Don’t neglect your personal wellbeing for politics. It’s OK to switch off now and again to focus on other things.
Like drugs!
Which can also be politics, but whatever.
Using drugs as a coping mechanism is a guaranteed path to addiction. Don’t do it, man.
Think of the people you know who drink at parties. How many became alcoholics?
Now think of the people you know who started drinking to cope with grief or depression. How many of those became alcoholics?
Youre not wrong! But also, when there’s no solution in reach, sometimes its mushroom time.
I don’t fuck with that alcohol shit tho.
“Being a leftist…” who talks like that?
probably someone on reddit seeking to engage with likeminded peers just a guess though
idk, makes me think of this guy.
what lol are you trying to call into question someone reaching out about mental health…
…based on their phrasing?
very chill and normal of you :|
Again it’s the “as a leftist” part for me. Feels like that “walkaway” bs we had 4 years ago with all the bad actors pushing the “disenfranchised voter that just isn’t gonna vote this year” angle. Otherwise why even bring political affiliation into it if not to say “isn’t it depressing being in this party?” Call me cynical but i’ve just never encountered anyone who talks like that.
Because the Overton window moving ever rightward gets super depressing sometimes.
When I voted for the first time 22-23 years ago, my core ideological beliefs were slightly to the left of the main center-left party of my multi-party country. Nowadays they’re all considered far left bordering on (peacefully) radical.
Especially sucks to be a pacifist in a world that collectively agreed that militarism is great again and an egalitarian in an increasingly racist and otherwise bigoted world.
And that corporations still mostly get away with doing whatever the fuck they want everywhere as long as they keep legally bribing the politicians of the country that more or less dictates what other countries get to do and not do.
Tl;Dr: leftist ≠ democrat and is frequently a depressing and frustrating thing to be in this fucked up world
as a leftist, vote. as a leftist, let’s please exercise decency and good will a little more than we are eh?
unless you see direct calls or dogwhistles to abstain the vote, which let’s be honest there is no shortage of on both 196 and this platform in general, don’t make accusations like this. you are reading so much subtext into this post without evidence. talking about mental health is not a dogwhistle.
other commenters here are sharing resources, encouragement, and personal experiences relating to the topic. i’d encourage you to follow suit.
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.
