to feel so sad and disillusioned with the world?

[DisillusionedWithTheWorld]

...I'm watching the news. It's all crazy. Trump, the Ukraine, Israel... even Mumsnet is full of madness lately. I wish I could move somewhere where everyone can just live quietly and in peace without all the nonsense and psychopathic narcissists that rule the planet right now. But that would probably have to involve me literally moving to another planet. And even then, DH reminded me just now that I'd have to rely on the likes of Musk, or the USA or Russia to get me out of here and off to mars! So I can't escape this crazy world or the nasty people that run it, even if life on another planet was possible.

Anyone else just feel like the world's gone mad, they are completely helpless to do anything about it, and to want to just find a way to escape it?

I can understand your feelings OP, but honestly there have always been awful things happening in the world. I've felt much the way you do at various times in my life over the years, but there is nothing at all we can do to change the state of the world. All we can do is focus on our own small part of it and try to be a good person and help others when and if we can. Being constantly bombarded with news is not helping people. I'm old school, I listen the the (very short) hourly news on my radio station and watch the news in the evenings, otherwise I steer clear of it. We can't carry the weight of the world on our shoulders, it doesn't do us, or the world, any good.

It’s interesting that your inclination is to “move somewhere” because aren’t all conflicts caused by people moving somewhere and the people who are already there not liking it?

Yes I understand op’s point, sorry i’m not trying to minimise it at all. But I guess I’m just saying, we have no control over leaders actions or other people. We are quite powerless to help allot of the time. All the awful things that are happening can drive you to dispare if you are exposed to it everyday. The only way I’ve found to deal with that is to be grateful for what we have and avoid hearing about all the awfulness as the time 😕

So long as there is religion, there will be no peace.Accept it . Simple

No, but lifts and stairs and broken buildings etc feature a lot in my nightmares.

This is great - I do some of this already but will do more.

I think its just a fight-flight response! I don't like how things are and I want to get away! But there isn't anywhere to go because the thing I'm scared of is, basically, the state of the world!.(hence...mars?!)

The best thing you can do is stop watching the news. Stop for a couple months and see how much better you feel.

Top tip: Stay away from the news and social media. Sometimes ignorance is bliss. There’s little we can do to change any of today’s world problems, so stay in your bubble, be thankful and, most importantly, enjoy your life. Works for me!

aren’t all conflicts caused by people moving somewhere and the people who are already there not liking it?

No i don't think so.

I'll use an analogy:

If the step kids move in, we don't mind if they r nice. But soon we notice they r getting more than us. They have a zed bed, we sleep on the floor. They get two meals a day, we get one. They only get hit once a day, we get hit multiple times.

Mum and dad are gorging themselves on feast after feast, ice cream and rump steak. They have beautiful king size beds, with new bedding, servants to bring extra pillows in the night. They never get hit. They live in luxury. While the step kids stay with us, they rob the step kids home, take their diamonds and any resources they had and that feeds their gluttony. They also take from us, from our piggy banks.

If we get angry with mum and dad, they say that we can't have more, can't feel.safe, can't be comfortable, because the step kids have taken what we want, that there is only limited resource and they have to give our share of resources to the step kids.

But the reality is, it isn't the step kids that are to blame for moving in, it's the parents who are to blame for their theft gluttony, neglect and abuse. As long as they make us believe the fault is with the newcomers, we will not look at them and see their behaviour. We wont blame them and will continue to argue between ourselves.

--

The masses just want to live in peace. But it's in the interests of the powerful few to keep us hating each other and blaming each other because then we won't blame them, or worse, rise up against them ...

I get where you’re coming from and feel the same. And I’ve never really liked listening to news.

The death toll in Gaza is a fraction of the casualties in Ukraine and the current 3 African conflicts but for some mysterious reason that is conflict the world is entirely focussed on ….

Gaza is tiny (about the size of Birmingham) and was one of the most densely populated countries on earth. Because its tiny, the population impacted will of course be smaller.

People have huge concern for gaza for many reasons, partly because of the history and the west's responsibility for creating Israel. But partly because it's an occupied territory. There is also no way in and out of Gaza. People can't leave (escape) as Israel has walled them in.

Gaza has an unusual population in that the majority of citizens are children.

When Gaza is bombed, it's like dropping a bomb on one of the most densely populated parts of birmingham. However, there is nowhere for people to go because they r trapped there. Imagine Birmingham had a heavily armed wall around it. It's an occupied territory so residents rely on Israel to tell them.which parts of Gaza are safe to go to. But Israel is their attacker. So when told 'flee north', Israel bombs the north. Palestinians in Gaza don't know where to go, what to do.

Gaza is like living in a densely populated box that you cannot escape from. A box which, due to Israel's murderous campaign, now has no decent sewage or mains water functioning, no safe, working hospitals (mainly rubble now), no schools (rubble now),.ho homes that can be lived in (rubble now). The entire population of this tiny box has witnessed immense trauma. A WHOLE population is traumatised but most of the doctors and psychologists/psychiatrists have been murdered. The entire population has at least two or three close family members who have been killed, maimed, blown to bits by the IDF. Because the majority of the population are children, many children there have been orphaned and roam the rubble trying to find scraps of food for themselves and their siblings.

