Why does it feel like the world is ending
posted by Jason Kottke · gift link
“What’s the Healthiest Way to Handle a Creeping Feeling That the World Is Ending?”
The end of the world is nigh…or at least it feels like that sometimes these days. As historian and archaeologist Ian Morris says in the video, the five factors that crop up throughout history when a major societal collapse occurs seem to be present today: mass migrations, epidemic disease, collapse of states, major famines, and climate change. So, how should we think about the potential impending disintegration of society? How should we prepare? How should we feel about it?
In this short film, filmmaker Ryan Malloy explores, in a “fretful yet lighthearted” way, how one should prepare for the apocalypse by talking to a historian & archaeologist (the aforementioned Morris), a therapist, and a couple of different types of preppers.
Putting together a supply kit made me realize just how helpless I’d be if disaster struck. When you think about it, it’s almost like we live in a world run by magic. I don’t know how water, electricity, and gas gets to my house, but they’ve always been there
What To Do When It Feels Like The World Is Ending
Have you ever found yourself wondering, “What is the point of all of this, anyway?”
Believe it or not, it would be more “normal” if you contain than if you haven’t, especially during times of uncertainty.
One natural reaction to unexpected convert is grasping for control, meaning-making, and understanding. If we are unable to secure control, sense, or understanding, our grasping can evolve into anxiety, depression, or both, especially during crises.
If you are feeling existential fear, anxiety, depression, or dread, know that you are not alone. I will outline a few techniques to counter existential pains below, which I hope will encourage you as a foundation for where to begin.
Let’s walk through these practices today, together.
1. Ponder about a time you felt this way before.
It’s important to remember that challenges are often the most fertile grounds for growth and evolution. They can be very painful while you’re in the midst of them, no doubt. Often, though, on the other side, we acknowledge the beauty between the lines.
Take 5-10 minutes to think about a time when you felt groundless before. Perhaps you felt deep uncertain
From wildfires in California to snowstorms in the Deep South, the chaos in our world feels unrelenting. Add in ongoing political divides, misinformation, and strained relationships that are often a result of it all, and it can feel nearly impossible to find peace. But joy and hope are achievable even in the face of sadness and dread.
The constant buzz of news updates, each more unsettling than the last, can leave us all trapped in a cycle of fear and helplessness. Perhaps you’ve felt it too—that moment when the world’s weight feels unbearable when even the simple act of getting out of bed requires monumental effort. War, genocide, global pandemics, and widespread media gaslighting—it can all seem like too much.
But somewhere amid this chaos, a sliver of hope waits to be uncovered. Joy doesn’t erase the pain around us. Instead, it creates pockets of peace and strength to keep going. You can reclaim that joy, one small step at a time.
Managing Media Overload and Misinformation
The 24-hour news cycle amplifies fear and can make us feel gaslit when narratives conflict with reality. Reclaiming your mental space is crucial:
- Set Boundaries: Limit how much time you spend consumi
‘You Feel Like the World Is Ending When You’re There’: A Doctor’s Experience in Gaza
Dr. Feroze Sidhwa is a general, trauma, and critical care surgeon based in Stockton, California. He has volunteered in hospitals in Gaza twice—at European Hospital in Khan Yunis from March 25 through April 8, 2024, and at Nasser Hospital, one of the last functioning hospitals in all of Gaza, from March 3 through April 1, 2025. He testified before the United Nations Security Council on May 28, 2025. Sidhwa visited Madison, Wisconsin, for a series of public events in late July 2025, where this interview was conducted. It has been edited for length and clarity.
Q: When we spoke after your first visit to Gaza in 2024, you told me that you were seeing a lot of children with gunshot wounds to their heads and chests. How are things now, a year later?
Feroze Sidhwa: The first time I was in Gaza I was at European Hospital on the southeastern edge of Khan Yunis. There were ground troops there. I was there for fourteen days and I saw thirteen children, small kids, shot in the head or the chest, or at least that’s what I recorded in my journal. I’m pretty sure I saw many
Note: This is the third blog in my series about truth and reality as they relate to problems we are experiencing as a society.
"It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine." —R.E.M., in the song of the same name.
To say that 2020 has been a difficult year would be an understatement. We are in a global pandemic that has killed hundreds of thousands of people, have a financial crisis and high unemployment levels, toxic tribalism, a monumental upcoming presidential election, Russian election interference, the killing of George Floyd, the Black Lives Matter movement, wokism and the "cancel culture," social unrest, an upcoming chaotic school year, global climate change, forest fires in Siberia, hurricanes, rising levels of depression, anxiety, and suicide, and... murder hornets. There is no denying that society is facing some serious problems, As we doom scroll through our news feeds, it might feel as if it is the end of the world as we know it. Are we still feeling fine?
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Is the World Really Getting Worse?
"Nothing is more responsible for the Good Old Days than a bad memory.