Submitted 2 days ago by someacnt@sh.itjust.works to nostupidquestions@lemmy.world
I fear that nuclear war could be happening soon…
Global tensions seem to be rising, and superpowers are allowed to be more and more reckless. It feels like the third world war is imminent, a nuclear war which would end everything.
I am so scared… I am so paralyzed to do anything now. Am I overreacting? Also, what should I be doing?
Get involved and build resilience in your local community. It’s super beneficial for your mental health, social health and you can do something tangible that does make a difference. This resilience will help build and maintain and more importantly sustain the structural and social support for things like general strikes. People need to eat.
More in the same vein:
Their linked guide is a great summary. The archive.org link above is partially a workbook to help people figure out where to start with these things… There are so many options!! !citizenscience@mander.xyz too, is a form of praxis.
Well, I had the realisation that the human race is a cancer to the planet, nukes might just be the chemotherapy the planet needs to survive. I was getting really distraught about the environmental crisis and concluded that nuking everything might be a way out. It gave me an odd sense of peace
The closer you are to the blast, the better. This ensures a quick and painless death. If your’e really frightened of nuclear weapons, rest easy in a flat in a major city. You won’t have to suffer any of the scary mutations or side effects of rural folk.
Yeah, the heightened potential for nuclear annihilation is terrifying but there’s frankly nothing you can do to survive it. Even if you somehow lived though the bombings, there’s no corner of the globe where starvation nor irradiation would not reach. The Earth would be uninhabitable and death would be certain for most land animals.
It’s a tragic way to die and for the human race to cease to be. But it’s only death and that’s certain to happen one way or another. There are countless other ways you could die that are both within and beyond your control. Many are far more likely to happen than nuclear war. Do you fret about being killed in an accident every time you step into a car?
I know it’s a lot easier said than done but try to live in the now rather than the future. Plan for tomorrow but recognize that, unlike the present, the future is not guaranteed. Don’t take the present for granted, go do things that bring you fulfillment now because ultimately that is the only time that you have control over.
I disagree. Someone who really prepares by storing food, having a place underground to survive for a period, and takes sufficient precautions could live. It would be expensive and difficult to prepare, and even then may not work, but I don’t think it’s true that people can’t try to prepare at all.
It’s certainly plausible to survive the initial bombings by taking adequate shelter, you may even be able to stock up enough provisions to survive for several months. The problem is what follows.
Nuclear winter is hypothesized to change the climate to the point where growing food is impossible, potentially for several years. Any animals you can hunt before they eventually succumb to starvation will have been poisoned by the fallout, their meat contaminated.
The fallout will spread across the globe, making the air you breathe toxic, either by radiation poisoning or by any number of harmful construction materials such as asbestos which is now particleized and floating freely.
If by some miracle you do still cling to life by this point, you will either be completely alone or surrounded by people just as desperate to survive as you are. Only in fiction do either of those situations end well.
I was born in 1975, and during the eighties a nuclear war was always just about to happen. I can't tell you what you should be doing, for the most we just lived with it. What helped was there was no 24/7 news cycle back then, so maybe try to block out the news to maintain a healthy consumption level?
From what I understand, global nuclear war was an ongoing concern by the mid-50’s, when the nuclear arms race got in to full swing. Along the timeline of the ensuing Cold War, there have evidently been a shocking number of close calls, with global war being averted by a single individual in some cases.
Now one note of interest might be that the USSR’s cache of nuclear arms may not have been well-maintained over the years, so modern Russia might be sitting on a far more limited amount of live weapons than exists on paper. FWIW… which of course probably isn’t much, in the end.
Most of the problems and anxiety of the USA in 2025 comes down to the FACT that POTUS has more singular power than any king of any nation. No one is even hinting at changing that for the future.
What does an 80 year old man with dementia and one foot in the grave care about launching nukes? No one in a nation of pussies will stop him.
Exposure therapy: nuke yourself a few times. Your anxiety will vanish.
I do the closest thing I can, which is lick my smoke alarm every night and sleep with 1kg of banana next to my pillow.
This article may help: positivepsychology.com/circles-of-influence/
And a graphic that sums it up:
I’m just another internet rando, but looking at the same events everyone else is, I do think the masses will turn this around through solidarity. I believe: It will be before any nukes are used. It will be after long lasting climate change. But it will prevent the downfall of humanity. There will be human and natural healing. Most people will be okay.
What do I have power over to make this happen? Mostly numerous, small, interpersonal interactions.
Well said. Focus on what you can influence and realize most things are outside of your control.
I actually think the threat of nuclear war is pretty low compared to other points in history.
Now the entire world turning into a Nazi state on the other hand
You step outside and touch some grass. If Lemmy is starting to affect your mental health, you need to put it down.
