Rate your current mental health level out of 10

[missdpuck]

Originally Posted by Sr. Mints

The death of intellectualism marches on and on and on.

DJT, Poilievre, and Danielle Smith have become the 'cnuts on the news' holy trinity, and I'm having trouble escaping it. It's taking its toll on me lately, to the point it's affecting my sleep a great deal. I'm starting to see the appeal of dunking my head in the sand, turning my brain off, and binging shows like The Real Housewife of Love Island or whatever the #### nonstop for the next bit.

It seems to work for a huge swath of the population?

I’m bingeing Mad Men and The Sopranos for the billionth time.

It’s kinda sick, but by this time I feel like I know them, and find some comfort there.

[Russic]

Originally Posted by Sr. Mints

The death of intellectualism marches on and on and on.

DJT, Poilievre, and Danielle Smith have become the 'cnuts on the news' holy trinity, and I'm having trouble escaping it. It's taking its toll on me lately, to the point it's affecting my sleep a great deal. I'm starting to see the appeal of dunking my head in the sand, turning my brain off, and binging shows like The Real Housewife of Love Island or whatever the #### nonstop for the next bit.

It seems to work for a huge swath of the population?

I don't often share this opinion because it's unpopular and flammable in certain circles, but I've removed my attention from the news almost entirely, and it's almost all upside.

Voting is not the Manhattan Project... do some candidate research for 10 minutes and you're probably going to settle on the person you otherwise would have had you bathed in cortisol for the previous 4 years.

If we acknowledge that the human brain focuses on the negative, and we acknowledge that the news media uses this to its advantage, we can begin to question is what we're seeing is "the news" or just a greatest hits collection of awful things that happened during the day.

I have friends that live in the news cycle and they playfully (or earnestly) judge me for this stance. At the same time.... ehhh... they don't seem to be enjoying any of this. They're cranky and pessimistic, they have no hobbies, and they seem to spend a lot of their kids lives worrying about their kids instead of doing literally anything else. They say things like "if you're not furious you're not paying attention", yet they seem to curiously not pay attention to anything that truly matters or that they have control over.

[shermanator]

Originally Posted by Sr. Mints

The death of intellectualism marches on and on and on.

DJT, Poilievre, and Danielle Smith have become the 'cnuts on the news' holy trinity, and I'm having trouble escaping it. It's taking its toll on me lately, to the point it's affecting my sleep a great deal. I'm starting to see the appeal of dunking my head in the sand, turning my brain off, and binging shows like The Real Housewife of Love Island or whatever the #### nonstop for the next bit.

It seems to work for a huge swath of the population?

I have had the thought of "I wish I was stupider, I feel like I'd be happier" cross my mind a few times in these last 5 years.

[WideReceiver]

Disillusioned/crazies are some of the happiest people anywhere.

The woman who thinks she’s the queen and the man who thinks he’s God are happy.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Originally Posted by Russic

I don't often share this opinion because it's unpopular and flammable in certain circles, but I've removed my attention from the news almost entirely, and it's almost all upside.

Voting is not the Manhattan Project... do some candidate research for 10 minutes and you're probably going to settle on the person you otherwise would have had you bathed in cortisol for the previous 4 years.

If we acknowledge that the human brain focuses on the negative, and we acknowledge that the news media uses this to its advantage, we can begin to question is what we're seeing is "the news" or just a greatest hits collection of awful things that happened during the day.

I have friends that live in the news cycle and they playfully (or earnestly) judge me for this stance. At the same time.... ehhh... they don't seem to be enjoying any of this. They're cranky and pessimistic, they have no hobbies, and they seem to spend a lot of their kids lives worrying about their kids instead of doing literally anything else. They say things like "if you're not furious you're not paying attention", yet they seem to curiously not pay attention to anything that truly matters or that they have control over.

Preach.

While it feels like the world is falling apart if you're plugged in and feeding these headlines to your brain ad nauseam, we're also quietly living in the most prosperous and lucrative time there has ever been for someone living in the western world.

While Trump and co. are likely to make things worse for many people relatively speaking, this is just worse in relation to the best of the best times humanity has ever experienced on this earth which has been the past 50-60 years. And meanwhile we continue to progress and develop new innovations that may solve many global issues.

