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Comment by bjackman | Hacker News Reader

I'm surprised to find that this story has hit me pretty hard emotionally. The stuff Cameron and Theresa May are saying these days is really quite extreme. I feel totally abandoned by politics and genuinely, deeply frightened about the direction our legislature is headed. Is this a part of growing up? The mainstream is so far away from my own views that I don't have any voice. I'm really starting to see why a lot of libertarians in the US are so hyperbolic and full of panic.

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Is this a part of growing up?

A bit off topic: Ive asked myself this question in general for the past couple of months. People dying from wars and incidents that happened a couple of days ago makes me anxious, miserable, lost and helpless.Maybe its media amplifying everything, I don't know but its truly unpleasant.

I completely relate to what you're saying, and I'm sure a lot of us here are burdened by the painful feelings you've expressed. Thank you for sharing. I think the primary cause is the 24/7 news cycle bombarding us incessantly with negative and depressing information. It's extremely unpleasant to bear, particularly when you're sensitive or vulnerable to the sufferings of humanity. I've found it's best to take vacations from it all--to tune it out completely for intervals--and focus entirely on work or the things you love. If you perchance have trouble avoiding news sites or social networks, as I have in the past, I've found an extension like StayFocusd to be really helpful (https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/stayfocusd/laankej...)

Thanks for the reply, I do agree its the negativity everywhere being thrown at us, it really takes a toll on people who really care about these things.

I already do avoid news sites and news papers when possible, thanks for the advice and the extension recommendation

Couldn't have put it better. I was among the millions participating in one of history's largest pre-emptive protests—against the Iraq War¹—and I really felt that the people had spoken. Our message was loud and clear and they would have to listen. Well, we know how that turned out. I suspect disenfranchisement (what is having a vote if that vote is ignored?) is a general feeling everybody has, but that also the complete dismissal of our views at the time was quite shocking and has perhaps made a generation of cynics, when probably a generation of outrage is needed.

Local politics can be quite satisfying with real results. The people are there, contactable, accountable and they listen. But at the national level I don't have any feeling of connection whatsoever.

¹http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protests_against_the_Iraq_War

No, you just feel abandoned in general, and attribute it to politics because human brains are prone to seeing patterns and causation even where none exist. Get a dog. Volunteer at a soup kitchen. Don't stay cooped up reading online news forums all day.

Anxiety is more about mental health than it's about circumstances. If it gets in the way of living, you should get it checked out. You can still fight for the right thing, as you see it, when you're not anxious anymore.

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