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  1. #1
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    Post Extreme anxiety/depression over Trump and world events

    Hi guys,

    This is my first post here. What follows is kind of a messy stream of consciousness. I'm writing this more for catharsis than anything else. It feels good to type this out and shoot it into the void. OK, here goes:

    As the title implies, I have some pretty bad anxiety and depression about the direction the world is headed in right now. In short: I worry Donald Trump will erode civil rights, crash the nation's economy and very likely get the U.S. into a war with China (or, hell, even Russia) that will inevitably turn nuclear. I live about 10 miles from Washington D.C., so I believe in such a conflict I would die a painful but possibly not immediate death.

    For the record, I opposed Trump vehemently during his campaign (though I was not wild about Clinton, either) and thought electing him would bring about catastrophe and disorder. I fear Trump -- with his irrational behavior, denying intelligence briefings, using violent language and rhetoric -- just isn't up for the job if things really get crazy. And, unfortunately, things seem to be ramping up across the world. All it takes is one spark to ignite the fire. This has happened before. History repeats itself.

    When Trump questions the One China policy, for instance, he risks undermining years of uneasy peace between two nuclear superpowers. And for what? What does he stand to gain? There is no upside to angering Beijing this way. He gets nothing in return. I don't trust his ability to lead. He has poor judgement.

    Sure, we can elect someone else in four years, but that's FOUR YEARS. Do we really have that long before he and his insane advisors kill us all?

    So, my anxiety: I fear that war approaches and Trump does nothing to slow it down. While I didn't like much of what Obama did, I appreciated his even temper and cool head. I never thought World War 3 would start under his watch. But when I see that Trump has tweeted some petty insult or made some awful baseless remark, it makes me feel like he's woefully unprepared to handle foreign policy. Diplomacy requires precision and tact. He doesn't seem to have that. He's worse than Reagan. Worse than Bush.

    The president-elect makes me feel tiny and helpless. It makes me feel like he's gambling with my life and my country.

    I'm incredibly depressed. I alternate between feeling like I'm going to die in the next year to panicking over how I can stop it from happening. I've considered moving to another country far from here (Australia?) or buying a homestead in the middle of nowhere and building an underground fallout shelter there. I have money saved but I'm ready to withdraw it all. What good is my savings account going to do when the end comes? I've packed a bag full of food, water and supplies in case the end approaches rapidly. I've considered buying a gun, but not for my own protection. When the missiles fly, I want to kill myself immediately.

    I feel like a dead man walking. I cry a lot now. I am unhappy and irritable all the time. Eating is hard. Sleeping is difficult. Work is impossible.

    I should note that my therapist has been very helpful. She's advised I take up meditation (trying) and possibly look into taking medication. I agree with her expert opinion. Still, I still can't help but fear the worst.

    Anyone out there willing to talk me down or provide a little insight? It would be greatly appreciated.

  2. #2
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    I live in Australia and happy to roll out the red carpet.

    I feel the same way about Trump but really glad he got in. The world needs to hurry up and reach a precipice. It's only during such times that any of us seem healthier choices, or at the very least reach some kind of end. The world will not continue much longer as is.

    I don't agree with medication as I know healing can take place without it. In fact I know that the taking of medication only leads to more complications, weakens an already crippled will and bla bla bla.

    However you will meet many in here as well as in the world who love taking meds as a form of escape.

    You can always take the medication route and find out for yourself.

    Meditation not Medication is the way I ended up going. Since you're asking, that is what I suggest. If you don't like it ... take the escape. I certainly won't judge you. Just saying what works for me and stating my view. How's your diet? You getting enough Sleep? Is there anything you can do to change your environment? Have you tried therapy such as just talking? How about self hypnosis or reading up on the power of the mind? Tired Bio Feed back using sound waves to alter brain states over a period of time ... there a many things one can do other than simply popping pills. Alas ... the popping of pills is much quicker, takes less effort and will always be recommended by people in white coats as they be nothing more than people on strings attached to that machine that's led you to thinking the way you do. Medication is no more to me than the pinnacle of yet another commodity that's made specifically for putting in to tubes.

    Sadly tubes is what most of now be. We went from watching the tube to becoming one. Nonetheless it is possible to unroll even when after having been on med.

    I'm sure you will work out what is best.

    Welcome to the forum ... I really don't know anything and as fragile as you.

    All the best.
    "...the cost of sanity in this society is a certain level of alienation" ~ Terrance McKenna → https://pondermovedhere.blogspot.com/

  3. #3
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    Thanks for your reply. Australia seems to be a nice place!

    These are my worst fears, but generally the people I talk to are reassuring. After all, Trump seems to love money and power more than anything. Why would he get into a war just to throw all that away? He also doesn't strike me as the ideological type. There are some historical comparisons to what's happening now.

    Nixon, for example, had some of the same characteristics Trump has. He was also petty, jealous, paranoid and treacherous, though not in public view as Trump seems to be. And Nixon, like Trump, sought to erode rights and defeat political opponents by illegal means.

