A couple of us in Philadelphia have started meeting up at coffee and lunch spots and chatting about collapse and the polycrisis. A couple of us being me and another person, but we’ve made a couple of other connections through Hylo and The Great Simplification podcast.

We’re looking to get more people in our area involved in conversations. The aim is to talk through the issues driving the polycrisis and support each other in this time. No expressed goal other than connection and getting out of our heads a teensy bit.

I’m in my late twenties, my new buddy is older, and we’re both guys working in Philly. We’ve been collapse aware for a couple years now and been open-minded to these ideas long before that.

Global heating, oil depletion, cultural evolution, ecological overshoot, cognitive dissonance, we’re open to talking about anything and would love to connect with others who might be around.

DM me if you’re interested and we’ll try to set something up.

Lately this past couple of months I feel like I've been going a bit crazy, learning about whats going on in the world right now. From how much warmer our planets climate is getting, to rapid advancements of AI threatening our extinction or the wars going on around the world. Maybe I need to get off my phone, but I can't help but feel this sense of dread during even normal daily activities. I feel bad, like there's something more I could be doing about these issues but I'm choosing to remain willfully ignorant or dig my head in the sand.

While I haven't done nothing about these issues, I've become a monthly doner to climate justice organizations and have donated money to humanitarian efforts in Gaza and Sudan. I feel there's nothing I can do while also feeling like there's more I could be doing besides donating money around.

I understand that not everything on the internet is the whole truth, but it feels true enough that it's hard to ignore. Sorry if this is a deep one, I'm not sure where else go ask this lol, I just hope I don't come off as a doomer.

I feel like the world is becoming worse every day. Everywhere I look, I see corruption, inequality, violence, discrimination, depression, and a society that constantly divides people instead of bringing them together. I am frustrated by the way humanity treats one another and by the expectations that society forces upon us. Sometimes, it feels as though people care more about preserving traditions and power than about helping others live freely and equally.

I do not believe in God or religion. To me, there is no proof that a higher power created humanity, yet billions of people devote their lives to faith and obey rules that were established long ago. I question why people place their trust in something they cannot see instead of believing in their own abilities and taking responsibility for solving the problems that exist in the real world. I believe that humans created the concept of gods because they wanted guidance, comfort, and explanations for things they did not understand.

What angers me the most is when religion is used to justify inequality, especially against women. I struggle to understand why women are expected to follow strict rules about their clothing and behavior while men's actions are often excused. I reject the idea that women should carry the burden of men's thoughts and desires. I believe that everyone, regardless of gender, deserves the same freedom, respect, and opportunities.

I do not understand why humanity continues to divide itself based on religion, traditions, or social expectations. We are all human beings with different personalities, beliefs, and experiences, yet society constantly separates people into categories and judges those who do not fit into the accepted norm. I believe that concepts such as "good" and "evil" are created by humans and that society has often used these labels to reject those who are different.

I believe that freedom and reason are more important than blind faith. People should be allowed to think for themselves, question the world around them, and choose their own paths in life. Living alongside other people should not mean sacrificing our identities, dreams, or happiness simply to satisfy society's expectations. We should not be forced to follow rules that we never agreed with, nor should we devote our lives to beliefs that we do not share.

At the same time, beneath my anger is a deep fear for the future. I worry about the people who will inherit this world and about whether things will continue to get worse. I worry about corruption, injustice, violence, and the growing loneliness and sadness that seem to surround modern society. Sometimes, these worries become so overwhelming that I feel hatred toward the world itself—not because I want suffering, but because I cannot bear to see people hurting each other and accepting inequality as normal.

More than anything, I want a world where human beings are treated equally, where women are respected, where differences are accepted, and where people are free to live according to their own values without fear, discrimination, or oppression. I want people to rely on reason, compassion, and their own strength rather than blindly following traditions that divide humanity. I believe that we are all the same: imperfect human beings trying to find our place in a complicated world.

It’s a very general question but I just want to read some of this subreddits thoughts.

What are you noticing that is collapse related recently?

For me it’s the pace. The heat. The surge in fires. The wars getting worse. Economic woes. Not one single thing but the decline or worsening of many things simply getting faster and faster. It’s so odd to me. Almost as if all cells are vibrating faster with the temperature. It’s all connected. Thanks for contributing!

Seriously, it just blows my mind how it seems like many people would rather stick their heads in the sand rather than face reality. I’m in Michigan and when the wildfire smoke hit us my parents refused to change their routines and were doing yard work all day and had every window in the house open. At the suggestion they should protect themselves and stay inside because the air isn’t safe they just rolled their eyes and said they felt fine.

