Ask HN: How do you cope with possible nuclear threat?
What are some coping skills you use or can recommend to tackle or just mitigate the impending doom that's hanging over our heads? I've noticed I'm becoming more scared, demotivated and depressed as the Ukraine conflict marches on and irrational people make nuclear threats.
147 comments
[ 2.9 ms ] story [ 213 ms ] threadIt's best to take a break from reading too much about the current Ukraine situation. This doesn't mean being completely blind to it; however, balancing between your mental health and knowledge of current affairs will help you cope with the ongoing situation more than anything.
Much as an idea has no value, while an implementation might, engagement does not equate with amelioration.
But a homicidal dictator with his finger on the red button is concerning to put it mildly.
My way of approaching this is optimizing for survival. Getting a go bag, planning what to do when the sirens start going off. I understand there would be about 15 minute advance warning. I'm in central London, which if of course bad. But there is a strategy - to go to the Tube (underground trains) and then after the hit, use the tunnels to reach the outskirts of the city.
Russia doesn't have enough manpower to conquer Europe and nukes are highly unlikely. The narrative that Putin is mad is ridiculous, he just decided that isolation from Europe is the lesser evil compared to being surrounded by NATO countries.
Nukes are highly unlikely because retaliation would damage everyone on all sides, Putin is just using them as leverage.
Once one side has technology to somehow defend from enemy nukes, then nukes could become a viable option, albeit an incredibly risky one.
This is just bluffs and media spreading fear.
It may not be so ridiculous. If you watch his earlier public appearances - he's always a stone cold sociopath in control. In his latest appearances he's increasingly erratic and struggles to keep his cool. Remember he's 70 years old now which is well into the risk zone for serious health problems. Alzheimers? Terminal cancer? What would you do in his place if you were told that? What if he wants to go out with a bang? He couldn't just straight out declare war on NATO, what if by going after Ukraine he actually hopes for escalation?
Bonus : it feels like a true opportunity for someone powerful enough to steal the power.
Dunno, people that have been watching him for a decade or more have seen a significant change for the worse as of late. He was smart, shrewd, and in control. Not so much lately.
Russia killing Ukrainians to secure Ukraine is still somewhat in line with other invasions of this and last century. We are not yet in madness territory, not by any stretch.
Most likely we won’t even hit the civilian casualty numbers of the Iraq/Afghanistan war.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_Soviet_nuclear_false_alar...
I'd be curious to learn a scenario that leads out of this without any more significant damage or escalation.
Ukraine just got green lights to become an EU member. Let's hope this will have the effect of deterring nature and not more fuel for madness.
You are also correct about the role of the internet, social media and that now everybody has a camera in their pocket.
That’s pretty much the deal at this point.
That is kind of the point, to make the cost of an attack against a NATO country very high.
I disagree.
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/02/28/world-war-...
> Putin is increasingly operating emotionally and likely to use all the weapons at his disposal, including nuclear ones. It’s important not to have any illusions — but equally important not to lose hope.
> “Every time you think, ’No, he wouldn’t, would he?’ Well, yes, he would,” Hill said. “And he wants us to know that, of course. It’s not that we should be intimidated and scared…. We have to prepare for those contingencies and figure out what is it that we’re going to do to head them off.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtUfBc4qQMg
What if Putin loses face, and makes this his exit plan?
Never base military decisions on what the enemy would do, rather than what they could do.
Granted, your personal coping approach is not such a decision, but the maxim still stands.
Moreover, you can’t foresee what Russia’s position will be in 10 years from now. They might not use the A-bomb right now in this war, but who knows what ten years of paranoia and relentless sanctions could do to the leadership and the population.
Now that it's on everyone's minds, I hope it will not be quickly forgotten in the aftermath.
Edit: if you need an immediate calming down… Even a crazy dictator is unlikely to want to destroy the world, because then there would be no one to rule over. Simplistic, but slightly reassuring.
Earthquakes, floods, diseases, sun exploding - anything can happen.
Concerning the nuclear treat, there is one country that has used nuclear bombing, spreading nuclear bombs around the world expanding nearer of countries it is hostile to, and which has started many wars.
Citizen of this country must vote better, you are free to partake in political activism for a party which you think is more able to keep world stability.
As a citizen of ex-USSR state that where US has „expanded“ to... We're damn happy to have US presence. Give more nukes so we can stay safe from Russia. We don't want to be it's „rightful interest territory“.
If you want to „keep world stability“ by giving up millions of people to predatory regimes... There's a Russian ship to follow.
