Elbvertiefung: The Daily Hamburg Newsletter, When the World Feels Like Too Much

At a railway-station café, the first election projection on Sunday evening triggered a wave of reactions. People around the room stared at their phones. One group began discussing the result quietly, then more loudly, until a man declared that he would emigrate as soon as “they” entered the federal government.

Nearby, three older men compared percentages and worked through why things might not become so bad. Another man calmly continued reading his book. A woman, like the writer, looked around for quiet confirmation that other people also understood what was happening.

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Gabi, I’m telling you: As soon as they join the federal government, we’re emigrating!

The feeling of overload has become familiar. A colleague said she sometimes wanted to pull the covers over her head. In everyday conversations, the writer increasingly hears people say they no longer read the news because politics only puts them in a bad mood. The writer usually responds with understanding, while wondering when the right moment for a fundamental discussion might be.

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The world sometimes becomes too much for me.

No one can focus constantly on the complex crises of the present, the column says. But self-protection becomes a problem when it turns into lasting withdrawal. That, the writer argues, helps those waiting for people to become worn down and cynical.

There is no ready-made guide for dealing with these feelings. Instead, readers are encouraged to look at the clubs and initiatives working for democracy in their own neighborhoods, or to support projects in a town in Saxony-Anhalt. These efforts may happen without much publicity, but they take place every day.

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I don’t read the news anymore. I’m not interested in politics. It only puts me in a bad mood.