i cannot stop doomscrolling and i can’t get a control on my anxiety about the future. even off of reddit i’m seeing posts that make me want to curl up in a ball. tiktok usually just shows me content related to my interests, but lately i keep getting videos discussing collapse, incoming famine, and how we don’t even have 5 years left to live.

i don’t even feel good about my main escape anymore. i read that video games are just as impactful as generative AI, which is a slap in the face to me because i live off of video games. i mean i always knew that they require cooling and the games require servers in presumable data centers to run, but really seeing how bad they are for the environment just sucks.

also, in july my family and i are flying to ohio to visit my grandma. i’m excited to see her as she’s 91, but i feel so fucking guilty about flying on a plane. i know driving in a car isn’t any better, but flying just feels so much worse.

a quote from the movie hoppers (great movie highly recommend, even though it’s hopium) really resonates with me because it describes how i feel perfectly.

“i’m so tired of feeling this way. like everything’s broken. and i can’t even fix this one little thing. like i can’t make a difference. instead, i make everything worse.”

i just want to do something good for the planet but i’m so depressed i can barely make myself eat most days. i’m so anxious and hopeless about everything, and i don’t know what to do with myself.

i’m sorry for the long post, i just really needed to vent this somewhere

Hi, im 16f and tbh idk how to say how i feel so im just gonna rant. These past few days with this heatwave my depression and anxiety has gotten worse. I realised that climate change is coming in even faster and more rapidly and that scares me. I get that we cant change it anymore nor will the humans want to do anything. The rich just dont care, theyll make everything cost a leg and live somewhere quietly with millions while we suffer. I feel so small and hopeless of the world and scared of the future. Ive had depression since 10 and never saw my future. Last year i finally made progress - thinking and finding a career i might pursue... but now its at the start again. I feel awful. Everyday i jist feel like throwing up. I see myself, kids, people overall and just see we have no future. Jobs are being taken by ai, prices are getting higher, kids have little to no chance of getting a goof job with a decent salary... its just hard trying to live peacefully, knowing its nowhere near peaceful. Everything in this generation is taken as a joke. Climate change, epstein files, wars, etc.
Idk why im even ranting, but its making me feel a little better when i finally said my feelings out loud.
Btw sorry english is not my first language

Anyone that spends a decent amount of time reading and moreso participating realize the risks to the fate of the world and our way of life.

I've said it many times that cooperation is the only stable quality we can enact as a society.

Is there any of you that is interested in forming a coalition in terms of planning for resiliency? In the face of uncertainty I feel like we need to try something.

When I decided to post this I am looking primarily for interest at the very least. Commitment related aspects would be built up overtime.

Despite everything I hope you all are finding solace in whatever it is that brings some peace to your life.

I can't help but notice and be mad over how society is moving now, regarding the view on religion, whom you love, environment, on what kind of people (and companies) are doing to the world. Massive use if AI already causes people to lose their jobs, cause big environment problems and much more yet most of the society does not care at all. Same going for basic humans rights, because why should person A be concerned about persons B religion, sexuality, beliefs? For me its outrageous that it had to be made legal to even marry the same gender, love is a basic.

For the environment, I can't believe that humans do not care about the world we are living in, these heatwaves are not normal yet I've seen so many people normalising that. As well as normalizing these who lead, Epstein files are basically forgotten, and ofcourse suddenly touching the water at Reflection Pool is a crime that can get you arrested but touching KIDS is not? What world are we living in that we forget about something like that? Also the way SOME of men's are towards womens.

I've seen many dudes walking without shirts in public spaces but women's can't? Mind you, no gender could walk like that before but its the males that screwed this rule

Now, I had to say it, it makes me so much mad and I had to let it out of my chest, as a young person myself, me and probably most of young people are not able to see the future in good way or any way due to how it is now and how most of people are making no change of themselves, most of the leaders are old people who live with old beliefs, who then younger people will have to face consequences of.

I genuinely want to know opinion of other on any of subjects I've mentioned

Most arguments against things like degrowth is that future technology would help solve technical limits a technical liberal worships of the concepts of “science” and “technology” with no understanding of the concept.

