hylianengineer:
“sasra-scrapyard:
“ placeofunderstanding:
“ findingfeather:
“ wolfinthethorns:
“Honestly, in my work as a therapist, I’m seeing this A Lot, and tbh I still don’t have a satisfactory approach to it. A heavy dose of Existentialist...

hylianengineer:

sasra-scrapyard:

placeofunderstanding:

findingfeather:

wolfinthethorns:

Honestly, in my work as a therapist, I’m seeing this A Lot, and tbh I still don’t have a satisfactory approach to it. A heavy dose of Existentialist “create your own Purpose” tempered with “when the plane’s going down, put your own oxygen mask on first”, but… yeah, there is no ethical way to work on individual emotional distress without acknowledging the systemic socioeconomic, geopolitical fuckery going on at the moment, and the sheer grief that comes with it.

This is one of those areas where like on the one hand as a chronic moderate-severe depressive this shit hits me hard and on the other I’m watching people technically more mentally healthy than me struggle with the vast pointless mess of existence for the first time and it’s a trip.

Some tips from the inside, in case they help:

- life has always been pointless. Or rather, we have always been unable to control the relative point-fulness of life. The factors involved in opening the possibilities of who can have a large scale impact where are so insanely complex that they can at best only be pieced together imperfectly in retrospect

- the only thing that has changed is your awareness of this fact. No, seriously. The sun will eventually swallow the planet; at any moment without our knowledge or control the sun could flare in weird ways that will kill us all; etc. There was geopolitical and socioeconomic fuckery as bad or worse going on before: you just didn’t see it. Promise.

- you do what you can with what you have. You do what’s in front of you. Humanity has survived all of this before; it may survive it again. It may not. You can only do what you can: take what lessons exist from the past and apply them.

- sometimes it is just that bad and they are totally out to get you. The question is, what do you do about it?

- almost without exception in human history the answer has been “build community; support the one you have; reach out to connect MORE and to make the world more kind and less hateful than before.”

- recognize you’re trying to tackle god-level problems with a brain originally meant for keeping small proto-fish from being eaten. Treat that part of your brain like a very anxious toddler or rescue pitbull. Give it small measurable victories and successes even if you have to make them up. Make sure it’s fed and watered and has enough rest. Medicate it if you have to - there’s nothing wrong with that. The opposite, in fact.

We are hairless plains apes living in a thin skin of atmosphere between spinning liquid superheated death and the void of absolute cold, sustained by the radiation of a supermassive explosion that will kill us at the slightest excuse. We have always been unlikely and implausible and probably doomed which means every moment we are able to live, thrive and help others do so is an incredible victory. Don’t quit now. ❤️

Holy fuck I needed this

Kindle the Light, Shelter the Light, Protect the Light, Be the Light.

We can none of us save the world alone, we can only save each other: by thus is the world saved.  Everyone helps someone.

I’m an environmental science student with chronic depression and anxiety. I swear the regular, non mentally ill people are often handling this worse than I am - and I think that’s because they don’t know as much about how climate change works and what’s being done to help make it less bad.

Generally, the more you know about something the less scary it is. My evrn professors know we’re all terrified about the future, and they all are too - this is a problem our curriculum is being built to address. You know what we do about it?

We focus on the solutions.

We imagine the ways the future could be better than the one we’re currently staring down the barrel of. And we look at the ways people are trying to get there, and how we can contribute to that.

And I know it’s so fucking hard to imagine solutions, to imagine a future that isn’t terrifying, when the present looks like this. Environmental studies experts know that too, there’s a lot of discussion in this field of how we can help people begin to imagine these things, because some people believe (and I agree) that the first step to building a better future is imagining one. And a lot of people are so scared, that imagination is beyond their reach. So if you can’t imagine a good future, read about one. Watch a movie about one. Look at a painting about one. There are tons of writers whose work is all about this exact problem. Braiding Sweetgrass is a book that completely changed my life. There’s a really great podcast called How To Save A Planet that I can’t recommend enough if climate change is giving you major anxiety. Heck, watch Star Trek or any other kind of positive, hopeful depiction of the future you can get your hands on - it may not be as environment-focused or grounded in our present reality as some of the things created by environmental experts, but it is a hell of a lot more accessible. Find something that depicts a good future and watch/read/whatever it until it seeps into your soul.

