Getting really dysregulated - after Covid Pandemic & inflation from Ukraine war, I'm dreading the beginning economic fallout from the Iran war

Too dysregulated to write anything that makes much sense right now...

Barely got through the economic fallout from the Covid pandemic and the inflation from the Ukraine war. Still trying to somehow get back on a slightly more stable financial footing after all that.

And now a totally needless, predictably f*cked war is unfolding that will do untold damage to the whole world's economy.

I'm going to bite my tongue about the %&?§#§ &8§"§+*~ who started this war stupidly and needlessly and will be affecting countless millions of lives in a negative way.

And I know that so many people have it worse than me. All the people in those two war zones. Horrible suffering. And all the millions that will face food shortages and starvation because the world won't have enough fertiliser because of this new war. People in India already can't cook their food because they've got no gas to cook on atm.

There is going to be so much damage and so much fallout from this.

I should probably just suck it up because I have it better than the people in the war zones. But I feel like my ability to cope with yet another crisis is just shot to pieces.

I live rurally and I have no idea how to deal with the petrol/ gas prices atm. And it's only the beginning. It's going to get so much worse.

And that sense of a crisis being "a period of distress before things return to normal"... I'm starting to feel like there is no normal anymore...

I hear you. These are very scary times in so many ways. And, as you said, this is probably going to go on in different shapes.

What helps me? Networks of mutual aid. As in friends and neighbors sharing resources and comforting each other. Asking for help and helping others. Anything that helps me feel that people care about each other and are willing to help.

People tend to step up and do decent things when crisis hits. There will always be selfish assholes, but a large portion of fellow humans are fundamentally prosocial.

If you want to read some more about really cool mutual aid stuff during crisis I highly recommend Rebecca Solnit’s A Paradise Built in Hell.

I have to say I am also very concerned about all that you mentioned

Ecdysis.​

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empathy, skin shedder. lately i have had the jimi hendrix song,"purple haze" stuck in my head. mix the color blue (democrat) and red (republican) and you have purple. with the current politics, "i'm acting funny and i don't know why. excuse while i kiss the sky." insert infamous guitar solo here.

Ecdysis said:

I should probably just suck it up because I have it better than the people in the war zones.

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knowing there are people suffering worse than i has yet to comfort me, but i should probably just suck it up because there is not a whole lot i can do to change today's facts. can i hope for thinning tomorrow's purple haze? just hoping. . .

side note
after all the pressure to wear masks from 2020 to 2023, i found last year's villianization of ice masks rather humorous. personally, i never did master the art of spotting "eye smiles" or breathing easy while wearing one.

Ecdysis said:

Too dysregulated to write anything that makes much sense right now...

Barely got through the economic fallout from the Covid pandemic and the inflation from the Ukraine war. Still trying to somehow get back on a slightly more stable financial footing after all that.

And now a totally needless, predictably f*cked war is unfolding that will do untold damage to the whole world's economy.

I'm going to bite my tongue about the %&?§#§ &8§"§+*~ who started this war stupidly and needlessly and will be affecting countless millions of lives in a negative way.

And I know that so many people have it worse than me. All the people in those two war zones. Horrible suffering. And all the millions that will face food shortages and starvation because the world won't have enough fertiliser because of this new war. People in India already can't cook their food because they've got no gas to cook on atm.

There is going to be so much damage and so much fallout from this.

I should probably just suck it up because I have it better than the people in the war zones. But I feel like my ability to cope with yet another crisis is just shot to pieces.

I live rurally and I have no idea how to deal with the petrol/ gas prices atm. And it's only the beginning. It's going to get so much worse.

And that sense of a crisis being "a period of distress before things return to normal"... I'm starting to feel like there is no normal anymore...

Click to expand...

I feel normal is gone. Constant crisis . Massive disinformation..I work on budgeting self care. We have 2 dogs who are my legal ESAs.We try to live simply quietly.

I try to disengage from it all. I think the move in some countries to fire politicians for lying is a good start. I am powerless over the big picture but I do try to be the best person I can be on my micro level. I don’t have much hope for the future of humanity. One thing seems for sure, it will get worse before it gets better, if it gets better. My approach is to try to live a mindful life and do as little harm as I can. I try to practice compassion but often I am not very good at it.

I don't watch the news and am barely engaging with the situation. I appreciate that is coming from a place of privilege to be able to ignore it.

What will come with increased fuel/bills/food, will come. I think that with climate breakdown: all that will come anyway. And I can't control any of that.

I know for me that I can get obsessed and overthink things so I avoid the news. Getting rid of the TV in the pandemic was such a good thing for my mental health. Watching the news constantly and trying to figure out what will happen, never has helped me solve or plan for anything. Because we can't control what power crazy people do. And we are powerless to stop it (bring on the revolutions!).

Is there a way of reducing exposure to it, to help manage the worry?

One thing I do when I read the news is to say “interesting if true”. I try not to buy into all the sensationalist crap.

I had a bad morning with husband again over this situation. He says trump said that Iran is dead and democrats need to be next. Or something to that effect..This was a bad trigger. I am working on the following. Finishing my state taxes. For 2025 my state wants copy of my checking amount verify my phone number before issuing my refund due to fraud waste abuse even though I got 2024 refund into my checking account last week..we got a newer used car so I am scheduling some maintenance plus obtained online vehicle history reports. I reconciled what medicare says I owe my providers with my what my medigap plan said. I called one of my doctors this am to get his opinion on starting another medication. Before it is done. I am researching this medication on my own. I am not in the place where it seems so many are- focus on news media trump etc to the exclusion of all else. I refuse to let a malignant narcisstic define my life. Again. My father has enough of the traits..I am not feeling so well today and for 6 years my husband has let it seems to me let this define him..of course I am blamed projected if I speak up. I filled out also my passport application. To get passcard. I have appt in about 2 weeks. Not leaving the US but want the additional ID. I like the viewpoint of the news interesting if true. AI algorhythms are altering a lot. There is nothing I can do about this mess but live. I want peace and quiet. This mess I am trying to use for another opportunity for growth.

KA60 said:

like the viewpoint of the news interesting if true.

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Yes!! At this point we don't know what's true and what isn't. Hold that viewpoint.
Wishing you the best in your situation.

Ecdysis said:

I should probably just suck it up because I have it better than the people in the war zones. But I feel like my ability to cope with yet another crisis is just shot to pieces.

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I'm right there with you. Right now I'm safe, but no one knows for how long

I've been badly triggered and I'm struggling to not spiral, doom scroll or just totally lose my crapola. My 2 best friends are naturalized citizens, which means nothing towards their safety. A teenager I care deeply about is 1/2 Korean and has to walk past ice every day on his way to school. His mom (also Korean - was adopted as a child) lives in a town that has gone totally white supremacist. My vet friends are facing being called back up to fight another 20 year war
The economy is unstable and I have no idea what that will do for our savings

And now I have to fly back to Panama on Sunday and my airport will be full of masked men armed with guns with no training or accountability for their actions. Luckily on this trip I have hubby with me and he's trying to help and I'm working every coping skill I have. But I've sworn I will never be a victim of someone who has no consequences for their actions ever again. So ya, I'm not doing well either

Movingforward10 said:

I don't watch the news and am barely engaging with the situation.

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That is me too. I read some news, but don't watch it and just aren't interested nowadays. I try to keep my surroundings quiet and peaceful.