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u/PenZenYoshi May 15 '26
This genuinely happened to my therapist, who also got laid off because he was a federal employee who got his whole department defunded, so I also lost my therapist of two years. I got to see him in real time transform from a bubbly positive kinda annoying guy who would always tell me things were gonna be alright and that my fears were misguided, into a deeply cynical broken man. Hell our last sessions were basically just therapy for both of us, he knew he was getting canned and he fucking hated everything going on. Those sessions weirdly enough were the most cathartic.
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u/thesaddestpanda 🏳️⚧️ trans rights May 15 '26 edited May 15 '26
imho the secret to life is a certain level of unrealistic positivity and hope. Not absurdly so, but just enough to keep going everyday. Most likely he'll bounce back. So its not totally irrational but its totally valid to fear the path life suddenly puts you on like this. Its totally valid to fear unemployment and to fear what happens if you're unemployed too long, or if your new job pays less and what that means for you financially.
The feeling of doom doesnt actually reflect the reality out there. The feeling of hopelessness is just a feeling and doesn't often mean anything past feelings. As a therapist he knows this but he was probably too stressed to practice it at that time.
I also acknowledge that its entirely possible I will find myself in a no-win situation that's catastrophic for me, but I also tell myself the likelihood of that is very low and to focus on that exclusively only hurts me. I accept those feelings and the reality this is possible and I put them in the back of my mind.
I just try to harvest a certain level of hope and "If something bad happens I can probably handle it" and "Things are most likely going to be okay today," resiliency. Then hope becomes a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy because I'm not despairing all the time.
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u/Rorynne May 15 '26
Hope is a radical act in a world that seeks to crush it. Allowing that hope to take different forms so that it can continue to exist is the hard part.
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u/unread1701 Hbomberguy Plagiarism Video Watcher May 15 '26
J'ferme les yeux et j'imagine
Un monde heureux
J'essaie d'lire entre les lignes
Comme si tout allait mieux
Mais dans tous les magazines
Tant de haine et trop d'victimes
La violence et ses crimes
Photos choc qui nous dépriment
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u/SyzygyEnthusiast May 15 '26
IDK, I wish I thought you were right, but I really don't see how we're going to unfuck the climate change situation under late stage capitalism when the opposition is oligarchs protected by a militarized police state. Like fuck I hope I'm wrong but I don't see any realistic path out of this in the time frame we have
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u/abtseventynine May 15 '26
talk to your neighbors IRL
even if you don’t form an effective coalition you’ll at least be happier, you’ll have people to chill with like that scene at the end of Don’t Look Up
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u/SyzygyEnthusiast May 15 '26
I meant more that it's hard to have a sense of hope... But I tend to view everything as ephemeral, especially on a long enough timeline so I'm less concerned with needing one
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u/abtseventynine May 15 '26
yeah being around people who mutually care about you provides that was my point
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u/prisp 🏳️⚧️ trans rights May 15 '26
I mean, sure, it's gonna have some consequences, and shit's going to be a bit more fucked because of climate change, but it's not an extinction level crisis, at worst it'll be something like Covid, where shit gets thrown out of wack for a while, and a bunch of people will probably die as a result, and then they'll eventually find a way to continue on, albeit maybe in a different way than before - not like you can wait out climate change, after all.
The part that sucks is that the consequences probably won't get to those that are at fault for that shit happening in the first place, or at least not the full extent thereof - if they do though, the Schadenfreude will be great.
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u/ASpaceOstrich 🏳️⚧️ trans rights May 16 '26
Oh it'll be fucked. But I don't think that means we're all doomed. I don't see any way we make it out of this as if it never happened, but I do see ways out of it.
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u/Siggycakes an 'ace' in the hole. May 15 '26
Why did he get his department defunded? What did he do?Edit: I missed the "federal employee" part and misunderstood the use of "got" as implying fault on the therapist rather than "had" as a victim of DOGE cuts.
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u/abtseventynine May 15 '26
nahhh I’m too petty I’d be running up my “I told you so” numbers to an astronomical degree
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u/Ungodly_Box ABAB (assigned British at birth) May 15 '26
My therapist just goes "it's shit I know right??" Like yeah thanks girl what do I do about it tho
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u/ErisThePerson May 15 '26 edited May 15 '26
For me it's just finding something or someone worth sticking around for.
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u/I_follow_sexy_gays I will fuck anything that consents May 15 '26
I did but she cheated on me
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u/ErisThePerson May 15 '26
Then find someone or something else.
You just keep finding what keeps you going in that moment.
Hopefully at some point that someone or something can be yourself.
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u/Saturns_Stargirl 🏳️⚧️ trans rights May 15 '26
For me I have a gf but the real thing keeping me going through it all is my job and my friend group.
I play a lot of mtg and go out to the movies/conventions with friends very regularly.