Nuclear War in films, like most aspects of life, is extremely over-dramatized. IF, and that’s a big If, a country launched a nuke at another, it would not mean an end to the world, or the nations involved.
Nukes are not reality-destroying devices. They will destroy a part of a city. They would destabilize life in that area, but one bomb is far from a global crisis. Your life would remain the same unless you are near the impact site.
Here is one key disaster preparation step you can take, relevant in a nuclear attack as well as storms and civil unrest: Stock up on water. Keep a few milk jugs, clean them out well, and fill them with tap water; Then shut them and put them somewhere cool and out of the way. That’s the most essential disaster prep step you can do.
It’s great advice about storing water for an emergency.
You better change that water every now and then though.
I looked up the advice I had blindly followed and apparently milk jugs are biodegradable. That’s good for the environmentalists, but not for water storage. That said, stored water won’t “go bad”. It won’t even acidize like a glass of water on your countertop.
Nukes won’t burn the world to a cinder, but they will end the world’s infrastructure.
Say good bye for probably a longer period to clean water, electricity, healthcare, etc. There is a point to say that the dead will be lucky.
Having said that, there will likely be pockets of livable arras where humanity will survive, but life for the survivors likely will be shitty for a number of decades until things stabilize again
The danger of nuclear war wouldn’t be the radiation but poisoned water, food, air, due to the vaporized stuff thrown high into the athmosphere.
Hope that helps.
That definitely helps putting my mind off of the fear of radiation. Thanks.
Give away everything you own. Get 3 part time minimum wage jobs. You will then be excited for your pain to end.
The billionaires don’t want all-out nuclear war, what they want is world domination by a few, over a literal slave class mix of humans and robots.
However, in case of imminent attack in an outbreak of a nuclear WWIII, the best plan is to drive toward the biggest city in your region, or stay put if you currently live in a big city.
I’ll take instant vaporization over whatever the survivors are going to need to deal with in the aftermath.
Think about it this way, if nuclear does happen then you ain’t gonna have much time to worry about it.
A lot of other people have posted some really good stuff in terms of coping, and I think most of them are completely correct; it’s not something you can control, so it’s out of your hands and not really worth worrying about. That said, knowing that has never helped me stop worrying about something before, so I figured I’d type this up in case it helps. 🙂
Nuclear weapons have been a particular interest of mine for years. I’ve read most of the books out there on them, and I’m very familiar with the strategy involved in how they would be deployed in a conflict. I’ve also been to Trinity Site at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico twice, where the first nuclear weapon was tested, so I’ve seen their impact in person (I also have plans to visit Japan, and also the testing sites in Nevada, but haven’t been able to make those work out yet).
If a nuclear war happens, it won’t be the end of everything. They are big, scary, and should an actual full-scale exchange take place hundreds of millions (perhaps even billions) of people will die. It would be an absolutely cataclysmic event.
But that wouldn’t end everything.
A lot of people talk about how we have enough nuclear weapons to destroy the world, which is hyperbolic. The Earth has seen much worse than a nuclear exchange, and it’ll be fine. Overall life will also be fine; plenty of plants and animals would get wiped out, because it would be a mass extinction event, but a huge amount of life would survive and be just fine.
What people mean is that human life would be destroyed, and yeah, fair enough, we’d definitely have a major regression in civilization. But it wouldn’t kill everyone (probably nowhere even close to everyone), and humanity would continue to exist. The impacts of the dust kicked up by the bombs would probably cause some global cooling temporarily, similarly to a couple huge volcanic eruptions at the same time would, and life would become pretty difficult, but it won’t wipe us out.
If you live in a major city in the United States, Europe, Russia, or China, none of this really matters to you. If a nuclear war happens, you might get 10-15 minutes notice, but probably the first you’ll know about it is when an intensely bright flash happens. If you’re close enough, you won’t even have a chance to understand what it is. If you’re a bit further away, you might survive the initial flash of radiation, but be killed by the blast wave, or by burns caused either by the intense amount of heat released or by the radiation itself. The exact radius for this is going to vary based on exactly what type of warheads are detonated in your area, but we’ll say if you’re within a couple miles you’ll likely be killed within a few days because of that.
If you’re outside that second zone, you’re going to probably be okay, at least for a while. You might have some burns you can recover from, your lifetime risk of cancer might be a lot higher depending on where you were, and you may have other injuries related to the bombing, but you’ll probably survive long enough to help with recovery. Congrats!
You asked what you can do to prepare. Well, honestly, not a lot. I’d recommend preparing the same way you should for basically any other large-scale disaster. Ignoring radiation (I’ll get to it in a minute), a nuclear bomb’s aftermath is going to be similar to an earthquake or large fire. Keep a few days or a week of bottled water on hand for each person in your household (and maybe a way to purify water longer-term), have food supplies, some basic medical gear, and emergency lighting/communications equipment. If you’re really concerned about nuclear war specifically, add in some iodine tablets for each member of the household. If you do this, you’ll be prepped not just for nuclear war, but also any of the other much more likely disasters that may occur in your lifetime.
