How do you deal with the horrors you see and hear?

Jamie Adams6 said:There’s this Bergman's movie about a guy who just loses it when he finds out the Chinese are building an atomic bomb—he can't handle the weight of it. His wife is pregnant and loves him, but it doesn't matter; his faith in civilization is so shattered by the bomb that he ends up taking his own life. This whole topic kind of hit me with those same vibes.

In my other thread, I mentioned how this weird emotional numbness basically protects me from stressing over stuff like the riots in Paris or things totally out of my control. I can't even say I feel bad, because honestly, I don't really feel regret anymore. Still, some things manage to slip through that armor, so I've realized it's better to be picky about what I let in. Nowadays, it's mostly the shallow, primitive stuff that gets under my skin—specifically "stupid" people who aren't even bothered by the fact that they're being clueless. All the emoji-only chats, the spam, the total lack of depth, and people just acting on impulse without thinking twice about what they're saying...

I gotta admit, I'm partly to blame here too, since I sometimes find myself wondering just how low things can go—so I keep reading and watching instead of just tuning it all out. It's like when you're driving and see a dead cat on the road; you know exactly what it's gonna look like, but you still slow down, stare, and then regret looking.

A bit of mental blocking is actually what works best for me. I stay away from news sites except for sports, and here on the forum, I even asked Carl Cox3 to filter out everything except the threads where this kind of mindless chatter is impossible. Sounds ridiculous, I know, but it actually works.

🙏 🙏 🙏

Just tell me which subreddits you mean, besides the sports ones. Back in the day, people on the Philosophy boards managed to suffocate me with endless debates about murders. 🤣

It’s actually easier to just list what I’ve got left—mostly politics, US history, psychology, Philosophy, spirituality, religion, social sciences, plus movies and sci-fi. I’ve already knocked out the rest with partial credit.

I kept a few of them on my list just for kicks—you know, things to flip through when I can't sleep—but that's about it. Like US history, religion, Philosophy, and sci-fi... though honestly, I doubt I'll ever actually write anything for Philosophy. Still, sometimes you just crave that kind of deep read.

It doesn't affect me unless it touches someone I know or happens right in my own backyard.
Tragedy and bad news have always existed, and they will only increase as the global population grows.

Jamie Adams6 said:It’s actually easier to just list what I’ve got left—mostly politics, US history, psychology, Philosophy, spirituality, religion, social sciences, plus movies and sci-fi. I’ve already knocked out the rest with partial credit.

I kept a few of them on my list just for kicks—you know, things to flip through when I can't sleep—but that's about it. Like US history, religion, Philosophy, and sci-fi... though honestly, I doubt I'll ever actually write anything for Philosophy. Still, sometimes you just crave that kind of deep read.

Doesn't politics drive you crazy? It absolutely terrifies me. I only ever open one specific thread there. Everything else just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Seriously, it feels like walking into a dive bar that smells like stale smoke and... well, worse. 👎

I have three partials, but I didn't go looking for them. Well, okay, maybe I did, indirectly. 🤣

I don't own a TV, I don't listen to the radio, and I definitely don't buy newspapers. I couldn't care less about whatever ESPN or CNN tries to force me to pay a subscription for.

I only check the news if there’s a trending topic that actually catches my interest, which usually means reading about things going wrong in society. I feel like I need to stay informed about the dark stuff that could actually affect me—you know, like how certain corporations exploit their workers, hospitals acting completely inhumane, or just the sheer level of sadistic lunatics out there who abuse animals... It’s disturbing. I also find myself drawn to stories about toxic relationships and why they happen; let's face it, not everyone is a good person, and some people are just straight-up evil. You can't really avoid it unless you decide to move to a deserted island or go work on some remote ranch somewhere.

Honestly, I don't handle it very well. Not long ago, there was a report about a man dying due to negligence by an employee at a government agency, so I started Googling to see if that was an isolated incident, and I ended up finding things that were way worse. It totally ruined my weekend...

