Coping

The flood of assaults on government led by billionaires and the vengeful criminal is daunting. I believe that the first step in dealing with it is self-protection. I used to tell my clients that they had to take care of themselves because they couldn’t help anyone else if they didn’t. That’s good advice, and I’ve been trying to take it.

i canceled my subscription to the New York Times. I stopped watching news programs including late night television where the hosts talk about the news of the day. I downloaded a copy of my Twitter account, then scrubbed it using Redact, and then deleted it. I stayed off BlueSky for a couple of weeks to prevent doomscrolling. I get shreds of news from the daily emails from the Guardian and from several substacks. I stopped thinking about the outrages of the day.

I upped my reading a bit, hard because of my eyes. I’m reading War and Peace, America Is Not The Heart, The Orphan’s Tale, and The Human Condition, along with a chapter of Discipline and Punish, Docile Bodies. I’ve maintained my exercise program, and tried to argue myself into increasing it without success.  I started listening to Philosophize This by Stephen West from the beginning. West discusses philosophers from Thales forward, so it fills in gaps. It’s introductory and easy to listen to while exercising. I quit listening to legal podcasts like Strict Scrutiny, Amicus, and Supreme Myth

I watched several series on streaming services. I highly recommend A Gentleman In Moscow; also it’s a good book. We went to the movies, shared meals and time together with friends and family. I started on some of the chores that I don’t like. Turns out I still don’t like them, but it’s nice to get them done. I’ve been doing crossword puzzles including the ones in the New Yorker and the Atlantic.

I’ve been trying to think of things I can do besides donate to sane groups helping people, and I do this with friends and family too. This is really hard to do without getting angry. I’ve been trying to think of things that might work, even though I can’t do them. So far, it’s mostly changing the focus of my reading and writing here,

So that’s my coping program. What’s yours? This is an open thread.