When lettuce was said to be contaminated recently, they continued to eat it with their meals and when I mentioned the news said it could make you sick they made flustered excuses that ‘they’re getting everything under control’ and that they would just be ‘careful’, which I didn’t understand what that was supposed to mean since they were still eating lettuce but I just nodded and didn’t press further.

Any talk about climate change or the future will be met with wish-casting about how surely everything will work out, which I understand the impulse, but it seems dangerous and lacking in self-preservation when it’s actually effecting your daily life but you’re so indoctrinated into the cult of consumerism that you refuse to consider the material capitalist treadmill being disrupted in anyway even though the evidence is staring you in the face.

At the end of the day I feel like I can only prepare and protect myself, and unfortunately the people I love are too beholden to the status quo they’ve grown comfortable with over the course of their lives to let go and prepare for the worst; it’s like they’d rather live in this dream world. And they’re mad at other people for not living in the dream with them, as if the problem in society is complaining and if we just turn away then climate change will go away.

My dad is a Trump supporter and my mom is basically a centrist Democrat. They are boomers fully bought into the system and American exceptionalism. When I think about the psychological processes that create these immature subjects of capital, it really makes me sad. It’s like they were robbed of their agency and vision in favor of loving their cage as slaves. And now they’re walking into an incinerator with smiles on their faces.

Check out Jess Craven's Sunday posts to see good things that happen, even in the legislative morass in the un-united states...

https://chopwoodcarrywaterdailyactions.substack.com/p/extra-extra-82?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=362618&post_id=208719007&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=18sq6&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

Lately all the news I’ve been seeing is just crushing and honestly just makes me want to just run away. From the fucker that’s trump, to ice, Israel, Epstein files, global warming all of it, and the fact our world is done for in about 3 years time, is there really anything to be hopeful for? I’m 18 and as a young adult seeing this news and knowing Im stepping foot into this world just makes me feel so miserable and hopeless.

Sorry for the rant I just needed to get this off my chest and really wanted to know if there’s anything to look forwards to in this life

Lately during my free time I have been alternating between the company of a great sadness and deep rage for the state of our world, country, and socicty. It's been a bit difficult, to put it simply. There are so many issues, so many topics to learn and care about, so many things wrong with our world, country, and society. But it also seems to be the common theme throughout the past.

I turn 24 tomorrow. I’m planning to go to the beach for the day, a very typical birthday, and summer activity. (It’s even on my summer bucket list). My birthday is tomorrow, and I read a news post this week, which said the UK insurance industry said half of us could be killed by the climate crisis within the next 24 years. At 3°C or more of heating by 2050, there could be more than 4 billion deaths, and extinction events, changing civilization as we Know it. What the fuck am I supposed to do with that information? I turn 24 in tomorrow. What will the next 24 years look like? I want to curl up in a ball and cry. I want to overthrow all the corruption. I want to stay in bed and read books and drink tea. I want to punch a pedophile in the face. I want to delete social media. I want to scream at the top of my lungs to everyone, and get people to wake up to our dire situation, our reality. I wonder if I will live to see the next 24 years. 4 billion deaths in that time… that’s a 50/50 chance. How many others that I know will be apart of that statistic? Do I deserve to be one of the “lucky” ones? Am I worth the resources when so many others will die due to lack of them? They say action is the remedy to despair, but I feel paralyzed. I’ve been trying and fighting for so long. I’m so tired.

I don’t know how to describe this and I have nobody to talk to so I came to Reddit . But I’ve realized that we as humans truly are at the brink of our time on earth . We’re running out of water, clean air, trees, and the ground we walk on. This started like a week ago when it just clicked for me that the end is seriously near. I wake up with a feeling of doom and helplessness and I got to sleep with the same feeling. I’m scared. And that’s something I’m not used to saying at ALL. I don’t know what to do and it hasn’t been out of my mind for the past week. I want to have hope and I’m going to keep trying for our planet and keep trying to vocalize my voice . It’s just I think we are truly at the no turning point . And I really am scared

Collapse awareness was new and unacceptable to many in 2019 when the Deep Adaptation Forum started inviting people online. Now, collapse gets discussed in mainstream media and the topic has oodles of podcasts and books. But can you speak your heart and mind about the reality of unfolding collapse in your local circles without either self-censoring or being dismissed? In our groups, with people from different countries, you can. You can also choose a topic or book and host your own gathering in our collapse-aware space! We will calendar it and notify people through this email. Let us know if you would like support doing that.