Joseph Bailey41 said:Doesn't politics drive you crazy? It absolutely terrifies me. I only ever open one specific thread there. Everything else just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Seriously, it feels like walking into a dive bar that smells like stale smoke and... well, worse. 👎

I have three partials, but I didn't go looking for them. Well, okay, maybe I did, indirectly. 🤣

It's less active than some other subreddits, probably because I also mostly hang out in one specific thread (likely the same one you're reading). Honestly, even that "politics-adjacent" PDF is more interesting than the main feed, but whatever—I get what you mean.

my guess: spirituality, DZ, and maybe... alternative stuff? 🤔

blueotter28 said:I only check the news if there’s a trending topic that actually catches my interest, which usually means reading about things going wrong in society. I feel like I need to stay informed about the dark stuff that could actually affect me—you know, like how certain corporations exploit their workers, hospitals acting completely inhumane, or just the sheer level of sadistic lunatics out there who abuse animals... It’s disturbing. I also find myself drawn to stories about toxic relationships and why they happen; let's face it, not everyone is a good person, and some people are just straight-up evil. You can't really avoid it unless you decide to move to a deserted island or go work on some remote ranch somewhere.

Honestly, I don't handle it very well. Not long ago, there was a report about a man dying due to negligence by an employee at a government agency, so I started Googling to see if that was an isolated incident, and I ended up finding things that were way worse. It totally ruined my weekend...

or like, when a group of Americans gets a slap on the wrist after beating Luke Ritz because they're all part of the same crowd, getting light sentences just because of their hair color or the music they vibe to—and you're sitting there wondering when justice will actually catch up to people like us... 🎉ignorance is bliss.

I make a point of avoiding external sources of horror and frustration whenever humanly possible—things like the news, nightly talk shows, soap operas, or just generally exhausting people. Anything that might disturb my peace, I steer clear of with the kind of frantic enthusiasm you'd expect from a Navajo warrior right after taking a shot of moonshine.

Jamie Adams6 said:It's less active than some other subreddits, probably because I also mostly hang out in one specific thread (likely the same one you're reading). Honestly, even that "politics-adjacent" PDF is more interesting than the main feed, but whatever—I get what you mean.

my guess: spirituality, DZ, and maybe... alternative stuff? 🤔

or like, when a group of Americans gets a slap on the wrist after beating Luke Ritz because they're all part of the same crowd, getting light sentences just because of their hair color or the music they vibe to—and you're sitting there wondering when justice will actually catch up to people like us... 🎉ignorance is bliss.

Spirituality, magic and mysticism, and KZB. I used to be a regular guest over at DZ. 😬

I try to stay away from politics in general. I mean, there are plenty of people to keep me informed on the big stuff—like who actually showed up to Velimir Bujanac’s wedding ☕ ) or what the guy looks like who called a press conference just to announce he isn't a fascist. 😁

If I want the real details, I just dig out my old copies of Alan Ford. They tell me everything I ever needed to know about the social movements happening here in the States. ☕

This is my thread. It’s actually quite unsettling how dependent I’ve become on bad news. Honestly, it’s been this way since I was a kid; I grew up constantly scrolling through local crime reports and tragedy sections. I can't say for certain how that shaped me back then, but it’s having a devastating impact on me today. Just recently, I read about a mother and her child drowning in the Mississippi—a story I initially tried to avoid at all costs. But, predictably, I ended up reading it anyway, and I wept like there was no tomorrow. It felt as if I were mourning people I actually knew personally. And it isn't just the big headlines; I find myself weeping over random human tragedies I stumble upon in the press. I swear, I can recall almost every major highway pileup in the US from the last decade. The only real solution seems to be completely disconnecting from every single news portal on the internet. I don't watch TV, and I certainly don't pick up physical newspapers. I truly envy those people who live in total ignorance of world events—those who are shielded from the endless cycle of disasters, accidents, and horrors that occur every single day without pause. I have to distance myself from all of this, or I fear I might actually lose my mind.

