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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be worrying that the world will end in 2012?

26 replies

RawDEal · 05/01/2011 07:07

I've always had anxiety about stuff like asteroids, world war etc and whenever any rumours start about the end of the world I get all nervous and scared. I was ok with this 2012 thing though, told myself not to be silly, it was just another "end of world prophecy" but then DP mentioned it again the other night, alongside the increased earthquakes in Britain, flooding in Australia, America, Middle East, then all those birds that just dropped dead from the sky and I'm terrified, what if it IS going to happen in 2012 and all the wierd stuff going on recently is the start of it???

Tell me I'm being unreasonable. Please.

OP posts:
Besom · 05/01/2011 07:10

You are being unreasonable.

There have been many end of the world prophecies in the past and none of them have come true, have they?

Sometimes this kind of anxiety can have it's roots elsewhere in your life. Are you feeling stressed about something else perhaps?

SarahStrattonsBaubles · 05/01/2011 07:12

Weird stuff happens all the time and always has done. It's just that we live in a world now where information travels fast and events are instantly globally known.

Just make sure your OFRS is up to date and to hand and you will be fine.

Original poster
RawDEal · 05/01/2011 07:14

I'm so stressed my head is spinning. I have so much going on in my life right now, I'm at a crucial stage and I'm just so scared about the future. Not sure if this is really about the end of the world or psychologically I'm terrified about my own personal future.

I used to lie awake at night though listening out for asteroids etc and if a plane went overhead I would almost cry/have a heart attack. This was also at a hard point in my life come to think of it.

OP posts:
Besom · 05/01/2011 07:14

Also read this NASA article which explains why it is all piffle.

Besom · 05/01/2011 07:16

Oh sorry to hear that. Maybe post in another section about specific worries and people may be able to help you?

PrivetDancer · 05/01/2011 07:20

Yabu. This is always happening, both the prophecies and the natural disasters. God, do you remember all the hype about the turn of 1999/2000? We all survived though, even the people in planes at the time.

And, to be glib, if the world does end in 2012, I wouldn't want to have spent the last 2 years worrying about it!

nikki1978 · 05/01/2011 07:53

Don't worry about it. People cannot predict the future. Besides the Mayans did not say the world was going to end. They just stopped making the calender at that point. They had to stop sometime! Grin

Nostradamus never got anything right that I can remember - well people twisted his words to make it fit but nothing more than that.

Don't worry about the asteroid thing. NASA etc have an eye on the skies at all times and they see nothing in the next 50 years at the least that may hit us.

The birds dropping out of the sky, earthquakes etc. Stuff like that happens all the time. Firstly it is Jan and xmas is just over so not much is happening and these things get focused on. I doubt I would have heard this story if I didn't come on here!

Honestly don't worry! Have you thought about CBT for anxiety? I was a bit like this after 9/11 and was worried war would kick off etc.

It will be fine.

friedtoacrisp · 05/01/2011 08:22

Well now look. If the world IS going to end there's not a lot you can do about it is there? If your worries persist may I recommend you start drinking, experimenting with a few drugs and max out the credit card. If the world ends you won't have to face the consequences. Perfect.

ENormaSnob · 05/01/2011 08:41

I really think you should see your Gp tbh.

Needanewname · 05/01/2011 08:48

Thanks for that Besom, good to know some facts!

RawDEal, if you are that genuinely anxious, I really think you need to seek some help.

ToxicKitten · 05/01/2011 08:52

Hi RawDeal, just wanted to say we may be twins :)

I had a rocky childhood - unstable due to divorce etc, which happened right around the time that I learned about nuclear war, some disturbing alleged paranormal phenomena, and the fact that Skylab was now defunct and about to fall out of the sky. I can clearly remember being aged 7 - 9 and lying in bed braced for impact / disaster.

It was a reaction to my home life being in total upheaval and the fact that my adults could apparently no longer give me security.

Periodically in times of personal stress I move perfectly realistic fears and anxieties onto fantastical ones because I was not "allowed" as a child, (and once particularly as an adult) to express my justified fears.

I am now in therapy for lots of reasons, but what you describe really resonated with me, and I wanted to try and reassure you that you are not alone. The trouble is, it seems, that when one learns an unhelpful way of dealing with stress, one sticks with it, because we have no "proof" that being logical or rational according to the rest of the world will help us, because we have no experience of it. It's a bit like children getting their only attention in a negative way, so they continually behave in "bad" ways, because "bad" attention is better than "no" attention.

