Help how not to think about how depressing the world is

[ummagumma]

the title says it all. our world is cruel and unfair. people die and kill each other all the time. the poor have nothing to eat while the rich indulge in debauchery. people only care about their profit. there are wars, inocent and children are getting killed... etc, etc

how not to think about all of this?

 

[superwacki]

flip the script

what influences you to have these kinds of opinions? cut those off
look at life in a perspective where you acknowledge all of that but try not to make it your view. doesnt have to be in absolute golden ignorance

yeah, the part about people being bad, greedy, evil, and trifling is true to an extent, but realistically that only applies to some people, not all

do NOT put most of your focus on those kinds of people you oppose, and make it your main outlook. this even goes for people that are the most positive, where they might think that EVERYONE has at least some good nature in them.

do not fool yourself into inputting your own current beliefs as your main source of an outlook.

yes, people die. yes, people kill each other, unfortunately. yes, people who are impoverished may not be having much to eat on their plate at the moment, and yes, successful people may indulge in posh activities.


my verdict?
Just Live

its an oversimplification, yes, but the goal is to not absorb all of this in and let it bring you down. you can do what you can about each and every one of these situations if you would like to, but dont let it get to your head to a point where it messes with you mentally or emotionally, especially if it prompts you to twist your view on everything.

 

[ihatemyparents]

Impossible.

 

[Shrike]

I'm pretty good at compartmentalization and emotional distance, for things that are not affecting me right now. I found that to be important to keep up with things and being able to keep a cool head in crisis, and remember where truth is. Not that any of that ever ended up relevant.

One of the reasons a lot of people are in denial is because they can't do that. They read a sad news story and it makes them sad and ruins their day. So they either deny the story happened or they don't read it at all. I ended up having greater issues with such denial than with the sad stories themselves, because I directly relate the continual mass denial to the sad stories happening. I channel that out through horror, where the true badness of things can be revealed in a socially acceptable way.

This is one of the few areas where I actually support something like CBT (not to be confused with CTB). There's no benefit to getting your day ruined by someone else's strife. Emotions we feel serve a specific purpose and must be used sparingly. With all the global information available, there's too much emotional invocation if you let it all in. It's unlikely you can immediately affect most of it, and even when you can, it's a short list of useful actions that can be completed and then you move on. Focus on things you can change, if any, and move on.

Of course, media promoters, as well as political groups with various goals, try to use this against you. They like posting graphic images and other things to evoke an emotional reaction. But there's no purpose to this. It's important to stay informed, it's not important to cry a river every time you read about a dead child. I disrespect such abuses and a lot of the time I just scan and skim here and there unless it's a subject I'm specifically interested in.

 

[atdusk]

We are overexposed to negative information but there are many positive things happening, it's just that don't get so much attention and you have to do some digging to find them.

I use an app that is called innoreader to follow themes of my interest and also iVoox, youtube channels, etc. Space exploration in particular has been a source of positive news during the last years, but there are many others, and it's almost a requirement to have those shelters because if you don't do that, general media is going to cover you in whatever terrifies, worries or shocks you because is the easiest thing to sell.

Besides, what's the point of knowing about something bad happening when you can't do anything about it? I am not a king or a deity.