Scared/Anxious of the future/current state of the world

[Anxiousbear]

Hi everyone this is my first post here. I'm seeing a psychologist but I need some extra help.

The current state of the world has me feeling extremely anxious. Im terrified that i won't have a future, i am feeling very hopeless.

With the current pandemic, climate change and all the recent news my anxiety is unbearable.

The current deterioration with US/Russia, China/Us/Taiwan and North Korea, really just any possibility of a Nuclear war that can cause the end of the world. Honestly I thought things would stabilise more with a new Us administration but it doesn't seem to be in the slightest.

I know there is nothing I can do and I should live in the moment but I find that hard to do when I feel hopeless and like i don't have anything to look forward to/ the world could collapse at any moment.

I've heard we are living in the most peaceful time but I find that hard to believe with all the conflict happening and brewing.

I can spend all day reading about what's going on and what might happen and it's like an addiction and I can't stop even though it makes me feel more anxious. I don't want a war to happen and dont want to die in a global famine.

I've heard about catastrophising in anxiety but it's hard to stop when it feels so real.

Any advice would be hugely appreciated. Thanks

[Sophie_M]

Hey Anxiousbear, thanks for joining the Beyond Blue forums tonight,
We acknowledge how frightening the thought of climate change and other world events can be. We want you to know that you're not alone in feeling this way and others also experience anxiety over our future. You've come to a safe space to talk about these thoughts and feelings and our wonderful community is here to offer as much support and advice as you need.

We recently released an article about climate anxiety and ways to mange this. You can read about it here: What is climate anxiety and how can it be managed?

Reach Out also have a number of related articles that might prove to be helpful in managing these feelings of anxiety. 

• How to cope with anxiety about climate change
• How to cope with bad world news
• How to deal with the stress of bushfires, floods, earthquakes and cyclones

If you feel it may be helpful, you are always welcome to get in touch with Kids Help Line. They are a confidential and anonymous, telephone and online counselling service specifically for young people aged 25 and under. We’d also welcome you to reach out to our Support Service, which is available 24/7 by phone on 1300 22 4636 or on Webchat 3pm-12am AEST on our website: www.beyondblue.org.au/getsupport.

We hope that you keep checking back in and let us know how you are going when you feel up to it. We're all here for you.

 
 

[romantic_thi3f]

Hi Anxiousbear,

Welcome to the forums and thank you for joining us. I'm so glad you decided to see a psychologist as I know how overwhelming these feelings can be.

I'm glad Sophie_M provided some resources for you- it's a really difficult time.

One of the things that really helps me is to remember what it was like 2 years ago, 4 years ago, 6 years ago. I remember when I was 15 and heard about a nuclear war and the suspicions of having one in the very near future. The world has threatened to collapse on us so many times and yet we are still here. If we glued ourselves to the TV for years on end, we'd probably find things that are either very similar, or fear-mongering (especially with some news shows).

While I'm not sure what your daily routine looks like I highly encourage you to minimise what you read about the news. I wont tell you not to read the news (that's up to you!), but I will strongly suggest trying to reduce what you consume.

Maybe that looks like thinking about the way you consume it (TV, internet, newspapers), how much, and what you're consuming, as some news TV shows and websites do rely on tactics to keep you engaged that's not necessarily helpful.

I'll stop now because otherwise this will be a long post! But I hope you find something in here useful, and the psychologist as well.

rt

[Seekingbrighterpath]

Hi Anxious Bear! Thank you for posting on here. I too am suffering through the exact same anxiety. I feel like I am at a point of breaking. have you found anything to push passed this?