We all need to be validated and not to be discounted - sorry for the "therapy" speak but if you wanted to google for support as well, these words would crop up. :)

The fact that you are sharing your thoughts and want to dismiss them shows you are changing already - but you say you are worried about your own future at present, and it is soooo hard to let go of the familiar even when we sort of know it's not helping us.

I hope you don't mind me posting, but I know how bad one can feel when you have fears and panics about things which other people don't seem to have - I think more people suffer silently than we may ever know!

And I just read the NASA article and was fascinated - didn't know the Mayans carried on their calender after all - must look at that some more! Wink

theevildead2 · 05/01/2011 09:10

Yabu,

The worls is always going to bloody end according to someone. The problem is people use differenct calendars all over the world, and its just a load of pant isn't it?

Besides if the world did end, what's to worry about? You won't be here for it. Your family won't be left with out you because no one would be left. In fact I would say if you are ever going to go, knowing that all of your fmaily and you are going together might be quite comforting. I've got an inrrational fear of either me or DH dying and leaving the other one alone in the world. So I hope when it does happen its in a car accident together or a plane. totally aware how mental that makes me sound btw

sarah293 · 05/01/2011 09:19

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

MorticiaAddams · 05/01/2011 09:39

theevildead2 has just said pretty much word for word what I was going to.

I would find it comforting that all my family were going to die together and nobody would be left behind to grieve.

ben5 · 05/01/2011 09:45

the birds died because they were scared of the fireworks
the floods in australia are only a small part of australia, for those of us living on the west coast of australia we are having heat waves( apart from today when we've had rain but it has to some times!!)

the end of the world is about to happen for my 5 year old though as he has to finish his tea before he's allowed any chocolate!!

theevildead2 · 05/01/2011 09:47

I was pleased I didn't sound too morbid and someone agreed with me. Then realized it was Morticia Addams! Grin

NorwegianMoon · 05/01/2011 09:48

I believe that things will change in 2012. There will be more natural disasters, but remember that the end of the world can mean the end of the world as we know it for example its more likely to predict a significant change in our world/lives rather than the destruction.

Chil1234 · 05/01/2011 09:50

YABU.... but you know that. If you struggle with irrational anxiety and obsession with natural disasters to the extent that you find it tough to live a normal life you may be depressed - in which case you should see your doctor.

CuppaTeaJanice · 05/01/2011 09:54

I remember sitting nervously at the side of a sports field one day in July 1999 because that was the day Nostradamus had predicted the world would end Blush! And he was always right, according to the newspapers Hmm.

The world's still here though...

MorticiaAddams · 05/01/2011 12:34

I was pleased I didn't sound too morbid and someone agreed with me. Then realized it was Morticia Addams! grin

Says the cheerfully named evildead2 Wink

faverolles · 05/01/2011 12:43

2012 is a load of poo. The things that are supposedly going to happen were originally predicted for 2003, then because nothing happened, the dates were jiggled round again.
The number of predictions made by crazy people run into millions. Statistically, (and only because of the high number made) some are going to come true. The vast, vast majority will not.
2012 has caught the morbid side of peoples imaginations. There is no proof whatsoever that anything will happen.

As for earthquakes, they happen all the time, but are usually too small to feel. If there had been more newsworthy things going on, you probably wouldn't have heard of this one.

Try not to worry :)

Abr1de · 05/01/2011 12:46

The birds and fish dying are probably the victims of some weird defence system the Americans are testing. Don't worry about them (though it is very sad to see: poor things).

Once a year our parish priest stands up and reminds us that nobody human knows when the world will end and it is not the case that the Bible or any other religious or spiritual book gives a definitive answer.

maryz · 05/01/2011 12:46

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ashamedandconfused · 05/01/2011 12:51

you can be so busy worrying about what MIGHT happen, that you might walk out infront of a bus or something!

just ENJOY your life, every day

if you really are anxious about random things see your GP,can be a sign of depression

take care

Tee2072 · 05/01/2011 13:01

The world cannot end in 2012 because Northern Ireland has already spent a fortune, with much more to come, promoting the 100th Anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic.

Not to mention what's been spent on the Olympics in London.

Grin