I hear ya, OP. I think when people have too much time on their hands, they can easily go down the rabbit hole. That's why so many MAGA retirees only watch Fox News all day.

I fear that I'm going to be even more addicted to this forum. LOL

I'm planning to travel and work on my home and garden when I retire (cross fingers, this fall). So, hopefully, I won't be spending ALL my time on this forum.

I’ve immigrated from an authoritarian country, so I’ve had the “vaccine”. You’ll need to adjust but it’s nothing compared to some other places and you’ll be fine in the end. Btw I didn’t vote for all this but I am no stranger to politics controlling people and not vice versa. It sucks but you’ll be fine.

Like someone said above, just turn off the news. When you step outside and go to work or go shopping or whatever the "State of the US" is as normal as it could ever be. Everything is fine. I remember during Trump's first term people were saying the same thing. The world is ending, democracy is over, blah blah blah. They were wrong then and they are wrong now.

Anonymous wrote:You are not alone.

What is happening in the US is scary as shit.

Take it one day at a time because it is about to get way worse.

Trump knows he can not leave office this is not going to end well for any American.

Anonymous wrote:This has been my life since COVID followed by the insurrection, even with a job to distract me. There was a lull in the horror but now it's back.

You are not alone.

You are not alone.

What is happening in the US is scary as shit.

Take it one day at a time because it is about to get way worse.

Trump knows he can not leave office this is not going to end well for any American.

Anonymous wrote:I feel like we have a responsibility to know what’s going on. They are banking on us not paying attention. If we don’t, who will? Put your head in the sand and you’ll pull it out to find our country irreparably destroyed.
In 2029, I’ll turn off my news and stop scrolling, and breathe.

It’s not all or nothing. I read the headlines and watch some news but scrolling and reading about it all day isn’t good. Set a limit for yourself and then fill the rest of your day with other activities- meeting a friend, exercise, volunteer etc.

“State of the U.S.” ??

Bad news doesn’t just inform you. It forms you.

I feel like we have a responsibility to know what’s going on. They are banking on us not paying attention. If we don’t, who will? Put your head in the sand and you’ll pull it out to find our country irreparably destroyed.
In 2029, I’ll turn off my news and stop scrolling, and breathe.

This has been my life since COVID followed by the insurrection, even with a job to distract me. There was a lull in the horror but now it's back.

Turn off the news. This is why you have a streaming service.

Volunteering is a great way to direct that energy of yours that wants to do something to change things but doesn’t know what or how.

I'm not retired but January was a slow month for me. I started hunting for a new job just because I hate having enough time on my hands to scroll news and freak out. I need to be buried in work right now.

Did I write this? Same here. I am currently looking for a therapist.

I'm retired, so I don't have work to distract me--when I was working, it was pretty easy for me to compartmentalize even horrible things while I worked (my little sister being dx with pancreatic cancer, for example). Since I'm not and am free to choose what I do with my time it's easy to fall into rabbit holes and doom scrolling.