While I'm guilty of paying more attention to the news cycle lately (and I recognize that it functions similar to an addiction), I want to try to keep it in moderation because the news does present hardly anything but negativity and fear (playing on our negativity bias), and is continually replenished with something new, making anything you invested time and energy into debating or discussing irrelevant a week on. In many ways it's a waste of time and mental bandwidth. The 'news machine' functions like a hamster wheel that continues to sell the idea to people that they're being productive members of society by staying up to date. But a lot of stories are essentially a bunch of hot air about nothing. He said/she said followed up by reactions of shock and outrage from people on the outside. It's a formula to keep people paying attention, but it doesn't actually serve the audience in a meaningful way other than to rile up their anger, fear and concerns, which in turn motivates them to invest more time into it.

And those negative headlines aren't all that's going on. There is probably as much if not more in the way of positive developments that don't get coverage (because it doesn't draw an audience like drama and negativity). Seeing only one side skews people's perceptions and it's unhealthy. It disconnects us from gratitude, happiness, and basically all that we could be doing right now but instead are hunched in front of the TV or computer absorbing some news outlet's curated ####.

It's important to disconnect for periods of time and reconnect with life and being present (so you don't miss it!). You don't have to be disconnected from important developments altogether, but just constraining the amount of time given to absorbing negative news, and capping it before it starts to affect your overall mental well being.

[Russic]

I would argue what we replace news with does kinda matter. If you derive joy from Real Housewives or Love Island, then by all means have at it... but do what you can to not let it be all you do. Go for walks, read, write, play music, take up woodworking, whatever. Do things just for the sake of doing them. You don't need to share them or make money off them or anything. It's hard to find anything that will damage you any more than news and social media at this point.

I totally get the "this would be easier if I was dumber" mentality. I've always said my spirit animal is Ralph Wiggum, cheering and crying as the little flag on the mail box goes up and down. But let's also not get crazy and conflate the idea that following the news automatically means you're an intellectual. Immersing yourself in almost any hobby imaginable will probably move the intellectual needle more than watching a giant Oompa Loompa throw his daily tantrum.

[troutman]

^ Related to this, we need to experience more “true fun”. This is when playfulness overlaps with connection and flow. Flow is the experience when you do not notice the passage of time. I get this when fly fishing or seeing live music. Being addicted to our devices is the enemy of true fun. I am working through this book, the Power Of Fun.

https://www.eltandhappiness.com/new-...er-of-fun.html

https://www.chuckanuthealthfoundatio...atherine-price

Some folks might argue that they don’t have time for fun. Price would counter that many of us are spending hours with technology every day, which she calls ‘fake fun’. If we reduced the number of hours we spend on our devices (nearly 3 hours per day on average) or watching TV (again, 3 hours per day on average) we just might carve out some time to pursue true fun. And engaging in true fun isn’t just for fun! People who engage in fun are better at manage stress and individuals who have stronger social ties are more resilient during stressful times. As we have more fun, we become more resilient and more able to manage stress.

By the same author, How To Break Up With Your Phone (sorry Bingo):

https://catherineprice.com/screenlifebalance

[Shazam]

Read Homo Deus and Sapiens.

We live in the best time ever for humanity.

Perspective helps.

[PaperBagger'14]

Originally Posted by troutman

^ Related to this, we need to experience more “true fun”. This is when playfulness overlaps with connection and flow. Flow is the experience when you do not notice the passage of time. I get this when fly fishing or seeing live music. Being addicted to our devices is the opposite of true fun. I am working through this book, the Power Of Fun.

https://www.eltandhappiness.com/new-...er-of-fun.html

https://www.chuckanuthealthfoundatio...atherine-price

Flow is closely related to mindfulness and presence as well. The fastest hour of my day is spent in the gym working out. I wouldn’t consider that time “playful” but my mind is free of all other distractions with maybe the exception of music. All negativity is gone even if for just one hour and that is a boon to (at least my) mental health.

Live music does the trick for me too, the adrenaline shot while listening to a favourite artist pulls me in every time.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by Shazam

Read Homo Deus and Sapiens.

We live in the best time ever for humanity.

Perspective helps.

Agreed. Doom scrolling social media makes us more anxious and depressed than we should be.

But, we really should be worried about climate change and the rise of authoritarianism. These could lead to worse times for humanity. Becoming an activist in these areas provides hope.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Russic

I don't often share this opinion because it's unpopular and flammable in certain circles, but I've removed my attention from the news almost entirely, and it's almost all upside.

Voting is not the Manhattan Project... do some candidate research for 10 minutes and you're probably going to settle on the person you otherwise would have had you bathed in cortisol for the previous 4 years.

