Thread by @antiviral_mktng

How do we teach "normal" people how to cope with knowledge of the multiple apocalypses?

Is that even possible? 🧵

So I had some interactions lately which convinced me that the "average" or "normal" person is beyond their stress limit right now, and their brains are shutting down.

They are literally tuning out Scary Information just to try to survive another day.

Which is weird because I log on to this hellsite daily to mainline doom.

I do have my limits. I do get depressed. I have to be careful not to read *too* much doom. But those limits seem way, way higher than average.

And I don't know why.

You can say "neurodivergence", but the problem is that that's not really an explanation. It's just a label for the phenomenon.

And when I introspect, looking for coping mechanisms that I could identify and share... I can't find any.

I have absolutely no idea why I'm comfortable reading daily horrifying scientific discoveries, and (most) other people aren't.

You probably remember the infamous marshmallow experiment.

Well it turns out that the kids who resist eating the marshmallow have better coping strategies to resist temptation.

And you can teach those strategies to "poor performers" who then learn to resist temptation.

*Is there* some hidden coping mechanism that we are using to educate ourselves without overloading?

I don't know.

What I do know is that when some people hear the word "COVID" they fly into a rage. Which honestly looks like PTSD.

But when I think PTSD, I think of a clearly traumatic event, or CPTSD consisting of multiple, "small-T" traumatic events.

The pandemic doesn't really feel like either of those, though.

I know a lot of people *have* had traumatic experiences over the past four years. I'm not talking about those cases.

I'm talking about the person who basically leads a life of middle class privilege, and has now returned to "normal", and has a newly acquired HEPAphobia.

People with no discernible trauma are displaying bizarre behaviors. So there has got to be some trauma there.

But like... is it the trauma of zoom calls?

The trauma of outdoor gatherings?

Standing in line for 5 minutes before entering the grocery store?

I have this hunch that the "average" person lacks any coping strategy to deal with real adversity.

So when a literal plague comes along their brain shuts down because, up until this point, most everything they have accomplished was sort of handed to them.

A lot of people earn money by going to work and the tasks are... handed to them.

And they got that job by getting a degree or whatever, which is a life strategy that was... handed to them.

Just about everything adults do is copied from other adults. Zero creativity is required.

So it's not entirely surprising that when a novel adversity appears, people have no idea what the fuck to do.

So what happens when you say to a person with underdeveloped creative ability, "figure out how to clean all the air you breathe forever or you're gonna end up disabled"?

I can see how that would be traumatic.

Like if you *had* to resist eating the marshmallow or else die, a lot of people would just fail.

Their ancient emotional system defeated by a sugary treat.

If all your meals were strictly controlled by someone else up until that point, you're screwed.

You can kinda see how people would land on one of:

1. "Marshmallows won't kill me"
2. Marshmallows inducing absolute rage

Whenever I'm faced with some doom, I actually enjoy the creative process of trying to solve it.

Trying to reduce respirator total inward leakage is fun (and essential).

Tons of problems are solvable. Problems aren't really problems, for the most part.

The air is poison? *No problem*, I'll just wear this two dollar respirator everywhere.

Respirator fatigue? *No problem*, I'll just find more comfortable ones, stagger wear time, do more video calls, etc.

🚨 WHAT IF YOU CAN'T DO THAT? 🚨

What if the creative problem solving module in your brain is simply not there? Or maybe it's switched off. For whatever reason.

Now you're just a person in deep, deep trouble. With no plan.

There is a type of therapy. It's called: problem-solving therapy.

Can you guess what the therapist does? 😂

Okay now to something more profound: *why* should therapy like this exist?

Why would it be therapeutic for the therapist to wink-wink-nudge-nudge tell you what to do?!!?!!?

The thinking is that a person in mental health crisis has compromised problem solving ability, and benefits from assistance (which seems reasonable).

But I think a key missing piece is that the average person is usually just told what to do.

Well what if you took a stressed AF person and put them into problem-solving therapy?

Now you've got a person to whom you suggest HEPA purifiers, which they respond to with rage.

Can't do problem solving without some degree of emotional regulation.

So I think there has got to be some way of assisting with the emotional regulation, but honestly I have no idea what it is.

And it seems like that is a precursor to problem solving, which again, they cannot do unassisted (in theory).

What is it that people like us do to regulate emotions in the period *before* a solution manifests? The uncomfortable period when you don't know if you can solve it.

We can kind of simulate what it's like to experience this terror.

Imagine you're an Extreme Bruncher, and I suggest that you should wear a respirator for your safety.

Here's what I think a person without creative problem solving ability would think:

"Will it hurt?"

"How can I wear this all day?"

"Won't it leak too much anyway?"

"What about microplastics?"

"What if my friends make fun of me?"

"What if my boss fires me?"

"Won't it cost too much?"

"Isn't it too good to be true?"

"If it actually worked, wouldn't public health tell me to do it?"

"What if I get assaulted and blinded like that guy?"

"What if I get refused service?"

"Doesn't it build up CO2? Isn't that dangerous?"

"Where do I buy it?"

"How do I know it's authentic?"

"Which respirator is the best one?"

"How do I know it fits?"

"How can I trust you?"

"Why doesn't my doctor wear one?"

"Isn't this bad for the environment?"

"What do I do if I run out?"

"What do I do if the strap breaks?"

"Earloops or headbands?"

"Porta-whatsacount?"

"Can't I just social distance instead?"

"If air goes through the holes, how do the holes filter air?"

"What are the long term risks of wearing this?"

"Isn't it useless if my partner won't wear one?"

"How do I get my kids to wear one?"

All of that.

As one, huge emotion.

None of those problems bother me, personally. I know the answers, but more importantly, I trust that I can find the answers. I *know* I can solve problems. So I'm free to sketch solutions.

And you can see how a person could quickly be overwhelmed by the perceived immensity of the task of deciding to wear a respirator in public.

And how we could laugh at them because "it's obvious and you're just selfish."

Maybe what we need to be teaching is not so much respiratoring (but yes, absolutely that).

Maybe it's the skill of staring at those one thousand doubts and not shrinking away from the task at hand.

I just don't know what it is.