Now, as for the radiation question. Most nuclear weapons are not made to spread large amounts of radiation around. They absolutely will release radiation, but it makes the reaction less efficient, reduces yield, and massively increases cost per bomb. I’m not saying here that it’s not something to worry about or be aware of, but it’s a smaller problem than Hollywood and mass media would have you believe it is. Avoid eating or drinking things that are from directly downwind of an explosion, and try to not let any ash or particles stay on you/breath them in, and you’ve done what you can. Most of radiation exposure management comes down to keeping particles out of your body, particularly the lungs. The longer you’re exposed to radiation, the more likely it is that it’ll do something bad to you. The best remedy is to keep it out of your body as much as you can, and put distance between it and you so the inverse-square law can help.
I hope this helps a bit. Overall, even with global tensions rising, I think the chance of nuclear war is very very low. We’ve been very very close to at least a limited exchange before, and pulled through, and despite everything going on I think the chances of an actual nuclear exchange remains incredibly slim. If you want to prepare, pretend it’s like another large-scale (and much likelier) disaster, and prep for that.
I’ve skipped over some things that weren’t really pertinent, like actual nuclear war theory, and simplified other things, so if you want me to expand on any of this let me know! Nuclear history has been one of my special interests for years and years, and I enjoy talking about it.
I’ll also add about the radiation thing - the vast majority of the radiation from a nuclear explosion will be gone in just a few days. Even if you’re close enough to be affected, staying indoors (turn off air conditioning/heating though) and on the lowest floor possible of the building you’re in will protect you from most of the actual radiation. Again, the big issue is breathing it so sealing windows if you’re able could also help.
Media definitely overestimates the area of effect and timeline of destruction. Make sure you get a crank radio (they usually also double as flashlights and can charge your phone) and info will flow about response, even if it flows slowly and clunky at first. The good news is this applies to other disasters that are far far more likely to affect you, like severe winter weather, hurricanes, or wildfires.
You can die any number of ways at any time for any reason. Why fixate on one? Probably more likely to die in an automobile accident or some mundane bullshit than nuclear war.
if you find you have constant anxiety or are having intrusive thoughts or are obsessed with something and are unable to control it then please please please see a doctor or therapist if you can
there are lots of approaches and therapies you can use to train your brain to cope with anything better and have more agency and feel a happier life
Just to be a devil’s advocate: fear is an evolutionary response and is there for a reason and is sometimes highly rational. Talking yourself out of fear to conform to society’s expectations is not always smart.
A weird thing I’ve found somewhat calming is to prepare for the worst. If you think that might calm you down, look up how to make a go-bag, so that if you were to find yourself in a situation where you’d have to evacuate, be it running to a bomb shelter for a few hours or permanently leaving your area, you’d have a bag with basic survival supplies (flashlight, first aid supplies, non-perishable food, drinking water, swiss army knife if you can get one, clothing) ready to grab. I find the thought that if the worst case scenario happens, I wouldn’t be completely unprepared. Of course, this doesn’t work for everyone.
Then there’s the general things people do to cope with these feelings: talk to someone, preferably a professional, find something to give you hope. That something can be a game, a craft, a friend, good news, etc.
You do not want to live in a post nuclear war society. JFC, people lost their shit locking down for few weeks.
Your go bag concept is completely ignorant. A Swiss army knife? Might as well download episodes of FALLOUT.
Buy potassium iodide tablets. If it happens and it’s too close, you won’t even know. If it isn’t too close, take the pills and become a wasteland raider.
Otherwise just live your life because nothing you do really matters concerning nuclear war. That’s like worrying about an asteroid impact.
Iodide only protects from iodine isotopes.
Frankly it doesn’t matter because if you’re close enough to need anti radiation meds, the lack of food, water, power, and shelter will be a much more pressing issue. The gist of my comment was supposed to be “go buy these pills for peace of mind because that’s about the only ‘preperation’ you can do for nuclear war. Really you should just relax and live your life”.
People will probably not agree with me, but I think:
You are not overreacting, although AI sometimes tells me that risks of nuclear disaster aren’t that high and I’m over-estimating.
You can control things somewhat by preparing as much as you can to survive such a situation
But… preparing to try to survive nuclear war will require radical action possibly, especially if you live in a risky area that is more likely to be impacted.
What is preparation? It means getting the Potassium Iodine tablets, it means having food stored, it means having solar backups, ideally it means having a place where you can survive underground. It requires major changes, expenses, and enduring hardship if you are wrong.
