196

I mean, realizing how good the United States is relative to many other countries and especially adversaries does help put things into perspective. Things could be better but at least we have the hope to make things better. Many people don't have that.

A lot of leftists spend a lot of time on pure critique of the system, especially early in their radicalisation, which can lead to a pessimistic outlook. It's true that the system is unrelenting and the effects of capitalism and domination seep into every aspect of our lives, and that can feel overwhelming. I really hope I haven't sabotaged myself by assuming that everything around me is cynical and only trying to exploit me at every turn, because that just isn't true. The system works that way, but there are lots of people living under it who don't collaborate with its goals.

Also, a message that doesn't get emphasised enough is hope. That's because algorithm-driven social media - even the fediverse is subject to this - tends to push ragebait and hit pieces over constructive narratives.

I'm really enjoying a lot of Anark's stuff lately on youtube. I'd really recommend his work on Hope and Constructing the Revolution.

Also I would recommend thinking about how you can join the anarchist practice of prefiguration, or building the new in the shell of the old. A lot of revolution talk focusses on toppling the enemy system, but equally important is building our own alternatives that make people's lives better now. That alleviates problems now, it wins people over and helps radicalise them, and it necessarily involves building community, which can hugely help with the feelings of isolation and depression.

I've often wondered if the horrific anxiety people experience in our society is our ancient monkey brains trying to figure out what we did wrong that isolated us from our tribe, when the thing that did it is communities being atomised by capitalist property markets. That observation on its own has helped me reach out more, and also to better accept when I don't have people around me.

Edit: I read this as the OP's question and I answered it as such. That's okay though, if this question relates to you, then you already know who you are.

One of my friends sent me a physical copy of this book. It's helping me look at some things in a new way.

It's so easy to slip into doomerism, especially if you already cope with things like depression, anxiety, and trauma.

I'm only about 1/3 into the book because I'm reading it in tiny bits, but I think I'd recommend it.

Not feeling depressed (euthymia) and feeling depressed (dysthymia) are emotional states that can be influenced by but exist independently of someone's circumstances. I encounter people who are homeless a lot in my work, and a good chunk of them are euthymic af, while there are a ton of people who have all their needs met and who are dysthymic af.

Emotional states have a lot more to do with genetic predisposition and learned behavior than most people would care to acknowledge, rather than situational factors

“Being a leftist…” who talks like that?