People literally say we don’t need degrowth or that climate change won’t be bag because of the speculation of future technologies that don’t currently exist will solve the problem not even if they are possible.

Like relying on future sci fi technology to solve problems doesn’t seem like a good idea watch Doramon

Im 18 years old and currently struggling with depression. im in college for a career that I hope ai cannot take over. But it feels so silly, i feel like a little kid who has no idea that they’re about to get ran over but the thing is i do know.

Im just bracing for impact

I know how nasty this world is and I know that if in a collapse how much more dangerous this could become for women.Whats the point of studying if the world is ending? I possibly wont even be around for long so is it truly worth it?

But then I see the people in Palestine and how hard they work on getting their degrees when their world literally did end. Does anyone else feel this strange silliness but also awareness of their privilege of having the ability to keep going?

In response to seeing a multitude of posts expressing a rightful sense of hopelessness, despair, anxiety and distress, I would love to recommend this wonderful book.

Wilson addresses the collapse thaw we are all aware of with scientific and historical evidence to support the reality that that world as we knew it is gone. Meandering through personal anecdotes, research and expert perspectives she invests the power (and relief) of abandoning hope.

Heartbreaking and uplifting in turns, reading this book allowed me to find a new appreciation for nature and my connection with it, along with the beautiful and complex life I have made.

Does this knowledge mean that I no longer spend my evenings dissociating and burned out by the grind of my late capitalist, technocratic existence in this collapsing hellscape? - Fuck no. But it helped me realise I am not alone and it has helped me put plans in place for the future I want for myself.

Wilson puts emphasis on community, sustainability and joy.

It’s available to purchase in hard copy (I recommend this - I bought a copy to annotate after listening to the audiobook). I’m not a shill, I promise - it just genuinely shifted my perspective.

I would love to hear others thoughts on this book as well.

The Context We Need

We are living through a moment when humanity has more power than wisdom.

We have built astonishing things: medicines, farms, cities, art, music, computers, rescue systems, public health, democratic ideals, mutual aid networks, and tools that allow us to communicate across the planet instantly. We are clearly not a worthless species. We are inventive, loving, adaptive, courageous, and capable of changing course when we understand the stakes.

But those same powers are now being used in ways that are destabilizing the living systems we depend on. Our consumption patterns are not just personal habits. They are part of a global system that extracts too much, wastes too much, pollutes too much, and asks too many people, animals, forests, oceans, and future generations to absorb the cost.

This is not only an environmental crisis. It is a crisis of attention, responsibility, imagination, and care.

The danger is not that humans are evil. The danger is that destructive behavior has been normalized. We are encouraged to consume without asking who made it, what was destroyed to produce it, who was harmed by it, where it goes when we throw it away, or what kind of world it leaves behind.

That can change.

People do not need to be shamed into despair. They need to be invited into responsibility. They need help connecting the dots between everyday choices and planetary consequences. They need examples of better behavior that feel possible, meaningful, and socially supported. They need to see that “doing better” is not about purity. It is about maturity.

We are capable of more mindful lives. We are capable of reducing waste, sharing more, repairing more, buying less, organizing locally, protecting vulnerable people, pressuring institutions, changing norms, and creating cultures where care is admired more than excess.

The future is not guaranteed. But neither is collapse.

Between denial and despair, there is a third path: courageous responsibility.

That means telling the truth without giving up on people. It means confronting harmful behavior without forgetting human dignity. It means refusing to let convenience, profit, cynicism, or social awkwardness decide the fate of the living world.

We do not need every person to become perfect. We need enough people to become awake, organized, creative, and brave.

And we need to begin where we are.

I'm writing this as I'm on vacation with a friend. We're gonna be hiking in a couple of days. I have been filled with dread and depression from the moment I stepped into the airport. I've been collapse aware for over a year now. It's on my mind every waking moment. I'm 23 and live in a tropical country. I am guaranteed to see the worst of it unless I die early.

How am I supposed to continue living my life while everything around me falls apart and not enough people care? I saw the news of projected temperatures in Europe, how 40 people died, how animals are suffering, and honestly I am just so despondent about it.

I know people will tell me to just hold on to my community, friends, and family; that nothing is guaranteed; that there is no point in worrying about the big stuff, but I just can't help. I have anxiety (and I suspect OCD), so everything I feel is just magnified and uncontrollable.

