The Lemon Fool

Sorry for this but I'm finding it hard to be resilient. The news, both global and local is consistently, never-endingly bad.

Putin's ego-trip gone wrong war, looks set for the long term. To add to the suffering of the Ukraine people, there is the constant worry the situation could escalate. Dictators in power too long have a habit of going insane. So the world is on edge, at the whim of a power-mad, unstable thug surrounded by sycophants with access to the world's largest nuclear [expletive deleted]. Somewhat concerning I think.

It is now reported that the evil and murderous Taliban have further tightened their grip on the freedom of Afghan women. For some reason I find this even more upsetting than Putin.

In Brazil we have Bolsonaro a fascist, with the destruction of the Amazon rain forest among his ambitions.

I could go on, as I'm sure you know.

All equally miserable and NOTHING we can do about any of it.

If we add the health misfortunes of some of my friends and family, I feel in desperate need of a deep sandpit in which I can bury my head.

Leothebear wrote:Sorry for this but I'm finding it hard to be resilient. The news, both global and local is consistently, never-endingly bad.

Putin's ego-trip gone wrong war, looks set for the long term. To add to the suffering of the Ukraine people, there is the constant worry the situation could escalate. Dictators in power too long have a habit of going insane. So the world is on edge, at the whim of a power-mad, unstable thug surrounded by sycophants with access to the world's largest nuclear [expletive deleted]. Somewhat concerning I think.

It is now reported that the evil and murderous Taliban have further tightened their grip on the freedom of Afghan women. For some reason I find this even more upsetting than Putin.

In Brazil we have Bolsonaro a fascist, with the destruction of the Amazon rain forest among his ambitions.

I could go on, as I'm sure you know.

All equally miserable and NOTHING we can do about any of it.

If we add the health misfortunes of some of my friends and family, I feel in desperate need of a deep sandpit in which I can bury my head.

I've been depressed ever since the Brexit vote in 2016, but a number of things have contributed to me wanting to do exactly as you suggest.

Work-related stress has never been so serious and although I could have taken early retirement a few weeks ago, I decided to stay another year to help our under-staffed group get through the next audit, and because we get on quite well together. Our bosses are the typical 'fingers in the ears' when it comes to serious problems.

The last ten years has been a bit weird. Middle East - Refugees - Trump - Farage - Cummings - Brexit - Johnson - Covid - Afghanistan- Ukraine etc.

I often joke that we are in a sort of Matrix scenario where spotty teenagers in the 10th dimension are playing games with us.

If you find an eco-friendly sandpit, let me know!


Steve

I'm sorry to read this and the only crumb of hope I can offer is to stop watching and reading mainstream media and concentrate on your family and friends.

I think we do need to be aware of what's going on in the world but I feel myself getting down if I watch or read too much.

Best wishes.

After the insanity of Brexit I resolved not to watch any national or international news ever again, nothing further than a three mile radius from home. The bluebells in the local wood are looking good. The OH enjoyed dunsford abbey at the local cinema last week. My motor insurance premiums have gone down! The sea is blue and the sun is shining. We won £75 on the premium bonds this month.

Completely agree with you Leo.

But hey, cheer up: https://youtu.be/SJUhlRoBL8M

GrahamPlatt wrote:Completely agree with you Leo.

But hey, cheer up: https://youtu.be/SJUhlRoBL8M

I knew immediately what that link would lead to

--kiloran

doug2500 wrote:... stop watching ...mainstream media

This is one reason we no longer have a tele.
I get more than sufficient news from the wireless and a weekly Times, don't want to see it as well.

V8

Ooh, you forgot to mention the Philippines electing BongBong Marcos. Insane! Worse than us electing BJ.

Hi LeoTheBear and anyone else feeling down about world events. Sorry to hear that. I felt/feel much the same way over the Ukraine war and some aspects of the UK political system. We are powerless to do anything significant about it, but it still affects us deeply. I think the lack of personal control is a stressful thing, because we cannot fix the very thing that is causing us so much upset.

