What Are You Doing to Cope With Depressing News in 2020?

Started by airboy, July 26, 2020, 02:03:33 PM

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airboy

2020 Has been one of the more depressing years of my almost 60 years on this Earth.  World-Wide Plague.  Military saber rattling from Communist China.  Huge world-wide economic downturn due to the plague and idiotic political responses.  Rioting in the West.  No college sports!

How are you coping with this storm of horrible news?

What I'm doing is:
1] Dropped all TV news - even when cooking or doing dishes.
2] Reading happy escapist stuff.
3] Stopped watching depressing TV or movies.  We got Britbox and I'm watching Hercule Poirot mysteries and All Creatures Great and Small (think Mayberry except by vets in 1930s rural England).
4] Other than reading the newspapers, I'm trying to avoid all news topics.  Just too depressing.
5] Going to the gym every day I'm in town (unavailable to people in some US States and some countries).

Tripoli

I'm trying to (in priority order):
-read the Bible more
-Pray/talk to God frequently.  Remind myself that He is in control 
-Be uplifting to others, even when I don't feel it.
-Volunteer to help out in a variety of charities
-Minimize the amount of time on the news (I'm striving for no more than 1 hour/day). 
-Listen to uplifting music and watch uplifting movies.  Mozart is good, the Rolling Stones notsomuch.... :)
-Exercise

It is easier to talk about not giving into despair than it is to actually do it. I'm fortunate in that I'm retired/semi-retired so I have the time to concentrate on mellowing myself out.  If I still had kids in the home or work responsibilities, it would be much harder to avoid worry and become anxious over what is happening, as the world appears to be coming apart at the seams.   Knowing that God is in control helps keep me from heeling over too much.

"Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?" -Abraham Lincoln

Sir Slash

I'm taking it all out on my Groghead buddies right here. Best therapy I've ever had.  :idiot2:
"Take a look at that". Sgt. Wilkerson-- CMBN. His last words after spotting a German tank on the other side of a hedgerow.

GDS_Starfury

Toonces - Don't ask me, I just close my eyes and take it.

Gus - I use sweatpants with flannel shorts to soak up my crotch sweat.

Banzai Cat - There is no "partial credit" in grammar. Like anal sex. It's either in, or it's not.

Mirth - We learned long ago that they key isn't to outrun Star, it's to outrun Gus.

Martok - I don't know if it's possible to have an "anti-boner"...but I now have one.

Gus - Celery is vile and has no reason to exist. Like underwear on Star.


Jarhead0331

Grogheads Uber Alles
Semper Grog
"No beast is more alpha than JH." Gusington, 10/23/18


Dammit Carl!


Gusington

Making sure the work out every day, making sure to cut down my intake of news from any outlet, attempting to be with my family more and take work less seriously.

Oh and games and books as well.


слава Україна!

We can't live under the threat of a c*nt because he's threatening nuclear Armageddon.

-JudgeDredd

Lotti Fuehrscheim

I find it all pretty fascinating.

Parts of it remind me of the reformation in Europe in the 16th century.

Jarhead0331

...oh, and body armor. Just got rid of my old AR500 steel plates and replaced them with polyethylene Level III+ multi-curved plates. Much lighter and more comfortable to wear.
Grogheads Uber Alles
Semper Grog
"No beast is more alpha than JH." Gusington, 10/23/18


Gusington

^For lounging on the backyard deck while still remaining vigilant?


слава Україна!

We can't live under the threat of a c*nt because he's threatening nuclear Armageddon.

-JudgeDredd

Jarhead0331

Quote from: Gusington on July 27, 2020, 08:40:06 AM
^For lounging on the backyard deck while still remaining vigilant?

Yes. They are very fashionable.
Grogheads Uber Alles
Semper Grog
"No beast is more alpha than JH." Gusington, 10/23/18


jamus34

I'm not going to lie and say my alcohol intake hasn't increased but I'm also trying to be more productive.

Finally getting some neglected home projects completed.
Spending more time with my kids.
Trying to improve myself
Trying not to overly worry about the world going to hell in a hand basket
Watching some older shows I never caught or were not interested in when they initially aired.

Insert witty comment here.

DoctorQuest

Quote from: Lotti Fuehrscheim on July 27, 2020, 08:30:43 AM
I find it all pretty fascinating.

Parts of it remind me of the reformation in Europe in the 16th century.

It reminds me of 1968. Which having lived through it seemed more chaotic. I will agree that is an arguable point.

I have limited my TV news intake for years. TV is good for updates on immediate emergencies but not so much for the type of long form analysis that you really need to understand complicated situations. I love my local newspaper.

Staying busy at work. Not an issue since I can work from home. The problem is learning to disengage to get some downtime.
Home projects. A common theme.
Trying to get back to studying for my FAA written test.

Life goes on. My daughter left this week for a new job in Boston. She is smart and tough and she will do fine but that's still 1500 miles away from home.  :'(
"Everything you read on the internet is true." - Benjamin Franklin

"Zero-G and I feel fine....." - John Glenn

"I reject your reality and substitute my own." - Adam Savage, inventor of the alternative fact.

Gusington

^I think about my daughters leaving when they are older. Right now they are 12 and 14 but it seems like just yesterday that they were 2 and 4. I don't know how I will stop crying when they go.


слава Україна!

We can't live under the threat of a c*nt because he's threatening nuclear Armageddon.

-JudgeDredd

DoctorQuest

^We have had some practice... She went to school at Kansas State which is about three hours from here. She also did an internship in Orlando, FL.
"Everything you read on the internet is true." - Benjamin Franklin

"Zero-G and I feel fine....." - John Glenn

"I reject your reality and substitute my own." - Adam Savage, inventor of the alternative fact.