I'm preparing for a total breakdown...

[Kentucky Fried Panda]

Probably mental, probably my own.

I really don't know if it's the PO stuff or something else, but I just don't care anymore. I'm about to quit another job as I just find everything so pointless.
I don't think I'm depressed, I just feel my days could be spend more productively than running around like all of this actually means something.

I'm thinking of chucking it all and getting out of the UK. ASAP

[Andy Hunt]

Blimey! Will have to make sure we go for that drink before you do . . .

I know what you mean about the 'hamster wheel' though. Seems like a waste of a life.

[MisterE]

I always work on the premise that life finds a way. I work many hours and all that money goes to my kids accounts for a house. It could be all for nothing and will get robbed from them in PO, that will be mine and their fight should it happen. Crime in the cities is already a joke along with immigration. Its bad enough our cities fill up with white trash, we then got to also let in people who equally have no interest in UK law (not all obviously). The politicians are all leeches and hide behind an impenetrable police state in luxury. The NHS is falling apart, you cant get a dentists appointment. Community spirit is a relic from the past. You cant get a job on a supermarket till becasue all the graduates got em! Plus if that?s not all bad enough things are set to get worse because apparently we?ve never had it so good. Cant blame anyone wanting to leave the UK, got to be honest though, hand on heart, I?ve been so many places over the world often working there months at a time and I?d not want to live anywhere other than Wales.

This is how I cope and keep going;

1. Life that presents challenges even dire ones is a better one than one that is the same old same old. Keeps you on your toes.

2. Do not watch the news or any TV propaganda if you find yourself starting to shout or get pissed off with the nonsense your hearing.

3. No-one knows 100% that PO will hit them in their lifetime. Be man enough to say to yourself I could be wrong, everyone could be wrong. Hence you must prepare for that and build a life.

4. Live in the anti PO ?now? for at least some of your time on earth. The now is great, go to the cinema, use your car, take a long haul holiday, play the xbox 360 ps3, go shopping, go to concerts, get pissed, go buy a can of pepsi from a garage at 3am in the morning. Watch lots of films with loads and loads of sweets.

5. Get a pet, a dog would be great and an essential member of your crew should PO or any other shit come your way. I suggest an Airedale or Gaint Schnauzer - go to shows, agility, or obedience.

6. Get back out in nature, book a course to go and do something outdoors. For example rock climb, mountain walking, cycling, quading, paint balling, fishing (love fishing me).

7. Learn to play and instrument or take up a competitive activity for over winter. I been playing guitar for 5 yrs and I?m crap mwuahahhaaaa still! I also play chess for my local club and after two years I?ve played for the county and shot up the ranks, its great for winter. Join snooker, darts, bridge, poker teams etc great for keeping happy in winter.

8. Go shopping for all outdoor gear, or whatever your activity is ie fishing, get the gear and the mags and get into something else other than PO. Snooker, darts, bridge, poker books etc, get into the thing make it part of your life, especially if your playing for a team.

9. SHAG ? have as much sex as you can.

10. I have a rule when I feel myself getting fed up, and no sex is on offer rofl, I go about my day and everytime I see a negative I do one of two things. The first is I also look around for a positive. The second is if I cant see a positive I take the negative and make it into a funny monty python sketch with billy smart music playing in the back ground and laugh my tits off at my imagination coming up with more whacky stuff ? it works a treat and fools the brain. IE was arguing with a seagull manager the other day. I was ready to rip his head off and got stressed after the event. Then 10 mins after the event I closed my eyes, and watched him shouting, dressed him up in clown clothes, with monkeys all over him with billy smart music blasting everytime he opened his mouth and I was dressed the same, then seen how funny and stupid we looked, then a monkey shat on his head, I was laughing my nuts off! Seen him in the real world 10 mins later and said Hi and spoke as if nothing happened ? now we all know how that does peoples heads in muwhahahahaaaa

Sod it, just read my post and I think I may be barking mad, book the tickets I?m coming with ya!

I got to be honest I love life, and I'll tkae any life becasue your a long time dead, and trust me death will come knocking soon enough, it really does go in a blink of an eye. Just out of interest, how do others cope with PO and a future that looks to have more chance of getting very bleak as oppose to very promising?

[Erik]

Probably mental, probably my own.

I really don't know if it's the PO stuff or something else, but I just don't care anymore. I'm about to quit another job as I just find everything so pointless.
I don't think I'm depressed, I just feel my days could be spend more productively than running around like all of this actually means something.

Pull yourself yourself together man! Things ain't so bad now, save the breakdown for later when the rest of society is also breaking down all around you.