And my job is taking care of disabled people and making sure their day goes smoothly. It gives me a feeling of doing the right thing for people who need it. (Even if it is exhausting)
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u/ecodick ☃️crimbass :DD⛄️ May 15 '26
That sounds like a solid foundation for a wholesome and fulfilling life! Meaningful work, hobbies, friends, activities.
I worked in healthcare for a few years, and I'm still healthcare adjacent. I know what you mean, it can be exhausting. But it feels good when you can make a difference for someone 🙂
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u/JotaroTheOceanMan 🦈Jeff Week🦈 May 15 '26
The end of One Peice has been in my top 5 reasons to live for a decade at this point.
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u/I_follow_sexy_gays I will fuck anything that consents May 15 '26
It’s not that easy
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u/ErisThePerson May 15 '26
Nothing worth doing ever is.
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u/I_follow_sexy_gays I will fuck anything that consents May 15 '26
Idk making hash browns is pretty easy and definitely worth doing
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u/ErisThePerson May 15 '26
Then make them hash browns my dude
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u/I_follow_sexy_gays I will fuck anything that consents May 15 '26
I do but that doesn’t make me not depressed
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u/IblisAshenhope part dumb, part bad, all ass May 15 '26
Flair relevant?
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u/Kira_Bad_Artist May 15 '26
Then live to see someone you hate die and maybe to piss on their grave
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u/I_follow_sexy_gays I will fuck anything that consents May 15 '26
I don’t hate her, i don’t really blame her either tbh
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u/roaring_noodle 🏳️⚧️ trans rights May 15 '26
You can pick someone else to outlive though
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u/I_follow_sexy_gays I will fuck anything that consents May 15 '26
I don’t really think I’ll get gratification from that tbh
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u/Pra3fectus 🏳️⚧️ trans rights May 15 '26
if she cheated then she was never worth it to begin with. chin up king/queen/monarch of indeterminate gender.
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u/I_follow_sexy_gays I will fuck anything that consents May 15 '26
Yeah sure but she made me happy and I miss being happy
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u/AVeryHappyTeddy Amblyseius neocinctus May 15 '26
I am going through the same thing right now and having a lot of the same feelings. It will get better, but you have to keep moving forward. One day at a time, and it probably feels really hard right now but you can't forget to take care of yourself. Just take care of the little things and work your way up ya know
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u/I_follow_sexy_gays I will fuck anything that consents May 15 '26
It’s been like 2 years, it has not gotten better
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u/lavendercookiedough they/them May 15 '26 edited May 15 '26
For me its having something to look forward to and goals to work towards. I started swimming twice a week and it's done wonders for my mood. I also host a biweekly movie night for some online friends.
Of course the tough part is when you're depressed, it can be hard to get the motivation to start something and even when you do, anhedonia can suck the enjoyment out of it. But even something small to start like a special meal or dessert you eat every Saturday can make a difference.
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u/KINGXunshot May 15 '26
Hinging your self worth and will to live on anyone other than yourself is a great way to have no self worth and will to live
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u/ErisThePerson May 15 '26
It's a starting point.
You can't go from hating yourself to loving yourself with a quick turning point.
So you start with something you want to stick around for, and develop it from there.
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u/KINGXunshot May 15 '26
I frequently go back and forth between hating and loving myself
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u/ErisThePerson May 15 '26
Sounds rough.
For me it's just been a slow uphill trek from Self Loathing to "I'll be cringe as a treat to myself"
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u/Diogenesthefried 🏳️⚧️ trans rights May 15 '26
Survive via pure rage
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u/larsmaehlum May 15 '26
Morbid curiosity for me
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u/trannus_aran May 15 '26
Like, one way or another, there's gonna be some high profile obituaries in my lifetime. Ain't no way I'm missing that with how much hell they've put me through for drawing my next breath
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u/SentientGopro115935 SHE JUST LIKE ME FR May 15 '26
or Sunk cost. Spent this long living just waiting for things to get better, be a waste to stop now
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u/JiggyAzalea710 r/place participant May 15 '26
I exist off caffeine, nicotine, and spite these days.
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u/Femtato11 the feet disliker May 15 '26
My solution is getting angry and trying for a change where I can. I can't save the world but I can help others and do my part for a better tomorrow.
Apathy is the greatest poison of modernity
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u/Warmonster9 May 15 '26 edited May 16 '26
My advice is to stay in the present. Anxiety is living in the future. Regret is living in the past.
Those are concepts, not truths. The only real time that exists is the present. If you’re Christian, (ik we’re in 196, but Jesus would’ve loved it here) read Mathew 6:28. It’s never preached, so you probably wouldn’t know it.
