CHUBBL3S

I would advise reading The E Myth by Michael Gerber. (E for Entrepreneur)

The audiobook is on Youtube. The first half is mostly bubble-popping but the second half is constructive advice. Well, it's all constructive really.

The issue is not about the sources of information (mainstream media/fringe website) but the evaluation of the specific claim itself. The only thing responding publicly does is give the claim more credence and the fringe site more traffic. It will spread to less if you don't engage; and not one holocaust denier, flat earther, etc. will be convinced by whatever you, a brainwashed sheeple, have to say.

Responding privately also turns the discourse into a conversation, rather than a public debate. If they were going to do any self-reflection it's more likely here. But the main benefit is to stop the sick from spreading.

Depending on the answer, I might be owed a lot of BAT.

Hi Nina,

It seems right now, in America at least (but surely in other parts of the world) 9 of every 10 citizens have leapt off the deep end. A precious few studious, critical-thinker types are content to say "I know that I know nothing", lament the lack of quality information, and leave it at that. But the grand majority have been yanked from all control and stability, and turn to whatever explanations they can find, no matter how unsubstantiated or ludicrous. They're starved of information, being force-fed this crap as a last resort.

My question is, 1) how do we help our loved ones be content with not knowing? How to help them weather hard times without the need to buy into bullshit? and 2) how does even the most mentally well-equipped person cope with their beloved community transforming into a vitriolic nightmare practically overnight? It's exhausting!

If you're not already labelled as a drug-seeking creep by your doctors, I'd bring up the possibility of OCD with your therapist. It doesn't usually present like it does on tv, it's a paranoia that something in your environment is wrong and needs fixing, no matter what you try to do to identify and fix the problem, or that's how it's presented for me. I have a close family member with paranoid schizophrenia, and it seems we deal with similar problems, just with different levels of lucidity.

The whole suicide survivorship thing is to celebrate the struggle. It may never be "okay", but we can take pride in a situation where we're holding on versus taking the easy way out. When the question is, "why bother?" and there is no intristic universal answer except to create your own, suicide prevention gives credit to just sticking around until you can create your own reason to put up with the everyday bullshit heartbreak of life.