We wouldn't treat animals this way.

People are concerned and horrified about Gaza for all the above reasons. In addition, israel assassinated journalists who lived in Gaza, and no foreign journalists have been allowed in, so we know they tried to hide their murderous campaign. So death numbers are likely to be an underestimation.

Nowhere really is similar to Gaza. Of course, there are terrible atrocities happening everywhere in the world, but Gaza is both unique in the ways described, and everything happening there has been perpetrated by "an ally" and a so-called "democracy", with arms funded by UK, USA etc.. so the west is responsible and in a uniquely complex position.

It's not that people don't care about atrocities elsewhere, it's just they are horrified by this incredibly unique genocide.

This is true. We live in greater comfort now than even a King 100 years ago

Abso-bloody-lutely. I have two young children, one with SEN and life is hard enough. I read what I must first thing and then I dont. I have to be selfish, keep us going, then try to read something interesting but mindless if I get a minute. Focus on getting my insular world “right” before focusing on anything else.
Have started looking more into stuff recently and its so scary and awful.

This is when Im perfectly happy to snuggle up and watch kids tv!

I haven’t read the news since Covid

Quite wise!

1. Source for those figures?
2. most of the world including the UK are highly condeming and sanctioning countries like Russia for what they are doing to Ukraine. It is not considered racist to hate putin for his war. It’s completely differnt and thats tbe big issue people have with Israel/gaza.
3. almost all women/children in gaza. Aid not allowed. Israel acting illegally. All horrific stuff right?

Totally understand where OP is coming from, but in the end, despite our fatigue with bad news/lunatics taking over the asylum etc, ultimately we can vote, and we can protest and rebel or revolt. ✊
Illegitimi non carborúndum 😀

https://ourworldindata.org/

This is a great website for seeing how much better in many many ways our world is now. Not in every way obviously but in a lot of ways, the world has massively improved.

I think a big thing is that we just know a lot more now. 24-hour unfolding news media, citizen journalism and photography on social media, all that sort of stuff, means we are a lot more involved in what’s going on all over the world.

I'm not sure we are quite the democracy we think we are. The 'choice' of who to vote for is limited. There is little difference between labour and the conservatives. I don't want either of them and I don't want reform

There is no party to vote for and when I vote, as I do at every election, my vote makes no difference. I've never voted for the winning party.

I think some of the super rich live with themselves by justifying and compartmentalising. They find ways to justify the extreme unfairness and inequality, saying they deserve it, are somehow morally superior etc.

Also the more money the make, the more they need it. It becomes an obsession, an addiction, they need masses of wealth to feel safe. Greed grows.

Studies have been done on how empathy decreases as wealth grows.

In South Africa and probably elsewhere, it is the poorest people who do the most to help others.

honestly feel the same as OP.
have been low for weeks, all i can say is what has been going on in the world has woken me up.
i want to understand and learn. If there is anything from this awfulness is that ive tried to educate myself on the topics more. Talk with friends, think about where my money comes from and where do i spend it. Where is my attention, what can i do. Donate, talk, educate myself, have balance. Inform myself but keep sane.

I hear you. My life is simple, in that I have minimal food waste, do not give a thought about following anybody on SM. I buy my clothes from charity shops, and am currently just looking in them, and not buying at the moment, due to having enough clothes to last me for years (I just buy the odd bar of chocolate, or bottle of conditioner now)😄. I can just do my bit to lead a less wasteful, consumerist life. I cannot look at what others do, we just have to do what we can to make a difference, even if it may seem futile, but I don't believe that it is.

Urgh. I've woken up with a real attack of "the morbs" today, which I'm beating myself up for, of course. And what triggered it? Bloody Facebook. Posted a couple of things on there yesterday, because Father's Day. Pretty heartfelt things - one for my DF, and one for my surviving (just) FIL. And one of my friends has put a laughing reaction on the latter. And I don't know if it's fat fingers, or something else. And because I'm hypersensitive I'm just trying not to feel like a stroppy toddler. Don't want to embarrass her if it's fat fingers, so not going to ask, obviously cos I know how damn childish and relatively unimportant it is.

Thing is, I feel on my last nerve. Three major bereavements, two of them within six weeks, both of which are my sole responsibility to sort out on the bureaucratic front. Part of me knows I need help, on the emotional front, but previous experience of that help has taught me it's nigh on impossible to access without hoop jumping and long waiting lists, and Goddammit I'm a grown up and people are dealing with much worse.

So tea, chainsmoking, cat petting and looking for an industrial strength set of grips it is then.

And not looking at the news. Yet.

Solidarity to anyone else feeling below par for any reason. Bugger the human condition eh? 😘❤️‍🔥 xxx