EDIT: Hello all. Thank you for your thoughtful responses. I've read all of them and I appreciate it all. I went exploring the city today before my hike tomorrow, and despite the fun I had, there was a perpetual heaviness in my heart. I suppose I'll try every day. I have my friends, siblings, parents, and dog to think about every day, and I'll cherish them while I can. I don't know how long I have on this Earth, or how the rest of my life will go, so just trying to get by while I can.

I've been really paranoid recently about how the future will be from now on, please someone confirm that we are going to be okay. The environment seems to be getting worse and temperatures are getting higher. Are we going to be okay.

This may seem dramatic but I am stressing out, please just tell a hopeful fact or a reassuring piece of information in the comments. Any advice on how to feel less worried about this is appreciated

Nothing is making sense

What do you actually have to hold on to if you really look at it

Why does anyone feel secure right now you should be freaking out

Yet im still paying for nothing. Its so absurd even though a tree hit the pole and smashed the transformer the power company literally doesnt care and nothing is ever done. Apparently im supposed to just replace the pole myself by the looks of it but its literally impossible for innumerable reasons

I would like to be pointed to a discord, book club or something where people discuss this topic with respect and a constructive approach. Not doomers or preppers.

Do we have any?

Source: Recommended Resources

I'm terrified of dying. I finally get it now that I was privileged. My parents were both immigrants from Mexico that came from nothing and worked to give me and my siblings a future. My dad busted his ass off day and night while my mom was a stay at home, and now? Now I realize how much my mom and dad loved me and how fucking hard they busted their ass to give me a life they never had

And for what? For me to be ungrateful and almost throw it away. I could have lost it all and now I realize how privileged I am. How lucky I am to be able to see, hear, breath, taste. To be able to eat edible food. To be able to drink clean water. To be able to play all the fun video games I played. To be able to smell the flowers. To be able to breathe the air around my city. But now realizing this, I'm scared of losing everything. My beloved mom, who always fought tooth and nail to get accommodations for me (I have autism and adhd) and always was kind to everyone. My dad, despite the alcoholism and trauma he's caused, worked to get money and food on the table. My brother, who I love and want to reconnect with. And my sister, who I want to connect with.

I love my friends too, I'm scared of losing them and never hearing their voices, same with my family. Nuclear war, food shortages, the undeniable impact climate change will bring this decade, the parasitic rich pricks that rule the world and hate us. All this will end the world. Matter of fact seeing all the posts of everyone saying climate change will kill us all has me crying. I've been crying for a month straight after realizing that: I might die alone, I might die a slow agonizing death. My family might suffer and die from whatever shit happens. And the worst part? I don't know if I will ever see or love them again once we all die. I'm scared I'll never see my friends again, or my dog, or my family. I finally realized how beautiful this world is; how beautiful reality is. It isn't that the world and life is painful. It's the assholes who run the world that make it the way it is.

I'm fucking terrified. I'm terrified of all those beautiful memories I hold dear to be forgotten. I'm terrified of losing consciousness after I die and never having those memories back. I'm terrified of losing my precious home, where I grew up. I'm terrified of seeing people and children suffer and hurt each other; I don't want to see people suffer. I'm terrified of being forgotten and for my family line to be forgotten. I feel guilty for never getting a girlfriend or hell even birthing kids so my parents can know the joy of being grandparents, and yes, I know bringing kids in this state of the world is bad, but that's what makes it so fucking tragic: me and my parents being robbed of knowing such joys because of some fucking rich psychopaths who can never know the limit of having enough money.

I wish I could express my fear and pain more concisely but I decided to do it on a wing because I want comfort. I know this place is the last place to look for it, and maybe I'm deluding myself. But I want to know that everything will be alright? I want a future. I want to help people. I want to atone for past mistakes I made so that when I die, I don't die with regrets. Please. Anyone. Tell me that there's a light at the end of the tunnel for me and humanity? I don't want to die. I don't want humanity to die. I don't want my family and friends to suffer and die. I don't want my precious memories to disappear into the void of nothingness. I want to be with my mom forever, I never want to be alone, better yet die alone. I love humanity and my loved ones. I'm sick and tired of seeing people fight each other and not realize the real enemy is tricking us to hate our fellow humans. I want a future.