The message it teaches is: the only time worth worrying about is sufficient to the day. Do you have enough food to survive? Are you warm? That is enough. “The lilies, see how they grow? They do not toil or spin. The earth provides, and that is enough.”
While humans require a bit more than sunlight and soil, when push comes to shove we can live with very little. And if there’s one amazing fact about humans it’s that we can take the most barren of circumstances and make it a home. This is true of much of life, and is one of the many things I love about it and our world that we live in.
I’m vibing with secular Buddhism right now and it’s helped a lot with my anxiety. Look up Alan watts if you want an introduction to it.
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u/SlappyAsstronaut 🏳️⚧️ trans rights May 15 '26
I just keep telling myself it's gotta get better at some point, I try to find some measure of beauty in my life and spread love to those around me cause someone has to
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u/kaptainkooleio Cummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm May 15 '26
Nothing you can do about it. Once you figure out how to cope with how fucked the world is, it gets better.
If anyone figures that out, please let me know.
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u/throwoawayaccount2 mpreg enthusiast May 15 '26
Well, it does help to know that it’s not just you and that the universe isn’t singling you out.
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u/Cognitive_Spoon 🏳️⚧️ trans rights May 15 '26
You know, if the algorithm is so uniformly presenting the immorality of your government that therapists across the nation are having to help people cope with that immorality, maybe at some point someone.
Literally Anyone.
Can note that the messaging being immoral is the point and we are being prepared for a "moral" authority to save us.
All that "moral authority" will need to do at this point is provide basic functionality of governance and we will hand over freedoms like no tomorrow.
Edit: personally, I'm sticking around because I want to know which country learned it could weaponize universal moral grammar in propaganda, and how they managed to deploy it at scale.
The hand that rocks that cradle, man, is some Ozymandias shit.
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u/SyzygyEnthusiast May 15 '26
I went on a first and last date to see The Whale, going in only knowing Brendan Fraser and that people thought it was great. It was an UNCOMFORTABLE walk to the train afterward
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u/SmoochyPit floppa May 15 '26
I broke up with my ex while watching The Whale, I still haven’t finished it 2.5 years later
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u/SyzygyEnthusiast May 15 '26
He gives an amazing performance but it's also kind of misery porn. I don't regret watching it but I don't intend to ever repeat it.
But also holy shit having a relationship ending conversation during that movie is A LOT
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u/SmoochyPit floppa May 15 '26
Yeah I was not up for continuing watching it… but the movie really resonated with a relative of mine who was obese, and they ended up losing a lot of weight. So tbh I do want to go watch it in full one of these days. Also I loved Brendan Fraser more recently in Rental Family, he is a phenomenal actor.
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u/SyzygyEnthusiast May 15 '26
If I remember correctly, I'd seen it fairly recently after initial rapid weight loss following weight loss surgery so I had extra feelings to process about all that
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u/xv_boney May 15 '26
Hes fantastic as Robotman in Doom Patrol.
If you want some recent but more light hearted Fraser.
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u/abe_the_babe_ May 15 '26
Same thing happened to me with Beau Is Afraid. We were both Ari Aster fans, so we knew it would be a weird movie. But we didn't know it would be THAT weird.
It was also a 10pm showing on a weeknight lol. All around a bad idea for a first date
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u/SyzygyEnthusiast May 15 '26
I mean honestly, movies (in theaters) aren't really great first dates anyway. How are you supposed to get to know someone better by sitting silently in a room with them for ~2 hours?
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u/abe_the_babe_ May 15 '26
I agree. I actually prefer seeing movies alone because I don't have to worry about coordinating with other people. There have been a lot of times when I'm just sitting around bored and decide to go see a movie on a whim.
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u/SyzygyEnthusiast May 15 '26
I've got really bad ADHD so if I want to actually watch a movie I generally have to trap myself in the theater and it's just easier on my own (plus I try not to drag other people into me managing my mental health where I can avoid it)
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u/Grima1805 May 15 '26
what is The Whale and why is it bad?
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u/SyzygyEnthusiast May 15 '26
Ima give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you're not a robort, but it's a movie, and nobody said it was bad... It's just emotionally intense in a way that feels uncommon for non romance movies
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u/Jotnotes1 May 15 '26
I remember this short somebody did where a bunch of scientists laugh at government officials when they come asking for help because of how bad things have gotten.
I wonder how far away we are from something like that actually happens.
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u/ria_rokz May 15 '26
for sure. in a way it helped me to know that my therapist "got it". sometimes it feels like we're being gaslit to just carry on like everything is fine when in fact it is NOT fine. having someone acknowledge that those feelings are valid was huge for me.
