How to stop feeling anxious about the end of the world
Wearing rose colored glasses is just one option
I’m not gonna try and kid you, folks. The world is looking pretty dark and gloomy these days.
And not in a “low-lighting-brings-out-my-cheekbones” kinda way. We’re talking apocalypse adjacent.
Or…maybe not.
It’s been nine years since I deeply inhaled—along with millions of others—David Wallace-Wells’ New York magazine cover story, The Doomed Earth Catalog, followed by the stiff chaser that was Jem Bendel’s Deep Adaptation paper. And while both opened my eyes to the time bomb that might be ticking underneath my otherwise happy and productive life, they weren’t living rent free in my head.
But then I decided to write a book about the importance of being prepared, framing the subject as something that could make everyday life easier rather than a red flag on someone’s dating profile. There were other books out there on the subject, but their focus tended to be on the number of guns the authors had and how big their bunkers were (why is it always about size with these people?). I was going for more of a Girl Scout Handbook vibe. Less “Doomsday Preppers” and more the power of positive prepping. Less what’s the best condiment to use if I have to eat my neighbor and more how to store a month’s worth of supplies and make it look good. Less I can handle anything because I have a kick-ass Faraday cage and more “Well, at least I’m pretty prepared.”
For years I combed through news publications and Substacks, followed TikTok and Instagram accounts—most of which noted in excruciating detail what awaits us if we don’t stop dicking around and make smarter decisions. Which of course we have not. Much of what was written was backed up by scientific studies. Some even featured cool graphs.
My finished book, The Emergency Playbook: A Bunker-Free Guide to Disaster Preparation, co-written with Chris Begley, an archeologist, anthropologist and wilderness coach, will be published by Ten Speed Press on June 23rd. It’s an optimist’s guide to facing any impending apocalypse, even if it’s only a small one. But while ultimately The Emergency Playbook checks all the boxes I set out to fill (and more!) it’s left me trying to shake off some sticky bits of despair that I accumulated in the process of writing it. (A chapter on drought. Check. A chapter on civil unrest. Check. A chapter on nukes. Check. You get the idea).
The question I’ll be exploring on this Substack—and feel free to jump in anytime—is how to balance an otherwise happy life with the prospect of impending doom. That, combined with the unspeakable cruelty and unfathomable stupidity occurring daily which all but jumps into bed with me the second I open my eyes in the morning (it’s a king-size mattress, but still, anxiety takes up a lot of room).
I invite you to come with me while we explore how to keep ourselves in a healthy head-space despite being cognizant of other people’s terrible suffering (which will probably be coming soon to a location near you).
Each week I’ll toss out some of the suggestions included in our book:
Learn fun new things—gardening, first aid, how to change a tire—knowledge that can also come in handy in an emergency.
Meditate and/or do yoga.
Be kind.
But also:
Pick a protest and fight the man!
Put on some music, crank it up loud and dance!
Drugs and/or alcohol
Appreciate the good things all around you, from natural beauty like trees and sunsets (trite but true!) to human-made art—from a great movie to the perfect Chanel little black dress.
Accept that there are some things that can’t be changed.
To that last point, the truth that’s so hard for me to hold, is that despite the dire science-based findings, the cutesy charts and what we see happening with our own eyes, it’s important to remember that no one knows what’s going to happen.
Geoengineering could work (unlikely). AI could save the world (also unlikely). We could all collectively realize that we’re the ones with the power, cancel our Amazon subscriptions, buy solar panels and EVs and stroll hand in hand into the sunset (also very unlikely).
So this is where I am. Sure that I know what is going to happen while understanding that no one knows what’s going to happen.
And I am putting this out there because I’m pretty sure a lot of you are in the same place. Let’s try and figure it out together.