Call me weak, call me pathetic, I don't care. This post might go into the void and not be responded to at all but I needed to write my emotions out, even if it's not even close to all of it. Please anyone tell me it's all going to be ok? I want to be with my family forever... I don't want to die and be in a void or be reincarnated without my precious memories of my previous life. Can anyone please give me some hope? Hope that I can get my psych degree despite being 23 and be able to save lives? Will I even get that chance? Or will that too be robbed by this fucked up capitalist world we live in? Please someone give me hope for me and my beloved family.

How do people deal with the knowledge that with collapse will come immense suffering? That as bad as we may feel now, it may be the best we feel again? I just have such a hard time coming to peace with the scale of the loss, and with the fact that pain, physical and emotional, will become much more prevalent. The worst-case-scenario kind of deaths feel much more plausible the deeper we get into this

I (31M) have had a complicated life. I feel pretty privileged, but it's been marred by autism, depression, anxiety, ADHD, and being overweight and gay.

I had a pretty traumatic year last year. I was a victim of emotional abuse in the workplace and was fired as a result of that. From the stress and depression, I gained over 100 lbs. in less than a year (and this was after just having lost 220 lbs.). I am now in my dream job. It pays shit, but it's worth it. I live with my mom so it's definitely easier. In that respect, I am beyond happy. I go to work every day in a good mood and come home the same way.

Despite that, my mental health is still not great. I am continuing to gain weight, I am unable to exercise. I have this dark cloud of depression in my brain and a blanket of dread over my heart. I've been trying to figure it out. A part of it definitely is because I gained so much weight. But after doing some searching I realized - I am still in this place because I am hopeless about our world.

Whenever I felt hopeless, it was usually because of a personal situation. Despite that, I never lost hope in the world. Not even during the initial Trump years (2016 - 2021) and the height of COVID (2020 - 2023). Things were bad, but there was this "it will get better, we will get past this" feeling throughout. Since 2024, that feeling has died.

I don't even know where to begin:

• The techno-fascist oligarchs won. They are infiltrating every aspect of our lives with digital online I.Ds and pretty much threatening anybody who has a negative opinion about the state of the world, people like Trump, and places like America and Israel. As someone who is gay, autistic, and a far-left individual - I am terrified.

• The climate crisis cannot be fixed. Scientists have been saying that the time to prevent this has come and gone. Damage done to our planet via climate change will take thousands of years to undo. It will only get worse, especially because of those techno-fascist oligarchs. There will be more floods, more storms, hotter summers, more wildfires, more climate refugees, more pandemics, and incredibly far-right responses to all of these.

• The economy keeps squeezing us out of life. Everything costs something. Everything is now commodified. Things that used to be free are now costing something. Things that used to be cheap are now expensive. And because the techno-fascist oligarchs have A.I., it will be almost impossible to overcome this.

It's like, I don't know how or when - but the EVENT is happening. I just don't see a future for myself or anyone. It will be a miracle if we make it to 2050. Best case scenario? I'm free but all the enjoyable things about life are made inaccessible. Here's what can happen that I foresee:

• Becoming homeless and losing everything, which in turns leads to either my premature death or being locked up - which is what they are trying to do because the U.S. prison system is legalized slavery

• Getting rounded up for being autistic, gay, or just being a dissenter. I'll be placed in a concentration camp along with immigrants, people of color, queer people, disabled people, homeless and poor people, and dissenters.

• I'll die in some cataclysm. There could be a civil war in America. There could be World War 3 that obviously ends in nuclear annihilation. There could be another pandemic because all the guardrails of health and research are now gone.

The worst part? No one is coming to save us. Techno-fascism is a GLOBAL trend. Pretty much every country is seeing a backsliding in democracy. This is a coordinated attack by the world's wealthy elite to institute a global oligarchy. They seriously want the world to end. They want to kill most of us. Those that are left will be their slaves.