If we acknowledge that the human brain focuses on the negative, and we acknowledge that the news media uses this to its advantage, we can begin to question is what we're seeing is "the news" or just a greatest hits collection of awful things that happened during the day.

I have friends that live in the news cycle and they playfully (or earnestly) judge me for this stance. At the same time.... ehhh... they don't seem to be enjoying any of this. They're cranky and pessimistic, they have no hobbies, and they seem to spend a lot of their kids lives worrying about their kids instead of doing literally anything else. They say things like "if you're not furious you're not paying attention", yet they seem to curiously not pay attention to anything that truly matters or that they have control over.

The news cycle toxic reach has gone so far that even the Weather Network promotes and sensationalizes negative weather related stories for clicks. I've actually taken it a level further and reducing my investment in pro sports which is big for me as Flames and Raiders fanhood for me dates back to when I was about 10 years old and it's been a constant in my life. No longer living and dying with the wins for the Raiders and Flames has helped my mood as much as avoiding all the news outlets. I still watch the games and want my teams to win but I don't engage in the game threads and when they lose I'm over it right away and don't go to sleep bummed out. Just chipping away at the negatives in your life leaves a void to be filled by more positive things. Last year was easily the worst year of my life but now in 2026 I'm living by myself for the first time in over 30 years and I'm trying my best to make the most of this new chapter in my life.

[WideReceiver]

I’ve always been a happy person but the Ukraine #### has lopped off a few points on my mental health scale. I made the mistake of listening to some podcasts last night on the topic and it disturbed me enough to affect my sleep. I’ve since deleted several more from my app. I’m worried about Putin and Trump dragging us into WWIII that destroys civilization.

[BagoPucks]

I doubt world war 3 is happening but it is easy to take it to heart when world leaders are acting like clowns in public. I also find for myself when something bad happens, I credit it for the reason why I am feeling down. Instead, I have begun investigating the state of mind I was in before that happened and seeing if there was something before bad happening as well that could be contributing to me being down. It has helped me empty my emotional cup before it gets close to making me feel down.

Basically switching to a multi layered view of the mental state instead of the silver bullet.

[WideReceiver]

I also doubt WWIII happens but the chance is more than nil which worries me. We’re heading in that direction.

[CroFlames]

I'm not worried about WWIII pew pew pew war.

I'm worried that the world order has changed to such an extent that science and progress are now taking a back seat to authoritarianism and the greed of the oligarchs. We have no hope now to advance global peace and prosperity, nevermind the battle on climate change.

[Fuzz]

The absolute collapse of science funding in the US is going to be devastating to the western world. This is just the kind of thing China needed to really become number one. And the ####ing morans are cheering it on.

[Russic]

Originally Posted by WideReceiver

I also doubt WWIII happens but the chance is more than nil which worries me. We’re heading in that direction.

Originally Posted by CroFlames

I'm not worried about WWIII pew pew pew war.

I'm worried that the world order has changed to such an extent that science and progress are now taking a back seat to authoritarianism and the greed of the oligarchs. We have no hope now to advance global peace and prosperity, nevermind the battle on climate change.

With love and humour... I'm not the post police, but perhaps the mental health support thread is not 100% the best place for this.

To me this is an opportunity to point out that humans have this uncanny ability to be fully certain of things, have those things not come to pass, and then simply replace them with new things. Remember when we were right, forget when we were wrong, and then do that until we die.

This is not an invitation to debate politics, and lord knows I'm not loving what I'm seeing down south either, but the fall of America/Implosion of the planet has been a common theme for as long as any of us have been paying attention. At every step this has been pointed out, and at every step the reply is "this time it's different."

Might this time actually be different? Maybe, but frankly the stats aren't great. Speaking in absolutes is the fastest way to find a dark lord of the Sith or a depressed/anxious person.

I feel like all through this thread you can see it in anybody who's in the middle of their storm. They talk like the future is so cleanly laid out, but it never is.

[CroFlames]

I am genuinely impressed by people who can remain positive. I'll try to keep the doom posting to the politics threads.

[Fuzz]

Shoot, sorry didn't even realize the thread. It's all so dark.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

I am genuinely impressed by people who can remain positive. I'll try to keep the doom posting to the politics threads.

You have to learn to worry less about things that are out of your control. I don't like what's going on with world politics but we all have a finite amount of time to spend on this planet and I'm not going to waste it dwelling on people like Trump and Musk. That's how they win.