We also know that climate change isn’t something we’re going to stop. It’s something we’re going to mitigate, soften the blow, but we know climate change is already here. I think that’s called radical acceptance, and I’m pretty sure some types of therapy use it, but my memory for that is a bit rusty. We say, okay, climate change is happening. How do we make it less dangerous? How do we adapt to these changes?

So, if you’re overwhelmed by the problems we’re facing, one option is to learn about how exactly they work, how people are trying to solve or mitigate them, and how you can be even a tiny, miniscule part of that solution. Try to imagine a good future and how we might get there, and if you can’t, find and experience art by people who can. And accept that you can’t fix the big problems yourself. If they get fixed, it’s gonna be because millions of people each decided to be one tiny part of the solution.

I repeat: I have chronic anxiety and depression. I study environmental problems, and in a couple years I’m gonna have a degree in this. I am scared of many things, but climate change really isn’t one of them anymore. I do think part of that is what’s called exposure therapy: I have been around this idea so much my brain is used to it now. That sounds like apathy, but it’s not. I have so much hope for all the incredible, brilliant, passionate people who are trying to make our future safer and better. I hope I can become one of them someday.

Further recommended resources for people with climate anxiety (which is an actual term and recognized Thing That Exists):

A field guide to climate anxiety (what it sounds like)

The documentary 2040 (made by a guy worried about what his daughter’s future might look like, so he started researching what the world could look like in 2040, if we implemented a bunch of climate change solutions right now using the technology we already have. It’s very hopeful, and a bit mind-blowing.)

Project Drawdown (these people did all the math about exactly what needs to happen to keep global temperature change within certain limits. They also have some lovely introductory videos.)

Unbowed: A Memoir by Wangari Maathai (who was a total badass, by the way. She founded the Greenbelt Movement to fight deforestation in Nigeria, and then it spread to lots of nearby countries. If you need a story about one person who did something hugely important against absolutely terrifying odds, read this book.)

Reblogged from Damn Funny

derinthescarletpescatarian:

oh-mother-of-darkness:

oh-mother-of-darkness:

oh-mother-of-darkness:

oh-mother-of-darkness:

oh-mother-of-darkness:

oh-mother-of-darkness:

oh-mother-of-darkness:

oh-mother-of-darkness:

oh-mother-of-darkness:

oh-mother-of-darkness:

oh-mother-of-darkness:

oh-mother-of-darkness:

One of the kids I’m babysitting rn just asked me, “Miss Amy, can I tell you a secret?” and then informed me that his brother does not have blood anymore, because they saw a doctor take it

Same kid that attended this Sunday’s church service in full vampire bat costume and screeched loudly anytime someone said his name

Update his two year old brother just handed me a partially squished cockroach

Today’s secret is “if I carry too many things, I die,” and he definitely, for sure did not tell me that specifically because I asked him to pick up his jacket moments beforehand

“Where’s the tiger?” the five year old asks, peering around the zoo. “I don’t see him!”

“Probably he had to get his covid shot,” says the three year old, nodding wisely.

How could I possibly forget this exchange

“You can’t play with my skunk,” says the three year old, snatching the toy from the five year old. “Mr. Skunk doesn’t like you.”

“Whoa, whoa,” I say, while driving. “Mr. Skunk likes everyone!”

The three year old makes direct eye contact with me in the rear view mirror. “Except the police,” he says darkly.

Overwhelmed! When the five year old learned that I’m having a bad day today, he immediately asked me to take him home so he can “get us a snack and help with whatever you want to do today.”

