I am not a psychologist. I am a cultural and political theorist. I study the world and derive insight about how it works and what is going on from a variety of sources, and try to explain it with the use of theory. That’s what I do – so take what I am saying with that in mind.
If you feel that you are down, depressed, sad or somehow lack energy, it is perfectly understandable.
We do not live in a vacuum. We live in the world. Currently, the world is not doing well.
We have Russia’s War against Ukraine, Hamas’ War against Israel, Israel’s attempt to eliminate Hamas in a heavily populated area. We have wars in Yemen, South Sudan, Congo; threats of war against Taiwan, threats of war against further Western countries; destabilization of societies by terror and domestic strive in various countries in the Sahara region, in South and Central America. The global economy is fragile, inflation is high, everything is more expensive, politics is toxic, and then there is climate change, and by the way, Covid is not over yet either.
To make things worse, Matthew Perry just died. If you have been self-medicating by watching Friends, now you are faced with his suffering and mortality as well. If he couldn’t make it, he who made Friends what it was, who turned his own pain into something beautiful and uplifting, if someone like him can’t make it work, then how can we, how can I?
How can you possibly expect to function normally?
Then we have all kinds of media and technology draining our attention. We have to work consciously to stand up to an avalanche of distractions, pain, suffering and worry.
You do not have to have clinical depression (but if you do, talk to a trained therapist). It is enough to have what Germans call “Weltschmerz” – pain of and from the world. You are suffering because the world is suffering, and you carry the pain of the world on your shoulders and inside you. This is not merely a psychological problem – it is a cultural and philosophical problem. In a way, “Weltschmerz” is the human condition.
Accept it. Limit your media intake, but without losing agency. Engage with people, engage with the world in a non-toxic way. Find joy, seek it out. Take care of yourself. Like it says in an airplane, put your own oxygen mask on first before helping others. Don’t feel bad if you need some self-care.
Eventually, if you feel up to it, to try to make the world better in the area you are in. Don’t withdraw from society, from political engagement – without feeding the negativity.
As to media consumption, don’t fall into the trap to distrust what populists call “mainstream media.” Think critically, keep an open mind but without your brain falling out, as space engineer James Oberg once said.
Engage in nature, because we are natural beings.
Try to restore your faith in humanity. Ok, that is difficult sometimes.
But first, admit, it is ok to not be ok, because the world is not ok. It would be ultimate hubris to claim that you should be able to ignore all the pain and suffering around. Accept it, take care of yourself, and try to make realistic steps to help make the world better, eventually.
Erratic Attempts 