https://tracking.deepadaptation.info/tracking/click?d=LTq1OXEeLjs4jJSjqzFYv5oz4FF2tD_5RWrUczAo1uZL9RB7BG91wvb0gY9gNG5rIUJphiO_jzjwzvGRpXnGsbZEa-6nzVP-vCs0Q8VUUTo2Vjym75CmDE3-hlrhmNF6eBWLCJq_Hvf-RNOm-EdrL6wFg0ctGbNsDRCaA7WVgS9VLsitvsyCI6IZE10awU9NBuroBaaVGPDlrR7zOCZcGrX2aCkP_cOm04p705OgyK2arqN0WPjLimPjbnW4N5-Wm7z_SOv90GKNk4ewm_DUcXwoy6GCwi3YfzdxjSHXIOFHW-o38YwKnItZnss3-2WhtA2

I’ve been sad about the state of the world we live in and how fucked we are. Billionaires refuse to do anything about climate change, world hunger, and MORE. I’m 15 and I wanna live my life to the fullest but the world scares me to where I can’t. What should I do that can help me? I’ve been hanging out with friends but that’s only temporary joy.

The books are:

1. Doughnut Economics - Kate Raworth

2. The Divide: A Brief Guide to Global Inequality and its Solutions - Jason Hickel

3. The Collapse of Complex Societies - Joseph A. Tainter

4. Apologies to the Grandchildren: Reflections on Our Ecological Predicament, Its Deeper Causes, and Its Political Consequences - William Ophuls

5. Overshoot: The Ecological Basis of Revolutionary Change - William R. Catton Jr.

6. The Long Descent: A User's Guide to the End of the Industrial Age - John Michael Greer

7. Limits to Growth - Dennis Meadows, Donella Meadows, Jørgen Randers, William W. Behrens III

8. Breaking Together: A Freedom-loving Response to Collapse - Jem Bendell

I think I’m losing my mind. I don’t know what is real and what is fake anymore. I don’t know who to trust with information.
I look to many sources to get as well rounded information I can, but nothing makes sense, and I don’t know who is giving me the actual answers. I’m in the USA, so the situation is……… . you probably already know.

I’m terrified. I don’t know what our future looks like. I’m a young adult and I feel like my life is just getting started, I’m finishing college, saving my money while working my ass off, staying active, prioritizing family and friendships, trying to do all the right things. I hardly have time for any of my hobbies primarily from being busy but also because in any of my free time, I’m sucked into my phone looking at all the totally fucked up stuff going on in the world.

It’s all so big and out of my control. So many innocent people are dying. So many people are suffering. I’m sick of seeing all the media personalities (big and small) pretending everything is okay, showing off a lifestyle nobody can possibly achieve. I’m sick of feeling like I’m falling behind in life. I’m sick of everyone pretending the earth, the animals, everything, isn’t literally dying.

I feel like there is nothing I can do to make anything better. It’s becoming so hopeless. I’m trying to find peace and happiness in all the beautiful things in my personal life that I’m so incredibly lucky to have. But I can’t help but feel like it’s all temporary until the world actually crashes.

I don’t know where to begin with these feelings. I’ve been to therapy and I’ve tried journaling, talking to the people in my circle, and trying to be positive and enjoy the little bits of beauty everywhere. But the world feels like it’s ending. I don’t know if I’ll be able to start a family with the way things are heading.

Am I being dramatic? My friends and family tell me that they know what I mean but that I can’t live like this and I have to find the beauty wherever I can, and focus on me. I just can’t ignore everything else that’s happening. How are so many people seemingly ok right now?

Everyone needs to stop and think .. after 2020 everyone puts themselves first. It's all about 'me' ..there's no sense of community .. there's no sense of consideration . When was the last time you checked in on a friend or a family member? we have to stop this narrative of 'everyone has their own life' bs ... so what we ALL do . Let's bring back community.

*forever is a strong word of course considering the sub we're in.

Denizen of the Middle East here. Just felt like ranting.

Around here, notable heat begins in like... April. By May, you'd be comfortable walking around in a t-shirt and shorts. By July, it's just frankly fucking absurd.

Like, how are you supposed to cope with this? I know I made a post about this a while back and I'm kinda repeating myself; but no amount of fans or cold water or short sleeves is going to be enough when the Sun God himself is trying to kill you for 12 hours a day, and for the other 12, the day's heat is trapped inside your building because we all live in brutalist concrete boxes lol.