Others have suggested switching off the news or limiting news intake and I think this is sensible. When things were getting me down at the beginning of last month, I found myself getting very irritated by some posting on this website (!), so I decided to take a bit of a break from it. It is the first time I have done that as a conscious activity and it was a positive thing to do.

Returning to the notion of helplessness, I think it is important to accept when we cannot change world events, but to do our bit where we can e.g. donating to the major charities involved, ensuring we use our votes wisely etc.

Many years ago I came to the realisation that bad things were happening in some place in the world - or in a household somewhere - 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. We simply cannot take the burden of everyone else's troubles, health issues and disasters all the time. That doesn't mean we don't care, but we cannot stop us living our lives as best we can - and taking pleasure in the good things that happen and in the small pleasures of every day life.

Although I am a very empathic person, I have learned the ability to detach myself at the same time. I feel this is necessary for my personal well-being. Does that make me a bit selfish? Maybe. It's my coping strategy.

C

Clariman wrote:Although I am a very empathic person, I have learned the ability to detach myself at the same time. I feel this is necessary for my personal well-being. Does that make me a bit selfish? Maybe. It's my coping strategy.

Selfish? Not a bit of it.
Doctors and nurses, police and social workers to name just a few, all have to do the same.
The world has always had bad things going on, it's just that now we can hear and see it 24/7.
If we so choose.

Enough to make a saint swear.

V8

This is all a matter of perspective and personal experience.

Here today in Northern Ireland the sky is blue the grass is green, the lambs are gambolling in the field next door.

No-one here has been shot, there have been no bombs, no-one has had to flee the country for their life, the roads aren't blocked by partisan security forces from either side of the divide, I can go for a pint in a bar pretty much anywhere without worrying about the views of clientele, non-sectarian politics are in the ascendency - and there are still no snakes.

In my experience and from my personal perspective this makes it a good day, I'm hoping tomorrow will be exactly the same.

Leothebear wrote:Sorry for this but I'm finding it hard to be resilient. The news, both global and local is consistently, never-endingly bad.

Putin's ego-trip gone wrong war, looks set for the long term. To add to the suffering of the Ukraine people, there is the constant worry the situation could escalate. Dictators in power too long have a habit of going insane. So the world is on edge, at the whim of a power-mad, unstable thug surrounded by sycophants with access to the world's largest nuclear [expletive deleted]. Somewhat concerning I think.

It is now reported that the evil and murderous Taliban have further tightened their grip on the freedom of Afghan women. For some reason I find this even more upsetting than Putin.

In Brazil we have Bolsonaro a fascist, with the destruction of the Amazon rain forest among his ambitions.

I could go on, as I'm sure you know.

All equally miserable and NOTHING we can do about any of it.

If we add the health misfortunes of some of my friends and family, I feel in desperate need of a deep sandpit in which I can bury my head.

At the bottom of [y]our street is a lonely individual. They live alone. They don't have many visitors. They don't use the internet a great deal. They have a small dog or a cat and spend their day listening to the radio, watching TV or cleaning their home. They worry about the increased costs of energy. They know that the cost of their groceries is going up. Once a year someone drops off a hamper for Christmas. They are the epitome of loneliness. Gone is their youth. Gone are their friends. Gone is their hope.

Putin is today's news. And therein we are drawn into the psychological trap he has set. He wants to frighten us. He wants to intimidate. He wants us to cower. He wants to attack our minds. Whilst we let him we will never win.

We are fighting a just war. We are allowed to defend our values and freedoms. Ukraine is todays front line. Each and every day the Ukrainian armed forces face down their enemy. They are outgunned. Today could be their last day. They have seen friends and family killed. They have seen their towns and villages reduced to rubble. Yet, tomorrow, they will still be their defending their soil.

It's not alright to be lonely. It's not alright to have to face the fear of fighting an enemy every day.

Sometimes life just sucks. It really is no better than that.

