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The death of hope is a balm
Dec. 17th, 2019 09:02 amAfter three years of increasing stress watching Brexit approach, be deflected, go up against numerous crunch votes, and not quite make it through, the knowledge that it's happening has been actually very helpful for my mental health.
Now, whenever I see an item about the latest stupidity I take in the headline, snort about what idiots they are, and move on. It feels very much Not My Problem.
I mean, it will be. It will be everyone's. But now it's an approaching storm that I can get on with battening down the hatches for. It is an inevitable part of the future, not something I should be trying to stop.
In some ways it feels the same as the ending of some of my relationships - endless stressing about how to fix things (and whether they can be fixed) is now over and the heartbreak is nowhere near as bad as the stress was.
I realise that my ability to put in place survival mechanisms is a sign of privilege. The people who will be hit worst by this are the poorest and most precarious. I'll do what I can to help people when it comes clear what that help looks like. But at the moment I mostly just feel the relief of knowing the fight is over and we lost.
Now, whenever I see an item about the latest stupidity I take in the headline, snort about what idiots they are, and move on. It feels very much Not My Problem.
I mean, it will be. It will be everyone's. But now it's an approaching storm that I can get on with battening down the hatches for. It is an inevitable part of the future, not something I should be trying to stop.
In some ways it feels the same as the ending of some of my relationships - endless stressing about how to fix things (and whether they can be fixed) is now over and the heartbreak is nowhere near as bad as the stress was.
I realise that my ability to put in place survival mechanisms is a sign of privilege. The people who will be hit worst by this are the poorest and most precarious. I'll do what I can to help people when it comes clear what that help looks like. But at the moment I mostly just feel the relief of knowing the fight is over and we lost.