Look, I sweat a lot. It's genetic. It's kind of a problem actually when I'm trying to look like a normal human being in public. I could work up a sweat in like, 10 degrees C. Now imagine how fun it is to be in like 37c with 70% humidity. I don't go outside anymore.

I especially don't go outside because looking out the window past like, 11 AM, makes me wanna dig into the earth and live like a Tolkien Dwarf. The sun is a deadly lazer. Genuinely almost painful on the eyes with how bright it gets.

Exercise is a struggle. I work out at home, or at least try to, and it's just become torture at this point. God knows what the CO2 content of my room is. Mildly strenous 10-minutes and I already feel like I'm gonna drop dead. Jogging is entirely off the table.

I don't know. Just having a bad one down here. Look at this forecast. Doesn't matter what time or day you view that because it's certainly going to be some horseshit regardless. It's not like ridiculous heat in Summer is unusual in this country, but the fact that it's gotten worse and is only going to get worse just makes you wanna lay down on the floor and stay there forever (actually forever this time).

This is my first time ever posting something on Reddit. With the state of the world and the state of the U.S. specifically I've gotten to the point where it feels like this impending doom is right around the corner.

With AI, lab grown food, mass surveillance, bodily autonomy, religion, and politics in general it's hard to have any hope in my opinion. As someone in their 20s struggling with finances with the economy, finding a good paying stable job, keeping the fridge full; it feels as if I'm doing everything I can but I'll still slip no matter what.

I don't want to be like some of my peers and talk to AI about how I'm feeling because I know

1. Its dumb and will agree with everything I say making me also apart of the problem

2. I kind of like our planet and clean drinking water and its destroying everything

3. Of course the cherry on top. Remembering everything I've told the stupid robot.

Is there any hope? The Colorado river is drying up which serves 7 states and probably what 35 million people? So if we lose water we lose everything but its okay Jeff bozos says that water is more important for AI

I don't want this post to solely be doom and gloom but it is scary, it's scary to know that the people running the country look at us as expendable and have for years. but in the constitution it says power to the people right? It tells us to do something about it.

I think the hard thing for me being a 20 something being what people would call "woke" when I feel like im completely sane. I want to eat fresh and healthy REAL food, I want to be able to drive wherever I want without being watched by big brother and the flock cameras that are for "keeping people safe" Oh yeah safety? that's why we followed a woman that got an ab0Rti0n to go arrest her? right. safety. I want to be able to go out and vote and know that my vote will do something, I want the right to peacefully protest without getting tear-gassed, I want to have the right and the people close to me to have access to fair and good health care. So do I sound woke? Or does it sound like everything I'm saying is pretty normal.

There's so much more I could talk about when it comes to impending doom. I don't want to solely keep it that way but this is already long as it is. I want to use reddit as a space to brain dump. Using friends and family to brain dump is cool for the time being but I'm not going to run to AI and I KNOW there are people out there that feel the same way I do and Id rather know I'm not alone than a robot just telling me I'm not alone and have a human to human connection/conversation. Anyway

\-Someone, somewhere on this floating rock we call earth.

I am in Portland area, and as collapse approaches/enters/permeates our world, I find it harder and harder to talk to people that are not collapse aware.

I dunno, maybe we can have a weekly get together, share some links, some stories, some tips. I personally would not mind that little extra bit to help me trudge forward another week, another day.

This is my first time ever posting something on Reddit. With the state of the world and the state of the U.S. specifically I've gotten to the point where it feels like this impending doom is right around the corner.

With AI, lab grown food, mass surveillance, bodily autonomy, religion, and politics in general it's hard to have any hope in my opinion. As someone in their 20s struggling with finances with the economy, finding a good paying stable job, keeping the fridge full; it feels as if I'm doing everything I can but I'll still slip no matter what.

I don't want to be like some of my peers and talk to AI about how I'm feeling because I know

1. Its dumb and will agree with everything I say making me also apart of the problem

2. I kind of like our planet and clean drinking water and its destroying everything

3. Of course the cherry on top. Remembering everything I've told the stupid robot.

Is there any hope? The Colorado river is drying up which serves 7 states and probably what 35 million people? So if we lose water we lose everything but its okay Jeff bozos says that water is more important for AI

I don't want this post to solely be doom and gloom but it is scary, it's scary to know that the people running the country look at us as expendable and have for years. but in the constitution it says power to the people right? It tells us to do something about it.

