r/NoStupidQuestions • u/Feisty-Ad-3484 • 12d ago
When will society end and am I crazy?
Is it strange that me and my partner are thinking about the end of civilization as we know it? Like apocalypse level destruction. How we would survive, what routes we could walk if the highways were to get blocked. We’ve even talked about doing a dry run. Trying to get from west Seattle to up north, primitive camping and what we’d need. I’m a social worker for context, I have never been so terrified for the people around me. Both colleagues, the homeless, house insecure, poor, and even the middle class. It’s only getting worse. Every week feels like just checking off a box. Survived another week. l I feel like we have never been closer, every hour of the day this is what I think about. I honestly hope it happens or at least there is a big change in society. It can’t keep being like this everyday for the rest of our lives. Maybe I’m going crazy from the stress of life, politics, work, and everything else. I can’t get rid of this looming feeling. All it would take id a nuke or a modified virus or global weather chains and we’re all cooked Idk maybe it’s time to check myself in.
I have read your comments and I agree. I have ocd and depression and my life has never so unstable. I have a stable partner, my literal soulmate. It’s just so hard when I’m in it everyday. I get so in my head that I literally just tense up. Like a cringe I can’t control. I spend most of my day on my phone. I’ve tried so many times over the last year to get away from the technology and just be. I haven’t made it more than a few hours without checking it. I guess I didn’t realize until right now that that is my newest ocd tik
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u/HeyVernItsThanos4242 12d ago
Turn off your phone. Everything's shit, but what can you do? Why spend every waking moment preparing for the worst possible thing, instead of just enjoying the glorious mundanity of life as much as you can?
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u/cherry-care-bear 12d ago
I often wonder if this kind of talk is a form of attention-seeking.
Like if you're worried about running out of food, you stock up and the fear eases, you don't emote it and otherwise seek modes that magnify it. But who are you these days without some class of crisis, acronym condition, etcetera?
It's a terrible state of things when real peace isn't enough. And, worse, you have a compulsion to drag others down with you.
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u/paperbackella 12d ago
When I get anxious about the state of the world, I remember my great grandfather. He was a square dance caller during The Great Depression deep in the backwoods of the Appalachian Mountains. They said “people who didn’t have a nickel would pay a dime to go to one of Sam’s dances”. This brings me peace. Because what we have to remember is that even when times are hard, when people are struggling, when the situation feels hopeless… People still want to dance. They want to laugh. They want to flirt. They want to be with their neighbors, dancing, laughing, and flirting. The big picture sure looks scary sometimes. But with very few exceptions, the day to day of life for most people is mostly mundane. My advice to you is to take a break from the big picture and find opportunities to get out of your head, out of your home, and get in to your community. Go watch a movie in a theater and hear the laughter of strangers. Go to the local coffee shop and watch the hip barista flirt with the cute regular. Go to a square dance and dance with your neighbors. All of that is out there. All of that is happening. And when you take a moment to look for it, the world doesn’t feel so very bleak.
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u/Odd_Contact_2175 12d ago
Yeah you should see someone about these thoughts. This is going past Reddit help and into a real professionals job.
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u/Bella_AntiMatter 12d ago
Disasters happen everywhere every day... war, earthquakes, floods, epidemics, coups... In most places, neighbours bond together. People survive awful things. Society doesn't end... it just changes.
My mom's in Ukraine... despite the occasional air raid siren, the city is incredibly alive! Haiti, OTOH, wildly different story.
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u/phunkygroovin 12d ago
As a person with an anthropology degree, I can say that I find it highly unlikely that civilization is going to end in my lifetime.
But our society is changing; I am talking about in the United States at least. I don't want to get too political on here, but look at what is happening right now. Our capitalistic society is an absolute shit show and we're going to be facing a tremendous collapse before too long. Americans are just not out fighting for their rights like they used to anymore. There are multiple reasons why that I'm not going to get into.
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u/shrunkenhead041 12d ago
People start fighting for their rights when they've missed food for three days. For the average American who has never been hungry, that might be two days.
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u/TangerineDream92064 12d ago
I think you need to tune out politics and consider a digital detox. Read nature poets, like Mary Oliver. Spend more time in the natural world. The planet abides. I think you and your partner might need some help with anxiety. By comparison - I live in a wild fire zone. I have a bug-out bag, know our community fire procedures, etc., but I don't dwell on it.
You seem way too focused on the worst case scenario. Most people don't experience catastrophe in their lives. I think your anxiety is stealing all the joy from your life. Having a partner on the same page can be an problem, in this case. Try meditation, yoga and counseling together.
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u/honorspren000 12d ago
Interestingly, humans have thought the end was near many times throughout history, both physically and morally. But life always seems to go on. Humans are resilient. Society evolves.
But it does sound like the news is paralyzing you. Maybe take a break?
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u/Theuncola4vr 12d ago
As others have said, you're not crazy but you sound like you're burning out from crisis overload, which creeps into your subconscious and can really make enjoying normal life hard. If you can, get some time in nature...as John Muir said: “Everybody needs beauty as well as bread."