I feel like there are two competing ways to look at this situation. 1) The elite control society, and they would not want to make society unlivable for them and their children, therefore nuclear war is an idea primarily to scare us and control us. The other option is 2) no one is steering the ship, the elite are greedy psychopaths and who knows what the hell will happen, and eventually conflict likely is going to happen and it will be ugly.
In World War 2, before Hitler came into power, some Jews in Europe were like “I’m worried about this situation, the political situation here is generally iffy, I’m getting the fuck out of here” and left and went to America… and then didn’t die as a result. Fear sometimes is what saves people, even if it seems crazy. I realize immigration to a new place is much harder in today’s world (especially to the USA, but in a global conflict, the USA probably wouldn’t be a great place to be).
Some advice about moving away from a major city may not be enough. Don’t be near a major city, military base, critical infrastructure… and then, that actually will only save you in a limited strike situation. In a worst case situation, everyone near the strikes is dead, and only people far far away survive, and even those people struggle with food shortages, radioactive fallout spreading across the globe. Just being in rural America not near bases or cities may not be enough.
You either use that fear to prepare, or you accept that there is a possibility death could happen from a lack of preparation, as can death happen at any time, and take up Buddhism or meditation or religion or ways to carry on and accept that death is sometimes a part of life.
If it really is paralyzing you and affecting your day-to-day decisions, you should see a therapist to help you put things in context and develop good coping mechanisms.
The chance of that happening is insanely low. Superpowers have been threatening it since the 80’s and no one has any intention to do shit about it.
All, everyone know it’s a lose-lose situation/ but no one will admit it. They all want everyone to believe they’ll be the only victors…
Did you forget about that dementia ridden, sociopathic, egomaniacal moron in the whitehouse? Man would fire a nuke by accident, let alone if someone had the audacity to criticize him in any way.
Read some history.
There was much more saber rattling going on in the Cold War than there is now.
The 0.01% aren’t going to risk their life style to prove a point.
Control the controllable. This axiom also applies to most things in life.
I got you read goodgoodgood.co 2 articles on Hope:
New study finds hope key to a meaningful life
Hopeful people live better lives (14 year study)
Hope that tomorrow will be better than today and to do today with action solo and with others via collaboration, coordination, logistics, and short-term & long-term thinking to get to that tomorrow.
Read up on the many many benefits for Hope and same for benefits of gratitude, chosen family, friends, & community. All 5 have massively helped my mental health. Overtime as you keep building them up it will help you too. Try to do the same for others when you are able to in near future once you have yourself setup for all those
Read books, videos, etc about each of those things and with each one pause whenever you feel like it and do whatever it says to make it part of your life. Dont chase any of it embrace all of it as now. You are hopeful and grateful right now. You have others no matter what from those and up to internationally with real allies of the people
Am I overreacting?
No.
Could you please elaborate your fears? Like are you scared of dying in a nuclear blast, having the planet and consequently humanity devastated by the nuclear winter, changes that precede the nuclear war, or are you afraid of living in the post nuclear war, dealing with the consequences of it?
having the planet and consequently humanity devastated
We don't need nuclear war for that, we're already well on our way there just by continuing to use fossil fuels and raping the earth and demonizing any kind of environmental / climate protections. Conventional war is a huge contributor to emissions, and political instability also doesn't need nuclear war to affect you negatively.
Does that help? On one hand, everything is going to shit already even without nukes flying. On the other hand maybe it helps if the things you fear are not that one huge spectre of nuclear hellfire that seems impossible to prevent for an individual, but many smaller things where normal people can make a difference through their actions.
You don’t control geopolitics but you do control your own outlook. If you can’t accept a someday threat but continue living today, then you are losing the battle before you even know if you have to fight. Yes, losing the ability to get through the day is overreacting, even in light of the threat potential. I could give you 6 other things to worry yourself into paralysis about if I wanted to. But you control your own outlook.
The only thing you can do is move away from a major city. and after that you can’t do shit. So don’t worry about it. it’s fine
check out that movie Dead Man’s letters. it’s really good.
Ask the folks that we’re alive during the cold war. They got the good tips.
They told us to get under our desks. I’m not sure that will work…
dr_robotBones@reddthat.com 15 hours ago
The best way to cope with the news is to ignore it. There is no reason to read about and obsess over things you have no power to change. Focus on your own life and the people around you, learn mindfulness and deeply ponder the structure of trees, the intricate shapes of the clouds, whatever nature is around you, and breathe.
MeThisGuy@feddit.nl 2 hours ago
yeh I’ve been doing just this a lot as of late… and Lemmy tell ya, there’s a lot of natural beauty in his world, from clouds to the fractal shapes of plant life (ferns esp). best not to worry about impending doom and things you cannot change.