Tomorrow we can get up and give life another chance. Wil it be easy? Of course not. But we can decide how we face up to it. We can refuse to give in.

Maybe the news from around the world isn't great.

But maybe we can use the coping mechanisms that have got us this far and continue to apply them. Maybe we are tougher than we think

AiY(D)

AsleepInYorkshire wrote:
But maybe we can use the coping mechanisms that have got us this far and continue to apply them.

That's what it needs.

Keep smiling people...

https://streamable.com/vze4a7

(Audio on...)

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

I can understand the worries of the original poster (leothebear), and I agree with a lot of what clariman says.

I could get very depressed, but I think age has grown me a thick skin. At 67 years old, I have recovered from heart problems and cancer. I am already eight years older than my father was when he dies, and three years older than my mother, and I think this helps my outlook. I live in a great place, and have pension enough for my needs. I help out with STEM at local schools and colleges, but there is only so much I can do.

Even with all the problems, we still live in an affluent country. I could write pages on what is good, but I will just stick at remaining content with my lot.

Leo

remember we've got super Pat Vieira

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFOgQDbvqUM

In this depressing world its good to have somewhere where you can forget about the troubles in the world

Paul

Whilst of course Putin is of genuine concern, as others have pointed out, there is little we can personally do and appreciating the pretty comfortable life most of us enjoy and the simple things like nature's beauty or an animal's affection can bring great joy.
I am convinced, that today's 24hr media, mostly populated by self-important characters, simply looking each day for a weak point to attack, are doing enormous damage to the nation's mental health. When I was a kid, there were what, five pretty brief radio news bulletins throughout the day, few of which most people would have heard.
In addition, most adults did not feel it was their duty to share every trial and tribulation with the world or every so-called celebrity, their latest issue.
In fact adults felt it was their duty to protect the youngsters in their lives and hence most kids enjoyed a pretty happy childhood. I grew up from the end of the war and yet it was hardly mentioned, despite both my mum and sister being evacuated to the midlands, whilst dad stayed on in London. We need the powers-that-be to understand the damage this endless negativity is doing to society, both young and old and in some way, try and introduce some balance into what we all hear about on a daily basis.

Sussexlad

Thanks all, comforting to know many feel as I do in the overriding sentiment expressed best as have we learned nothing as we see the human race compiling disaster upon disaster.

I shall endeavour to count the blessings and have a news free spell.

My generation has seen a time where news can be reported instantly from almost anywhere. Just 100 years ago it could take weeks or months or not get reported at all. We now get it all. I think that's important and perhaps a rare downside to what my, rather spoilt, generation have lived through.

Have a great weekend.

Leo

Still looking at my table, wondering if it's really there?

(What is the point of the Question Mark?)

I wonder whether there are so many bad things happening in the world because there are so many people in the world. The world population is steadily increasing, so there must be proportionally more "bad" people. We just have a few more than we used to.

Conversely, you would think there should be more good news stories happening as well. But they don't sell newspapers. The lovely photos of Her Majesty smiling are probably the exception.

Once I became aware of the war in Ukraine, I did what I could to help. The only thing I was in a position to do was donate money to the International Red Cross. So I did that, and feel I have done what I could. The war has gone on longer than it should have, so I will possibly do the same again next payday. No, it won't fix the problem, but I can't fix everything in the world all by myself. Like plastic pollution, which does upset me regularly, I reduce and recycle where I can, and feel I'm doing my best but I'm not perfect.

As another poster said, the sun is out, the flowers are bright (shame it's dandelions in the middle of the lawn, and pesky bluebells all over everywhere I wanted to plant stuff this year), and the birds are singing. I know I have a worse day at work on the days when I decide to read the Metro on the train, so I don't pick up a copy. I do my knitting and look out the window at the fantastic views of London as I commute in from Kent. And I always like to see the river, which I cross just before I come into my final station. And Chelsea Bridge and Albert Bridge at night time on my way home (not at this time of year though).