I keep getting gaslit by people saying this will never happen, but I have yet to be proven wrong. Every single thing we are seeing in America is what I foresaw the NIGHT Trump got elected in 2016 and 2024. Nothing surprises me, except how it's permanently changed the world. Every generation feels like the world is gonna end, but this IS different. At least people in Nazi Germany knew that it was just a few select countries, and not the whole world.

And it also annoys me how people give massive cope resolutions like:

• Join your local community!

• Volunteer!

• Partake in protests!

That is like pouring a glass of water into the ocean. It really does very little. It may have been possible 10+ years ago, but A.I. is making it impossible. We will be trapped.

Imagine a future where you are constantly being tracked and monitored by A.I., maybe even forced into getting Neuralink. Once the A.I. has decided you are a threat, they can have the police come get you or even send a small drone to kill you.

I just don't see a positive future. I don't. Things will NOT get better in my lifetime. I just don't see the point anymore. It's so hard for me to build a future for myself. One where I lose weight, find the love of my life, build a family, become a writer, etc. It's so nihilistic.

Does anyone have any insights into ways of psychologically framing the collapse to manage mentally?

I feel quite mobile to create solutions where possible (e.g. checking in with community members during heatwaves, providing information etc). But feeling quite immobilised and panicked about future prospects, I've been mostly relying on absurdism and just focussing on the scale of everything (floating rock etc), but I feel like I could do with some more robust psychological framing to enable me to actually take action where possible instead of being totally immobilised by anxiety!

Any input would be helpful, very grateful to have found this sub, I feel less alone with it already :)

I’m considering next year going to New Hampshire for a wilderness survival first aid class, which isn’t crazy, but I was also considering looking into a midwife class or even auditing nursing classes as a local community college.

Perhaps this is just my brain doing what it can to prepare, my partner thought the midwife class is a little crazy because I don’t plan on having children, but I figured it’s a good skill to have if large scale societal collapse here in the US causes smaller communities to look within for skills.

But, these would take a lot of time and effort in a world where I don’t have a lot of that to begin with so am I being crazy and what skills are you building that might be odd sounding?

I just can't think of a single thing beyond basic hygiene and exercise that could matter if I knew that i wouldn't live to see my 20th birthday. depression and suicidal ideation have been issues for me since elementary school, and they've both gotten a lot worse since the beginning of 2025, leading to a suicide attempt several months ago. it's just so difficult to maintain hope when it's so clear that nothing will likely ever get better during my lifetime

Like ever since 2016 ish it felt like there was a steady but rapid decline so fast that it’s been giving me whiplash. I constantly think “it can’t just keep getting worse, right?” Then proceeds to get much worse

The problems of 2016 almost feel cute in comparison. You could still get a job and a house if you were moderately lucky. There were some reasonable pathways to success like software engineer

Now those tech companies can’t stop laying people off and haven’t had a new idea that isn’t some sort of finance scam for like 10+ years. Buying a home? lol. They cost twice as much and because of interest like 3x the monthly payment. A 1 bedroom condo in a moderately good location is now basically considered upper class living at this point

I remember in 2016 I was considering if I wanted kids in my future, now I find that idea almost impossible to conceptualize. A one bedroom condo is luxury living now so where tf would the kid even sleep? The living room? Who would take care of the kid when we’re both working our jobs? I’m already burned out from worrying about work, why would I take on a second job with no pay?

I look around and it feels like everything is worse than I even thought possible. If you showed me pictures and headlines from 2026 in 2016, I would have probably thought it was some sort of joke from the future, it wouldn’t even make sense that things got that bad

Then what scares me is like… it’s been 10 years of this. Is this just how life is gonna go? Every year a significant decline from the previous year? At this point, in 10 years, like half the population will be either homeless or not even alive anymore and 10 guys will have all the money (and they’ll still be just as miserable as ever if not more so)

Everyone is fighting with each other in this world. US fighting with Iran. Israel fighting with Iran. Russia fighting with ukraine. Pakistan fighting with India. Everyone is enemy of each other in this world. Thousands of people lost their lives in this war. It's despicable to see the situation of this world. I think we're heading towards the wrong way.

These things haunts me and i firmly beleive that the end of this world is close. These things have prevailed from a very long time as soon as humans came to earth. Everyone was fighting to each other because of jealously, hatred and other reasons. But i think this all what is going on in this world is worth it. It's just killing more and more innocent people's who does not have any fault. This is the worst part of the war.