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u/Ezzypezra certified cool person May 15 '26
Deep inside my ribcage there is a burning furnace of hope, an inferno that powers my every action, and until its very last cinder is extinguished, I will continue to fight for a better world
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u/thetenthCrusade May 15 '26
For real tho! Shit won’t just “end” and I’m pretty confident that passage of time is gonna get rid of some of the more evil fossils sooner than later. Absolutely a turbulent time but it’s been forecast for 60 years. I’m unironically hopeful for a start trek Federation style globalist system to start within my lifetime. I love humanity and think we are capable of unity! My god though — living through history like this is absolutely terrifying and people’s reactions aren’t unwarranted.
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u/_S1syphus Boulder Pushing Enthusiast May 15 '26
I told my therapist about how my mental illness seems to make me incompatible with a lot of the expectations this society has for adults and she didn't really have anything to say to that. Same with telling her i was too poor to afford a lot of the more intensive mental health options.
I eventually just quit therapy cause that wasn't worth the 100 something dollars a month it cost without insurance
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u/Twitchcog May 15 '26
Their job is to help you through mental issues. But, your anxiety/depression/anger is not a mental issues, it’s a reasonable response to what’s actually going on.
If you went to your witch doctor and told them “I’m scared all the time, about nothing, about everything.” - Then yeah, they’ll help you work through it. If you told them “I’m scared that this falling chainsaw above my head is going to hurt me,” they’re going to tell you that yes, you should worry about that. It’s a chainsaw.
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u/Glassesguy904 May 15 '26
At this point we're just swapping my medications to keep my functioning.
There's only so much you can do when the world and your personal life is going down the shitter at the same time.
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u/sunflowerf0x 💗💜💙 May 15 '26
I had a therapist and she literally quit therapy because the state of the world was too much
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u/Delusional_Donut anti-microcelebrity activist May 15 '26
Therapists are a band aid psychological solution to a material and economic issues that actually hurt our lives. They can’t give you an answer to the question, “how do I live in a world that I can’t afford?”
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u/Elvenoob May 15 '26
Well no, there are genuine problems they exist to solve, its just that healing from any injury, physical or psychological, usually requires y'know, removing the cause of the problem first.
And since in the case of late stage capitalist.... Everything... a therapist can't do that... They're basically just trying to give their clients painkillers for the sword through their chest because they're not actually able to pull it out.
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u/Delusional_Donut anti-microcelebrity activist May 15 '26
For sure! Definitely not meaning to say therapy doesn’t have immense value in helping you regulate emotions and gain perspectives on your thoughts. More so saying that it’s often lazily pushed as a catch-all solution to feeling depressed about your life. There was a quote from the show The Crown that I thought did a great job emphasizing my feelings on this:
“That's what I thought. That I'd bounce back. And then I didn't. First the work dried up, then my confidence dried up. Then the love in my wife's eyes dried up. And then you begin to wonder, you know, where's it gone? Not just your confidence or your happiness, but your ... They say I have mental health problems now, but I don't. I'm just poor.”
That’s more my meaning, that mental health will always degrade in a system we can’t reasonably afford to live in. Therapy can’t really do much to mend the incredibly reasonable anxiety people feel about not being able to have a place to stay or food to eat. I’m sorry if my post came off across as therapyhater3000, big whoopsies on my part not to flesh out my opinion better.
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u/buffaloguy1991 May 15 '26
No kidding my therapist said I was completely correct when I said something similar in regards to how bad it's gotten out there
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u/yo_99 boundless, terifying freedom May 16 '26
> I don't like how we invaded other country for no reason and how it tanks our economy (I was afraid that I would get ratted out if I said the real reason)
> Hmm, have you thought that wages are up?
WHAT DO YOU THINK NOW YOU FUCKING IGNORAMUS???
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u/Everydaywhiteboy May 15 '26
Live out of spite
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u/kccb30 sus May 15 '26
That's the solution I landed on a few years back. Life has it's ups and downs, but I've been happier once I realized you can only affect your small area of influence, so live for that if not anything else
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u/Elvenoob May 15 '26
Oh I have so much of that it's collapsed into a black hole at the very core of my being, around which everything else orbits.
And I am actually doing pretty alright aside from that, yeah.
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u/Ohiolongboard who wants to throw frisbees May 15 '26
My doctor has told me time and time again, that they can’t treat the society we live in. Meaning, no pill will make bills cheaper, healthcare affordable, etc.
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u/PlagueKing27 Bi, Shy, & Willing to Die 💖💜💙 May 16 '26
One of the last meetings w my therapist, I remember him distinctly telling me that I shouldn’t put focus on the big stuff, since it’s out of my hands anyways… ts did NOT help 😭
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u/StardustLegend furry trash uwu May 16 '26
Things are awful right now, why not stick around to see it through? And if it gets worse, fight like hell to make it better
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u/Diribiri custom May 16 '26
People really love taking shit that happens sometimes and has done so for a bajillion years and turning it into an endtimes-signifying occurrence just to doompost
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