I make a conscious effort to distance myself from anything negative or distressing, primarily because I am already contending with my own heavy internal struggles, and I simply don't have the capacity to take on anyone else's burdens.

I find myself retreating from our domestic news portals and television networks—or at least most of them—simply because the quality of content has steadily eroded. Rather than passively consuming whatever is fed to me, I have adopted a more surgical approach: I select specific topics of interest, conduct my own targeted research, and seek out specialized programming. Occasionally this involves delving into grim subject matter, though I make a conscious effort to steer clear of any media that relies on cheap sensationalism to grab attention.

When it comes to tragic news, it is truly disheartening to see how American digital outlets have reduced genuine human suffering to nothing more than another clickbait headline. This is particularly egregious in the wake of tragedies, where the privacy and dignity of grieving families are frequently sacrificed just to shock the public and drive up engagement metrics. There is a profound paradox here: I believe this constant barrage actually numbs the average reader or viewer over time, effectively eroding their capacity for empathy. Between the relentless cycle of news coverage and the violent depictions in cinema, we are being systematically desensitized. Such harrowing scenes become normalized, eventually being treated as mere statistics. It creates this strange, detached illusion that these horrors are happening somewhere else, to someone else entirely.

The original poster, along with those who still manage to hold onto their sense of empathy despite everything, represents to me what a healthy human response to tragedy should look like. Of course, if that empathy morphs into a paralyzing daily fear, an obsession, or an inability to function, then we are facing a different issue altogether. In those instances, I believe rationalization becomes necessary. We live in a world surrounded by such horrors, and while we cannot be entirely immune to them, we must learn to accept them as an inherent part of the human experience.

I don't really care. I’ve got enough horrors to deal with right in my own backyard... Think globally, act locally, I guess.

For instance, it does sting a bit knowing that Kim Jong-un finally has the actual capability and resources to build a hydrogen bomb... then again, we’ve had equally crazy Americans doing the same thing since the fifties, so we’re all more or less just hanging on by a thread anyway. But then, the next news headline hits: the mayor of my city is announcing an increase in local property taxes from 10% to 15%... Now *that* is something I’m actually considering. I might seriously look into the idea of a paper move—just changing my registered address to some other city where the tax rate is lower, since I technically have that option. Anyway, I think I'll just turn off the internet and go fry myself two eggs.☕

What kind of horror are we even talking about here? ☕

Just because we have enough tech to track every tiny detail on the planet doesn't mean there’s actually more misery today than there was in the past. It just feels louder.

Honestly, just turn off the TV and step away from social media. Go deal with your own problems if you've got any—and if you don't? Well, then you're winning at life.

driftingscout49 said:I find myself retreating from our domestic news portals and television networks—or at least most of them—simply because the quality of content has steadily eroded. Rather than passively consuming whatever is fed to me, I have adopted a more surgical approach: I select specific topics of interest, conduct my own targeted research, and seek out specialized programming. Occasionally this involves delving into grim subject matter, though I make a conscious effort to steer clear of any media that relies on cheap sensationalism to grab attention.

When it comes to tragic news, it is truly disheartening to see how American digital outlets have reduced genuine human suffering to nothing more than another clickbait headline. This is particularly egregious in the wake of tragedies, where the privacy and dignity of grieving families are frequently sacrificed just to shock the public and drive up engagement metrics. There is a profound paradox here: I believe this constant barrage actually numbs the average reader or viewer over time, effectively eroding their capacity for empathy. Between the relentless cycle of news coverage and the violent depictions in cinema, we are being systematically desensitized. Such harrowing scenes become normalized, eventually being treated as mere statistics. It creates this strange, detached illusion that these horrors are happening somewhere else, to someone else entirely.