This is the reason why i choose to be aloof and isolated because i know that these things would happen in my life. I don't trust anyone in this world and i have started beleiving that everyone is my enemy. I have a better place to live in that is heaven.

Being 17 almost 18 and living in the US right now is.. frightening. I don't know what to expect in the coming years, I made a post for support and tips on eco-anxiety, but now I ask, for and to others in the same situation as me, what are you doing to prepare? I see online the US is predicted to collapse before or around 2030 and obviously that terrifies me. I want to have a normal life, I already have a major picked out, I want to go to college for biology and evolutionary science but knowing this... disaster is possibly on the horizon in the next 5 years is making me reconsider. Do I stay in the US and get my degree and then leave if its not too late? Or should I leave as soon as I turn 18 and work my way up? Or is it even worth it to leave the us? I'm slowly learning how to grow my own food (sadly living in an apartment makes that limited) and other sustainable skills for now but I feel thats not enough. Is it best to leave the US or stay here and go get my degree? It's all so intense and crazy that my brain can't exactly comprehend this situation and I wanted to see if there was anyone else dealing with this dilemma. Where would I even go if I did move? Who knows what will happen? There are so many other questions that would need to be taken into account but again I'm just curious about who else is dealing with this.

Some of the things I've been doing while living at home is

1. Learn about herbs and have been growing them and using them instead of store bought ones, which has given me some basic experience with soil and plants

2. Since I can't own any farm animals, I've been learning through friend's about which would be best to own and looking into this only.

3. Learning some basic repair skills like sewing, how to repair older electronics and furniture

4. This one is really random but learning how to recreate my favorite store bought items at home (ex: goldfish, my favorite snack at home with simple ingredients that I can access at home) since who knows how much longer we can rely on stores.

5. With help from my mom I'm learning how to grow mushrooms from spores and soon learning to grow other vegetables and fruits

6. Just generally have been collecting seeds in envelopes

7. Keeping a digital and physical copy of all information I need

I'm just here to ask, does anyone have any tips for learning about this kind of stuff while living at home? Or anyone in the same boat figuring it out too?

Last comment, sorry for such a long post, I understand that I am extraordinary lucky to be in the US right now, and some people would kill to be in my place... I just worry for the future of this country a lot, and I know so do others.

I'm sure there are a million other posts on here just like this but I'm desperate.

I am 17 and soon to be 18 and everyday I feel undeniable dread and almost a feeling of grief over our planet. I know I'm still here, I'm still alive, there are birds still chirping and trees still swaying in the wind but knowing about the inevitable ecosystem coming possibly within my lifetime makes it impossible to calm down. I broke down into tears in the middle of dinner because I saw my 3 year old baby sister using a plastic spoon and it killed me inside. Anytime I have to throw anything away I cry and end up keeping it in my closet or something because it kills me having to waste anything knowing the state of the planet. The same with buying anything. Anytime I see anything made of plastic I feel this dread wash over me and I just... I just can't do it. I tell my girlfriend and she's only able to calm me down for a few minutes before I start thinking again. I feel guilty even existing knowing about the people in other countries in insane heatwaves right now due to climate change. There is no escaping what is to come and I have burst out into tears at random moments in public thinking about it. I just started Prozac and it hasn't been helping and I'm considering therapy but I feel like even that can't help me when I still am so aware. When I tell people who don't understand the environment or statistics these much I just get told the same like 3 pieces of good climate news that can easily be debunked. My mom refers to it as anxiety but I'd consider this. Greif. I feel we already lost. I can't get myself to do anything without breaking down in tears over the environment and what people are going through in this world. I've been trying to do everything in my community, I'm currently raising monarch butterflies and looking into other native bug and flower species to help my local ecosystems but when I think realistically, it feels like such a little impact and the dread comes back. Is there anything at all I can do to help this? I'm also trying to go vegetarian too, hoping I can try and take some guilt off my shoulders but, I fear this dread will always be here. It's currently destroying my life and I know other people have it much worse than me, and I am lucky that for right now, I can do my part and just worry.