The three year old has offered to carry all the backpacks into the house, despite his former statements re: dying if asked to carry his own belongings

Today the two year old stole the headphones I always wear, put them on upside down, and ran away yelling “hi Babydoll!” over and over, which is in fact how I greet him. I did not come here to be roasted by a toddler

I recently put a purple streak in my hair! The three year old says that he loves it. He says he loves my brown hair too, because it’s beautiful. I feel very loved and I am going to bake him cookies about it

The three year old has covid (he’s okay), so I won’t be seeing the children this week :(

Here’s another story from last week instead:

“Do you want to come make paper airplanes?” the five year old asks. “I have a book that teaches you how.”

“Sure,” I say, following him upstairs. “I like paper airplanes.”

“It’ll be easy for you,” the five year old assures me, “because you can– wait. Can you read?”

The three year old has recovered <3

He’s also a little confused by the phrase “playing a trick,” so if he suspects I’m teasing him, he’ll point and yell “you’re tricking!” instead

Today he told me that I’m “always tricking…… kind of like satan”

I have never in my life laughed this hard

Hi! This may actually be the last update on this post because I’m moving cities soon, but with that in mind I have some things to add:

  1. The five year old and the three year old both have separate imaginary friends with the same name, which is Speed. They differentiate between Speeds solely by saying “my Speed” or “his Speed.” Yes, it does get confusing
  2. The three year old’s Speed has a tragic backstory! His childhood home got destroyed by a meteor when he was very young. He also has some level of magical power, which he uses to resurrect himself whenever he dies, which happens often, sometimes at the three year old’s hand
  3. When I asked the three year old about his Speed’s resurrection powers, he told me that yes, Speed does knows how to come back to life; Speed does not, however, enjoy coming back to life (because he knows that he will die again, over and over)
  4. Their dad is a general contractor, which means that all three toddlers have a really intense relationship with building blocks and also a working knowledge of construction law, which means that I (an attorney) do live a life where every once in awhile I ask a five year old if he’s building skyscrapers and he tells me no, they’re not zoned for commercial
  5. Last time I babysat for them, the three year old let me know that they have a new member of their household! Now I did assume this had something to do with their very pregnant mother, but I was wrong— the new member is a third Speed who belongs, of course, to the two year old. His Speed does not, to my knowledge, resurrect
  6. Their baby sister was born two hours after that :)

How old does the sister have to be before she gets a Speed

Reblogged from Damn Funny

weaver-z:

weaver-z:

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Collected my favorite post from each drug sub on reddit. I can’t stop looking at these.

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No other site does it like this

imsoofuckingsad:

me: I’m so cute
me 15 mins later: I hate myself

Reblogged from Damn Funny

aquacycle:

i work at the isekai protagonist factory, they put me in a big old truck and tell me to drive full speed into teenagers

Reblogged from ❤️adelaide❤️
Reblogged from Damn Funny

bussytwink:

assgod:

me in the bronze age telling my friend how I got bred by a general, high priest, and donkey vender all in one night

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Reblogged from SpongeBob SquarePants

godtechturninheads:

magicaltophat:

drtanner:

queenoftheimpala:

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When they said it might sing, this wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.

I think my dinner is possessed.

THAT IS NOT A “HUMMING NOISE” 

Nothing rouses my appetite like the wails of the damned.

@infiniteadventureswithyou

Reblogged from SpongeBob SquarePants

electricpentacle:

ms-hells-bells:

transphobic:

She’s a 10 to me

i was thinking ‘lady, that’s how you get murdered, why the fuck would you invite some random man into your house’ but as the video went on, i was like 'oh, she’s exactly the type to invite a strange man into her house, he’s more likely to come out of this maimed or killed’.

This is one of the Addams cousins.

Reblogged from Pikachu Man

blueandbluer:

dogposts:

All dogs in the shelter were allowed to choose a toy as a Christmas present (via) (volume warning)

I know I’ve reblogged this in the past but we’re doing it again.

Reblogged from Damn Funny