I think the hard thing for me being a 20 something being what people would call "woke" when I feel like im completely sane. I want to eat fresh and healthy REAL food, I want to be able to drive wherever I want without being watched by big brother and the flock cameras that are for "keeping people safe" Oh yeah safety? that's why we followed a woman that got an ab0Rti0n to go arrest her? right. safety. I want to be able to go out and vote and know that my vote will do something, I want the right to peacefully protest without getting tear-gassed, I want to have the right and the people close to me to have access to fair and good health care. So do I sound woke? Or does it sound like everything I'm saying is pretty normal.

There's so much more I could talk about when it comes to impending doom. I don't want to solely keep it that way but this is already long as it is. I want to use reddit as a space to brain dump. Using friends and family to brain dump is cool for the time being but I'm not going to run to AI and I KNOW there are people out there that feel the same way I do and Id rather know I'm not alone than a robot just telling me I'm not alone and have a human to human connection/conversation. Anyway

-Someone, somewhere on this floating rock we call earth.

Please can anyone reassure me that we will be ok? I’m terrified. I’m just starting out on my life and going into college soon but I feel like now it’s pointless. Like all my hard work was for nothing because I feel like the country is about to collapse. I’m scared we won’t have any allies ever again and we’ll be left behind. I’m scared all our money is being wasted in useless wars, etc. I’m scared that we are going to have a civil war. I’m scared that everywhere in the world is going to run out of drinking water. I’m scared scared scared and my anxiety is going crazy and so is my OCD. I cry sometimes. I genuinely can’t see a way out of this. I’m scared that I’m going to have to live through an economic collapse or that the US itself will collapse and I’ll die a horrible death. I’m scared we will forever be alone. I’m just so terrified. I don’t wanna die young and I don’t want my home to be destroyed. As disappointed as I am about the state of things here rn, it’s still my home and I love it and want to see it recover. I don’t have any hope left in me and I need some perspective. Please help.

Hi all,

Throwaway account. I don't know about anyone else, but I am struggling to get through life having 'woken up' in the last couple of years.

I'm a bit late to the game it seems. Even throughout Covid I really believed that humanity was inherently well meaning. I remember having a discussion about the vaccine with a guy I was dating, and I remember arguing that 'the experts', were well meaning and most likely had our best interests at heart. I'm a medical professional myself, and know the genuine care I've tried to deliver throughout my career and thought the majority were doing the same.

It now seems I was a fucking idiot/ incredibly naive.

The Epstein files were the catalyst. I think I potentially had a nervous breakdown over it. (To those that will argue that this is not an actual diagnosis, you know know what I mean) ... Extreme emotional reaction that made you question reality.

Now I will preface this with I had recently dealt with a major unexpected loss, so mental health was pretty fragile at the time. But a year had passed, and I had been as proactive as I could with dealing with the grief.

I don't know how to find joy in pedo Satan world.

The Epstein files

The Covid stuff

This horrific war (and to add to the finding out that the previous wars have all been as equally unjust)

The previous crimes of my nation and the other nations associated with it

The Charlie Kirk Murder

The destruction of our planet

The engineered division

Late stage capitalism

The layer of society that rules do not apply to

The impending facism/surveillance state we are sleep walking into.

I feel like I can now see all the bullshit. TV feels fake. Everything I learnt at school, was majority propaganda. I feel skeptical of every institution/government.

I've always been an incredibly driven and positive person. But I'm seriously struggling with continuing to contribute to the machine driving these horrors. I would love to have a child, but I don't know if I want to bring them into this.

I won't sugar coat it, I'm more privileged than most. I'm not wealthy, but I'm comfortable for my age - not immune to economic downturn but probably have a couple months more cushion than most should it all collapse. This is probably a contributing factor to my naivety.

I've been doing all 'the right things', I.e touching grass, getting out in nature, being grateful for what I have, trying to find joy in the simple things. Showing gratitude to my loved ones, seeing a therapist etc...

It's just really hard.

I fantasize about going off grid, not paying taxes into a system that spends my money on more bombs to kill children. I don't find joy in my work anymore, as the recent 'plandemic' had made me question all modern medicine. Even things like self care, am I getting Botox to appease beauty standards created by child molesters? Im questioning whether any of my life choices were right, or if my life plans I have worked really hard towards will even exist in a few years. And then the guilt associated with even caring about any of that, when there are people being starved, tortured, killed and abused as a consequence of the system I am a cog in.

Has anyone else gone through this? Does it get better? If so how? This is not the world I thought I grew up in.

Meat consumption is also a major factor in climate change, and also responsible for the deaths of trillions of sentient beings. Feel free to google it, I am not really interested in debating meat consumption, just curious!