    And then there was Reagan. In his first few months in office, he declared the Soviet Union an "evil empire" and vowed to defeat it by any means necessary. He also vowed to increase nuclear and military spending. It seemed at the time like he was totally in favor of nuclear war.

    Trump seems at least to be able to work with others so long as they give him a "fair deal." The question is, I guess, is his idea of a fair deal at all universal? We shall see.

    I also do have some hope about my fears. So, story time:

    I've had anxiety and depression my entire life. It has manifested itself in many different ways over time. When I was younger, I dreaded earthquakes and tornadoes or cried my eyes out worrying about the fact that my parents would one day die (they are still both alive, for the record). As I got older, I agonized over my future and my career.

    About three years ago, I had a similar kind of breakdown to the one I'm having now. Not about world events, though -- about cancer.

    I had a very real health scare that ended up being nothing, but it brought out a deep and striking fear of death and disease. For months after my initial scare, I was convinced I had SOME kind of cancer. I'd sit around sobbing and counting my days. I wouldn't want to plan ahead because, well, why? What's the point? I knew I was a dead man walking. I thought I had stomach cancer. Or melanoma. Or lymphoma. Or bone cancer. Once, I thought I had a cancerous mole on my eyeball. My fears jumped around week by week, but there was always a constant: I just knew I was dying of cancer.

    Well, the weeks turned into months, which then eventually turned into years. And I never died, so I just stopped worrying, bit by bit.

    I mention this because I SUPPOSE Trump may not bring about the apocalypse as I fear. And the longer we go without nuclear war, the better I assume I will get. Hopefully.

    When I thought I had cancer, I posted on a forum for health anxiety sufferers. It was a great help to me, especially because I could look back at my previous posts and say, "hey, that was almost half a year ago! I'm still here!" and it was very cathartic. Hopefully I can use these posts the same way.
    Last edited by jenkyleg; 12-17-2016 at 03:03 PM.

  4. #4
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    Yes, journaling/writing are great ways to deal w/ anxiety. Posting to a forum like this is similar. You get all that internalized fear out there, and others like you read it and empathize. We do empathize. Health anxiety is very common, and so is 'the world is doomed' anxiety. We can't control world events or ultimately our health, just influence them in little ways by doing our best. Then we need to step out of the way and allow the universe to unfold as it will. It's the truth, and we will feel better by letting go of the need to control that which we can't.

  5. #5
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    Thanks for your reply, Fashoom. This is good advice. My therapist says similar things.

  6. #6
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    jenky,

    have you tried it? pick one thing you are used to trying to control, like dealing w/ a utility company that's screwed up your service, or a driver on the road that's giving you pain, (or anything else that works for you). try just saying "okay, i can't control other people, so i'm going to just let this go." then see how you feel compared to the way you are used to.

  7. #7
    remember... that even though things seem crazy... the president is not god of the usa... he cannot do whatever he wants whenever he wants... and if he tries... there are checks and balances to make this not happen again... and impeachment if he pulls a double dumbass which is totally possible.

    either way... like fashoom said... take wisdom from the stoics and alcoholics (who are often control freaks as i was)

    grant me the serenity to accept the things i cannot change (trump is in office and i don't like that)
    courage to change the things i can (my response and good i choose to share with the world)
    and the wisdom to know the difference (i probably cant go change trump, and its awful hard to get a game changing job in washington... but i can start a cool group dedicated to doing or rallying about all the things i don't like about trump)

    all that needs to happen for evil to prevail is for good men/women to do nothing... but again... take it in moderation... and in stride... and START from a place of contentment.
    if you like my comments you can check out my little videos on anxiety and sobriety here:
    To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
    ps: although i like to answer people and help them with anxiety... i am not even close to having it "all figured out" i'm just one out of 8 billion people navigating life to the best of my abilities... and i found some things that work for me :-) hope it helps you too.

  8. #8
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    This is true. I think I worry though because there are many things a president can do without Congress. Plus, it seems like we have legislators who seem to think of him as a rubber stamp.

    I also worry that Trump will antagonize countries over Twitter, as silly as that sounds. He seems to want to push China very, very hard. I don't want to go to war and die with that country because of the president's stupid tweets. Can you imagine? What a fate that would be.

  9. #9
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    I too have been having terrible anxiety since Trump got elected.

    I think part of it is because so many of my friends online are being really doom and gloom, worrying about the worst case scenario about how he's gonna turn the US into a fascist state, and how the Republicans control the government now and are gonna mess everything up for everyone.

    To try and assuage my fears I have been doing things to try and help: Signing online petitions against Trump, passing around information on how to effectively organize to oppose him, but I worry if it will be enough.

    Really I think what I really need to do is try and disengage from reading political stuff for a while; my main source for that stuff is Tumblr, but I really like that website and it makes it hard to avoid the bad news I keep getting.

  10. #10
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    To me they all are one in the same, liars.

 

 

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