The original poster, along with those who still manage to hold onto their sense of empathy despite everything, represents to me what a healthy human response to tragedy should look like. Of course, if that empathy morphs into a paralyzing daily fear, an obsession, or an inability to function, then we are facing a different issue altogether. In those instances, I believe rationalization becomes necessary. We live in a world surrounded by such horrors, and while we cannot be entirely immune to them, we must learn to accept them as an inherent part of the human experience.

I'm with you on that. If I could add one thing: for our own mental health, we really need to focus our energy on people and situations where we can actually make a tangible difference—whether that's offering comfort, donating some dollars to a charity, joining a local drive, recycling, and so on. Empathy that doesn't lead to any kind of concrete action feels pretty useless, and honestly, it can even be harmful to ourselves.

I make it a point to stay away from websites that constantly highlight death and other heavy life tragedies.
I can handle reading local crime news, provided they still respect the dignity of those involved.
I cope by holding onto the belief in a better tomorrow—that the world will actually improve. I truly believe that we, as people, have the power to influence things; if we read a heartbreaking story today, we can at least try to ensure it doesn't happen again tomorrow.
I also deal with it by talking things through with the people closest to me.

It’s not about being stoic and pretending everything is perfect. Some news hits me hard, whether it makes me tear up or just leaves me feeling miserable for the rest of the day. But over the years, I've learned that instead of dumping all my energy into a "doom and gloom" mindset, I should redirect some of that strength toward understanding the situation—both mine and the world's—and finding the lessons within it.

People who soak up other people's suffering like a sponge really ought to be working in service to others, but they almost always run straight into leeches in the real world. Since they don't have any defense mechanisms in place, they just end up getting hurt by everyone.

Honestly, I feel like giving yourself an imaginary slap in the face whenever you start spiraling into nothing but pure pity. Our society isn't actually as bad as everyone tries to make it out to be. Most of the time, we’re just dealing with a bunch of predators, and people constantly try to paint the situation as being way worse than it actually is.

blueotter28 said:People who soak up other people's suffering like a sponge really ought to be working in service to others, but they almost always run straight into leeches in the real world. Since they don't have any defense mechanisms in place, they just end up getting hurt by everyone.

Honestly, I feel like giving yourself an imaginary slap in the face whenever you start spiraling into nothing but pure pity. Our society isn't actually as bad as everyone tries to make it out to be. Most of the time, we’re just dealing with a bunch of predators, and people constantly try to paint the situation as being way worse than it actually is.

I wouldn't go that far. But when you walk into a hospital and see how people are treated, it breaks your heart. Or go to a nursing home in downtown Chicago, and you'll see what it's really like. Pure misery. People worked their entire lives, and their only mistake was being born here instead of somewhere like Germany. Unless you have to deal with this reality personally—hospitals, ERs, short-staffed clinics, the total neglect of elder care—you won't get it. When I see the corruption, the cronyism, and the connections that allow some elderly woman with no money or influence to wait five hours for a checkup or thirteen years for a state facility, it's sickening. Even seeing how local nursing homes look—which are actually decent compared to the rest of America—it hurts to see public funds poured into stadiums and religious monuments instead. It hurts.
Lucky is the one with enough money to bypass our system entirely so they never have to experience it firsthand.
It's pathetic.

Either they target someone who was actually a decent person during their life, ensuring they get kicked out to a nursing home 😬

mistydrifter55 said:What kind of horror are we even talking about here? ☕

Just because we have enough tech to track every tiny detail on the planet doesn't mean there’s actually more misery today than there was in the past. It just feels louder.

Honestly, just turn off the TV and step away from social media. Go deal with your own problems if you've got any—and if you don't? Well, then you're winning at life.

👍
The truth is, media manipulation is massive these days. Headlines scream "SHOCKING" or "YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENED NEXT" or talk about "catastrophic scales." People just eat it up.😲. They get hooked.
You have to take everything in the news with a huge grain of salt. Objective reporting is basically dead. And who does all this noise actually hurt? It hurts people like you. Instead of stressing over things you can't change, go volunteer somewhere. Make the world better through actual action instead of just worrying.