If there's one message I wish I could convey to every single politics posting addict, it's that there is nothing ennobling about being miserable. One of the nice things about doing therapy is realizing there aren't any good principled reasons for feeding your own depression.
In fact, the reverse is true in my experience: people who work at living balanced lives where they are kind to themselves and others tend to have better politics.
Dorothy Thompson: "Kind, good, happy, gentlemanly, secure people never go Nazi."
You are mentioning Dorothy Thompson. I find the refinement into douchejock/creep-guy interesting that I someone mentioned here. www.unpopularfront.news/p/the-jockcr...
No they didn't, but they can enable the rise of Nazism by being so comfortable in their lives that they let it happen. There needs to be balance, there are far, far too many people in this country who completely ignore politics even as it starts to harm people more and more.
I might quibble on the details but overall, yes. I'd add that in order to do this work, people need to have time, space, social support and money to do it.
Definitely engage with the literature, this take is inaccurate at best, dangerous at worst. I’d start with the Browning vs Goldhagen debate to become more informed
Also, finding a way to channel that into some small amount of change helps a ton IMO. "Posting through it" feels a lot less catharctic than volunteering somewhere
I was just texting a friend this morning about this exact same issue. She was spiraling over the state of it all, and I was like “yeah. I’m gonna play in my garden and plan an awesome dinner and throw the ball for my dog a bunch since there’s not really anything I can do otherwise” 🤷♀️
Before engaging with stuff that annoys me, I try to get myself to post something that is true or good rather than engaging with lies and trash. I suspect it both feels better and is more useful.
I disagree with this. I've been in therapy for decades. I've had clinical depression all my adult life. Sometimes I need to be in it, to feel all the negativity and despair. It certainly is not ennobling, but neither is positivity. Sometimes feeding the depression is part of the survival process.
there is a very big stack of medical data that shows us when we don’t allow our bodies to process trauma or grief, it deeply increases the likelihood that those traumas or griefs are more likely to stick around physically or mentally.
Guilty as charged, but it feels you’re stepping over some necessary questions before getting to this exact conclusion.
Does following up what’s happening make one miserable - or the actual events themselves.
If I choose just to look away, then I’ll become the dog in the very burning room, won’t I?
There’s a huge difference between “constantly seeking out and wallowing in misery” and “staying informed”
A whole lot of people get sucked into the first option in online spaces, especially with addictive doomscrolling, and it ain’t healthy.
This is exactly why I've all but stopped reading the news. I hate not being informed, but it seems to be a constant stream of misery and hate, which was affecting my psyche. I know things are bad, but I don't need to be constantly reminded of it. Need a break from reality.
It was a light bulb moment when I realized that I could say nice things to myself. I mean, If I could say nasty things to myself, for no good reason, I could say nice things for the same reason. 😄
Theory: Since PTSD is pandemic, many may have become addicted to their own adrenaline. They can't function without mass amounts in their bloodstream, and the only way to maintain therapeutic levels is to be in a near constant rage, which causes the release.
fixing this takes uncommon self reflection
Took one of Hillary Rettig’s Lifelong Activist workshops years ago. Really opened my eyes how activism can just be hiding from past trauma and providing a cover for abusive treatment of others. Book is free to read online.
Been saying this for years. Having hope can hurt because it can lead to disappointment and fighting is exhausting, but also, misanthropy is not only giving up, it's disrespectful to everyone busting their asses to make a positive difference.
My issue with therapy in the past was always "OK, your hour is up," and it often made me feel worse than when I went in, because at at the end of the day, your issues are someone else's cash generator: it the whole thing seem incredibly impersonal and sterile.
