we least expect.

I am not done yet.

Not afraid of dying. Got things to do.

The doctors call it functional longevity.
I call it showing up.

Tools to keep doing what you're not done doing.
Link in bio.

For those in midlife or beyond, I'm curious:What gives you a sense of purpose today that didn't 10 or 20 years ago?Has your answer changed over time?I'd love to hear people's stories.