Come join me in Azeroth. There is no politics in Barrens chat. Only pain.

I feel like your issue is that you’re not probably giving yourself space.

Being active is good, it’s healthy. However, that’s not what you need. What you need is a break. You need a break from politics and social media. You need to have a complete reset mentally, and the way to do that is to shut off all the noise and spend at least a month living your life without any social media. Like actually take the steps to block all the social media apps/sites for all your devices. That means no Lemmy, no Reddit, no Discord, no Instagram, no Facebook, nothing.

You also need to talk with your girlfriend and tell her to stop talking about politics with you full stop, perhaps this would be good for her as well, but I digress. You need to explain to her as well as understand yourself that this is a serious boundary that you need to have for your well being. You’re aware that doomscrolling and social media are bad for you, however, you need to take action to give yourself the break that you need.

Here’s a book about people describing similar experiences during the nazification of another country, it’s called They Thought They Were Free. I’m going to spoiler a link to a copy so it doesn’t autoload a swastika on our cool people board. This book isn’t about politics, it’s about how it feels when your country falls to fascism.

I’ve found it comforting to embrace the inevitability of my death. People are afraid of fascism, climate change, nuclear war, terrorism, mass shootings, car accidents and fire becausebthey personally fear violent death. Simply throw your hands up and say “I will die - and theres nothing I can do about it”

If your concern is more abstract, such as a fear for the downfall of the American republic, I would say that we’re all a little too old to be believing in fairy tales

That goofy, fun loving person that I remember I used to be is now replaced with a quiet, cynical shut in. My dream of living in a house I own is forever gone. Debt, disease in the family, the onset of potential wars, and the cost of just being alive have pushed that fun loving person down into a deep dark hole. I used to live in fear of the world ending in fire but now, as fucked up as it may sound, I kind of sympathize with the villains in movies. The world has gotten to the point, in my opinion, that shit needs to burn to make way for a new world. This world is just too fucked up beyond repair. It needs a hard reset. So, you’re not alone. The mental health has taken a nose dive and hit every branch of the ugly tree on its way down.

You are NOT ALONE.

There has been a fucking epidemic of mental unwellness cascading since November.

We are all dealing with this, you are NOT alone.

This is a known and statistically verified fact.

What you are feeling is a normal response to a clear and present danger. If anything, your reaction is rational.

Fucking stay strong, we in this together, those of us who know, know, and we watch out for our fellow brothers and sisters.

You are not forgotten, you are not left behind, we are all just regrouping. Your emotions are valid, yes, this is real, this is not a drill, reality is in a state of emergency, and you are not insane.

Ok?

❤️

I have basically felt that the future was all down hill 10 years ago. Nothing has convinced me otherwise. Thats why I stay in my own little bubble and try to disconnect from the happenings. There is no point raging about what we can’t change.

My wife had me block CNN at the network level to stop her reading all the news and becoming depressed.

I have a hard time watching the news now too. News outlets only show “good news” which is the administration succeeding, which hurts. I want stories of hope.

This administration ends the same way Mussolini’s did.

The way we prevent it from happening in the future is to force wealth equality.

I remember waking up like the morning after election day in 2016 and was shocked why a competent woman lost against some bussinessman who was never in politics (this was way before I fully understood politics), I was rooting for Hillary to become the first woman president, I was already feeling very egalitarian at the time, and also because she’s a Democrat. Also because I immigrated to the US, so I naturally root for the more pro-immigration candidate. So yea I heard the news that Hillary lost despite having more votes, thats around the time I learned about the electoral college and that felt like bullshit. Luckily, I had derivative citizenship at the time, so I didn’t really think too deep.

But now this 2nd term is honestly terrifying. both the 2020 and 2024 election nights was just filled with dread, and now that fear has become a reality, doesn’t feel remotely to the first term.

Anyways, now my brain is so scrambled like an egg. Idk wtf is life anymore. Kinda having an “identity crisis” about my nationality/citizenship because that thought of potentially being deported is constantly lingering on the back of my mind ever since 2024 the morning following election night after the results were announced. I mean if I lose my citizenship, I’m gonna look so silly for ever refering to myself as an “American”. That’s like saying you’re part of the family, then your parents removes you from the will.

Oh yea I have no other citizenship. My previous country does no do dual citizenship, and its a dictatorship. Funny how I’m running from one dictatorship right into another. 🙃

Depression definitely does not mix well with political instability/autocratization.

You are struggling with the circle of concern. You’re spending time worrying about things that concern you but that you can’t change. You will feel better if you focus on things you can directly control or things you can influence.

So look more local. DO something positive in your community. It will help you feel grounded and effective.

I go to local protests, donate to the local food bank, etc. Even just showing up with intent feels positive. Heck, go to the library. Showing up helps their numbers and helps their funding.

Personally I’ve lost a lot of my identity as an American and as a human being as a result of the past 10 years. Donald Trump’s presidency and COVID19 really changed who I am and how I think of the world. As a child I never would’ve imagined how bad the ignorance is, and how willfully people dig themselves into it. I’ve realized truth is merely an illusion.

What America was sold to me as a child; the greatest free nation to ever exist, the bastion of democracy and protector of the world turned out to be a complete lie. Turns out we were the perpetrators, the slavemasters, the financial dominators, and the war mongers the whole time. I look at my fellow citizens and I can’t see the commonalities anymore. I don’t know what to believe at this point. I’m not sure if there’s much worth believing in.

Lately I’ve just been adrift, letting the motions wash over me. Drugs are a lousy blanket.

I feel this deeply. Others have said it already, but the thing that’s helped me the most is getting involved with the solution. Local community organizing, mutual aid groups, political candidates in your area, etc etc etc there are many options (and feel free to message me if you want more help finding them) and nothing felt ok until I could feel like I was doing something other than passively sitting around watching the country/world collapse.

Others have also said closing off news and social media. This is also a good step, but I would caution against doing so 100%. Maybe set aside a day or two a week where you get caught up for an hour or two then turn it off the rest of the time. It’s still important to be aware, particularly as the suffering is becoming more and more local and ubiquitous, but it definitely becomes all consuming if done too much.

You sound like an empathetic person, and people like you are needed to help drive change. Fascism won’t go away in it’s own or with one more election cycle to vote it out. The upshot is most organizing and community strengthing efforts are just generally positive for mental health in their own right and may lead and may lead to new friendships and activities that you enjoy

I think you have to take a real sit down with your girlfriend and try to explain this with her. I know she just wants to commiserate with someone, but if it’s damaging your mental health then it might be a better idea for her to find another political outlet.