I'm thinking of chucking it all and getting out of the UK. ASAP

But where to though? The UK is not such a bad place to be post PO, methinks. Having said that, I've been away for nearly a decade so maybe my nostalgic memories of life in England are rather selective and out of date!

[Totally_Baffled]

Haggis.

Hang in there mate.

It is very easy to get carried away and drawn in by all the doom mongering on peak oil sites.

In my view, despite our massive energy issues - life post peak will still be worth living.

It maybe not so fast, exciting and filled with as much opportunity - but there be plenty left to enjoy.

If you are serious about leaving the UK - just make sure you pick somewhere appropriate for post peak view.

Maybe Canada, New Zealand , France maybe good choices?

Dont know.

[snow hope]

Haggis - what do you mean you are preparing for a total breakdown?

Sometimes when I find things are annoying me - I come up with a big long post on here (you know the ones I mean) and get it off my chest. It definately helps me. MisterE does it too - nice post MisterE!

Time to write a bit more and tell us how you are feeling - get if out of your system into black and white on here. Let's hear from you.......

[RenewableCandy]

Probably mental, probably my own.

.....

I'm thinking of chucking it all and getting out of the UK. ASAP

Aaah, the Manchester sound

Any particular destination in mind? If I left the UK it would be for France, or (were I a bloke) Ireland.

[RevdTess]

I can empathise with anyone who finds it 'all so pointless'. I'm not sure if it's something about the way we're taught as children but I grew up believing that it was all about achieving something, be it wealth, or success, or raising a good family. My mother's goal was for her children to be happy, though it didn't seem that way when I was growing up.

Peak oil showed me that all my desires to succeed had been contained within a narrow perspective of all-but-endless energy supplies and economic growth and societal improvements. Afterwards I had to find other reasons to do what I was doing. Or find other things to do, for which I had reasons. It's still a struggle actually. I find myself focussing on narrow specific goals, usually involving self-improvement, eg studying business, horticulture, zen buddhism. Sometimes I just stop and play the part of 'awareness' watching the world in amazement and horror at the mixture of beauty and evil. Then I feel a little guilty that I'm not 'doing something', not making the life of this body and mind count for something. I figure if I had a family I'd be putting all my energies into giving them as many happy (and as few horrid) memories as possible. I don't have that outlet so the energy comes out in other ways.

I do regret that so much of my time is spent at the office. I see it as a training of sorts, rather like a monastery. I try to take away the positive training and leave behind the bad. I find my work is an excellent way to learn about myself and practice responding in a more healthy manner to nastiness and frustration.

I find a lot of motivation in trying to teach myself skills that are 'timeless' in the sense that they are useful regardless of how much energy we have at our command. Ultimately though I recognise that cruelty, violence and selfishness are going to outlive me whatever I do and I think I find that the most frustrating thing of all. It's just not fixable. Even Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed (pboh) all left a world still largely motivated by personal gain.

The two great questions in life are 1) Who are we? and 2) What should we do? I feel content with my own answer to the former, but an answer to the latter still entirely eludes me. Everything I love flows from a respect for the Life that arises in all living things. But how few people will ever make that their focus?

[Andy Hunt]

Probably mental, probably my own.

.....

I'm thinking of chucking it all and getting out of the UK. ASAP

Aaah, the Manchester sound

What are you trying to say?!?!

Yeah OK you're right . . . Manchester's shite.

[RenewableCandy]

Actually I'm rather fond of Manchester itself, I was talking abut things like The Smiths

[Andy Hunt]

Actually I'm rather fond of Manchester itself, I was talking abut things like The Smiths

Aaaah . . . you mean,

I was looking for a job, and then I found a job
And heaven knows I'm miserable now

. . . quite so!!

[RenewableCandy]

Aaaah . . . you mean,

I was looking for a job, and then I found a job
And heaven knows I'm miserable now

. . . quite so!!

Sounds remarkably like Haggis' plight!! Have you been listening to The Smiths too much Haggis? Or perhaps listenin to LATOC too much also, there are some real Anglophobes over there!

[biffvernon]

But how few people will ever make that their focus?

Quite a lot of us do, just not quite enough to make the difference.

[skeptik]

Probably mental, probably my own.

I'm about to quit another job as I just find everything so pointless.
I don't think I'm depressed

In the early stages of clinical depression, you never do. Go and see your doctor.

Do you have trouble getting out of bed in the mornings?

[Andy Hunt]

Do you have trouble getting out of bed in the mornings?

I think I may have been depressed all my life!