I'm not saying it's easy but it's the only life philosophy I read about that makes sense to me.
What's more likely to be nuked, London or Tirana?
Only 7 "urban areas" have more than 1 M inhabitants. Of those, the first two have almost 25% of the country's total population [0].
Also, I'd expect the huge and sparsely populated Nordic countries to fit the bill, too.
[0] https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_des_aires_urbaines_de_Fr...
But frankly, I don't believe a nuclear war is imminent. In spite of what we see in the new, Putin's army is moving on steadily and occupying more and more areas he wanted to have. At some point Ukraine will lose access to the sea. Then Putin can say, OK, I agree to peace - but he will never give the occupied areas back. And good luck getting these cities back without killing your own people - this is a completely different situation than defending a city that hasn't been captured yet.
Nuclear war would be possible if NATO decided to intervene. But they are crystal clear they will not and nukes are the only reason. Everybody is sending a lot of help, but not a single soldier (even though some individuals want to go on their own - but that's a completely different story than a military intervention).
At some level I'm afraid I think to myself: well my existence is a tiny cosmological insignificance, I cannot control that it is going to end at some point, and there's a significant likelihood it'll end in considerable suffering or in a way I can't predict.
It's hard to maintain that train of thought in the face of fear and I have little self-assurance that I'd manage it in more severe circumstances, but it is part of the process I use to deal with intrusive dark thoughts.
Every day in Ukraine there are people walking out in front of heavy mobile armaments with a single, hand-made incendiary, or just to stand in the way and demand that men with guns leave.
And every one of those people is making this rationalisation, at some level.
Stoics seek out likeminded friends, as well, I think. In this most recent case, more or less an entire country of them.
I always viewed Stoicism as a kind of Spock-like attitude. You can think rationally about something and not give in to emotions.
In this context I view it as being able to think clearly about what to do or reflect on it, but not give in to fear, anger or other emotions.
I am now dealing with two sick elderly parents. There are many many moments where I feel like dispair, fatigue, guilt or any other negative feeling. When these bad feelings pop up I actively try to focus on any task that can help their situation - make a phone call to some doctor or care provider, call them and ask them how they are, read about latest treatments etc. If I find that at this particular moment there's nothing much I can do - I try to let it slide. It's not under my control so no point in worrying.
It works surprisingly well many times, but there is no complete cure to worrying. Worrying is human.
Though that’s probably not a super useful coping mechanism. Still, the ending is 11 out of 10.
My point is, find someone and vent what's on your mind.
I am going to die one day or another, and everything I know and love will be changed and destroyed either in my lifetime or after. Trying to internalise this is very difficult but the grim reading has somehow helped me understand it to some small degree, and helps me focus on the wonder and preciousness of this brief moment of existence.
If you are like most people, you cannot influence events. Like most people, discussing the situation is simply exchanging propaganda, because we have no real information.
As the majority are productivity halted by these events we have no control, take advantage of the low activity in others to get things done. May as well, because everyone else is wasting their time.
But the nuclear attacks don’t scare me at this point. Best coping mechanism: stop lying to yourself that you must stay informed. Block your favorite news sites and focus on a project instead. Unless you want to get on a plane and go over there to fight (which the Ukrainian MOD has made an option for anyone who wants to [1]), what is your being informed actually doing for anyone at this point? If it is detrimental to your mental health trust me you should turn off the news and take care of yourself. Again, as someone whose home town is currently being shelled I think you should do that. Go create something useful in the world instead. That’s the right answer.
[1] https://kyivindependent.com/national/who-can-and-cant-join-u...
It's brutal logic but there is nothing that an average person can do to survive nuclear war. Only remote isolated farmer/survival communities will be able to make it, if they will survive nuclear winter.
Anyone else in long term will not be able to get food with no petrol, electricity and slowly starve to death. And even if you are in surviving community the life will be back to limited tech, village-state civilization.
For a more realistic view of nuclear war and its survivability, check out [2] (with a foreword by Edward Teller and author's note by Eugene Wigner of Wigner's friend fame).
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_winter#Criticism_and_d... [2] Kearny, C. Nuclear war survival skills
That will take a higher toll then you might expect
One way or another not a fun place to live
I guess its just a mindset thing. Sorry if thats not helpful.
https://www.reddit.com/r/ukraine/comments/t4wley/latest_upda...
Each morning I wake up hoping he is still alive, still uniting europe!
And by knowing that if they get us, at least we can rid the world of the cancer that russia has become.