I'm not quite suicidal but...

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With all the BS happening all around me sometimes I find myself wishing that I would just die by accident or something. I don't have much to look forward to in my future, I'm completely unappreciated by everyone, and I really don't want to exist in the future when Ammmmuuurrrica is being torn in half by MAGA Fascists and Communist Wannabes.

And I bet some of you are just going to blame this all on me and tell me it's somehow all my fault for feeling this way. That's exactly what I'm used to. Nobody really gives a s**t.

The world can be overwhelming, there's a lot of good reasons for existential dread.

Just remember, you've got people who care about you, both on here and in person.

I care.

I’ve had times in my life, while not exactly suicidal, would be content with something like an accidental death. I was extremely ill last year and felt so bad I would have been relieved if I could just fade away.

It’s a tough world out there. Quite a shock to those of us who have had 50 years of relative peace and stability (in the western world.)

I think I am feeling better now that my meds are doing their thing and I'm getting readjusted to the time change being back home.

But having said that all this political turmoil in the US and dealing with a stressed-out mother on the holidays is still depressing as hell...

Just ignore the politics. Most of them will have no effect on our individual lives. Don't watch the news, you will feel better. Same for most social media

I don't think I really want revenge on everyone, I like to think I've matured past that. There's enough misery in the world without me hoping for more.

I just want all the turmoil to stop and for someone to invent a pill that cures all thw sociopaths, psychopaths, and narcissists.

The problem with that is I feel like hiding one's head in the sand is a dangerous way to cope with a growing popitical crisis when there's lions everywhere ready to bite one on the ass.

Whenever people tell me to just ignore what is happening I can't help but think of the poem "First they came for" by a German pastor who survived the Holocaust during WW2. He basically wrote the poem about how Nazism got out of hand because not enough Germans stood up and spoke out when Hitler rose to power.

I don't believe people with those conditions are particularly widespread. The bigger problem seems to be how easily 'regular' people will behave in ways that most people try to rationalize as being due to one of those conditions when those conditions aren't actually relevant.

Jealousy, desire for social status, desire for material wealth, etc motivate people whether or not they qualify for one of those labels. Desperation is often a big multiplier on those motives, so addressing it can make some improvement, but the core issues are traits that all apes (not even just all humans) possess.

I think you're right. It's just human nature that's the real problem with the world...

I'd go further, it's nature that's the real problem with the world.

Humans have a pretty mixed bag when it comes to actions. We can be very benevolent but we can also be complete monsters. That said, same with most other animals. By the standards of other living apes, we're pretty middle of the road.

We often try to apply our concepts of morality in contexts where they might not apply, whether it's judging other animals or even at times how we judge ourselves. We often remember that survival and social rank are valid motives for non-humans, but we haven't created circumstances that remove those motives for humans. We can't expect purely pro-social behaviour from people so long as occasionally choosing self-serving antisocial behaviour is a required survival trait.

Outside of fully automated gay luxury space communism (a Star Trek like utopia), I don't believe we'll ever create the circumstances where occasionally choosing self-serving antisocial behaviour isn't a required survival trait.

Since it is a required survival trait, we need to show ourselves at least a degree of the compassion we have for other animals when they behave in those ways. That doesn't mean we shouldn't judge antisocial behaviour, or criminalize some antisocial behaviour, only that we should remember that circumstances contribute to how people behave.

As long as circumstances are less than ideal, there's always going to be a degree of pressure on people to be less than the best they can be.

The same traits that allow us to survive cause us to place our survival and well-being ahead of others. The same trait that's useful in some situations can also be harmful in others, not a direct example, but think of how we tend to crave sugary and/or rich foods. That's a survival trait when there's zero food security but it's a liability when there's endless fast food and snacks available.

We're imperfect animals and sometimes we need to readjust our expectations based on that.