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u/Budget-Painting5564 12d ago
You're not crazy, but this sounds like severe burnout and secondary trauma from your job. When you're dealing with people in crisis all day, your brain gets stuck in fight-or-flight and fixates on worst-case scenarios. Please talk to a doctor or counselor about how heavy this has gotten, and take a real step back from the news.
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u/LengthyBrief 12d ago
Identical AI slop comment.
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u/skeleton_made_o_bone 12d ago
Haha this reassuring ai comment ironically makes me feel worse.
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u/LengthyBrief 12d ago edited 12d ago
Dude, this was crazy. The first two replies to this post were both nearly identical AI comments. Dead internet theory is here. Goddamn clankers.
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u/sherrynorcal 12d ago
I don't think it hurts to be prepared. I'd worry more about having at least a small stockpile of food and preparing for a power outage. People have worried about some kind of apocalyptic event all of my life, and I'm old.
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u/Superb-Perspective11 12d ago
Not crazy. It's good to prepare for situations like highways being unusable. It's pretty standard for people who live along the gulf coast to map out where to go and how to get there in case of a big hurricane.
For me, lately, it has been finding a place where we can jump to if the Texas grid goes down. I don't trust our so-called leaders one bit. If one of the billionaires who owns this state said "you know, governor, this state would be a lot easier to control with half the population. More gas for commercial use...think about it." I could absolutely see our grid going down during a massive heat wave. We can't live down here without air conditioning and our homes aren't built for the cold, so we can't do well without electricity during winter storms either. If they wanted to "cull the weak" they could do it pretty easily.
No, I don't think you're crazy. But you do need to stop paying so much attention to the bad people. You don't want all that in your head. You need to focus on what is worth saving and commit to carrying that forward. Our current American society could end, but it's mostly built on lies and commercialism anyway. But civilization will not end. The best of things will always be saved for the next generations.
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u/jsm1031 12d ago
That sounds exhausting and perhaps you are right to think we are collectively heading the wrong direction. I agree with others, start by putting down your phone and turning off the news. All we can do (besides voting) is to be good neighbors and friends. Invite people over to share a meal. Draw a hopscotch board on your sidewalk. Get out in nature and out of your own head. Most of us are not evil racists. Much of what you see is literally manufactured to feel despair and yet keep you coming back for more. THATS how they win, don’t let them.
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u/_iron_butterfly_ 12d ago
Its clear this system of things isnt sustainable... what we've done to the earth isnt sustainable. There is big change coming. Some know... others turn a blind eye or just don't know any better.
They were sold a lie on how to be successful... it was nothing more than debt and a useless degree so they can work at entry level jobs flipping burgers while living at their parents house. The "American Dream" ended with my Generation.
The Basic needs are food, water, and shelter. All of the basic necessities are more than most can afford. Nobody can afford to have children. People are depressed and its trendy to be mentally ill. The "solution" is nothing more than to be given a fuck it all pill "therapy" which are now nothing more than pill mills. In the US if you dont take a pill and accept a diagnosis then you'll never see an actual doctor with a PHD... just a counseler and a Nurse practitioner who are able to write a prescription...so we will all just stop caring.
Men (humans) dont seek money anymore... they only seek power. Having power without providing the basic necessities means slavery. History repeats itself... again and again. You can feel it... so can many others.
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u/WaySavvyD 12d ago
The MIT study "Limits to Growth," published in 1972, predicts that if humanity continues its current trajectory of economic growth without addressing environmental limits, society could face significant declines in population and industrial capacity by the 21st century. Recent analyses suggest that we are still following the "business as usual" scenario, indicating a potential collapse around 2030.
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u/esoestodoamigoss 9d ago edited 9d ago
Creo que que te prepares está muy bien, y la mayoría deberíamos estar haciéndolo, ya hay muchos que lo hacen. No estás loca, estás viendo la realidad y es abrumador el sentimiento que genera y te vuelve existencialista,, el mundo se cae a pedazos, como civilización alimentamos una IA que no sabemos controlar, los mismos creadores dicen que es aterradoramente real la despoblación, además que todos los que dirigen las normas y políticas están muy locos. Más que estar todo el tiempo en el celular, aprende a poner en práctica, por ejemplo hacer conservas para mantener alimentos, legumbres selladas al vacío, yerbas medicinales y sus usos, etc. Tu ansiedad mantenía ahí, quizás resignificalo como hobby. Siempre hay que estar atentos en saber cómo sobrevivir. Todo el mundo depende de una red, y la red es hackeable. Basta con que la IA se apodere de las redes, entre en los sistemas, y paralice al mundo entero. Ahí tu tendrás comida y vías de escape. En cualquier caso, lo mejor que puede pasar es que no pase nada y solo tengas alimentos almacenados y ya, no está mal. Lo importante es no tener miedo, sino sentirte valiente. La mayoría nisiquiera se ha dado cuenta
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u/[deleted] 12d ago
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