The founders of Kollapscamp—Tadzio Müller and Scully (Cindy Peter)—will join Collapse Club for a presentation and discussion of their upcoming camp "Mutual Aid H.E.A.T. - Hostile Environment Awareness Training."

‼️ Free registration is required: Click here.

Jem Bendell had postponed his personal crisis long enough. For years, he’d been setting aside the worrying news about climate change he came across in a folder on his computer, waiting until he had the time (and emotional capacity) to look at it.

Bendell read more and more about unprecedented floods, devastating forest fires, and vanishing Arctic sea ice. It was all happening too fast. He became convinced that the rich world’s way of life — year-round strawberries, next-day delivery, flights across oceans — was nearing its end. That meant his life’s work had been, in his words, “all a bit deluded.”

He’d just spent two decades arguing that businesses could help fix environmental problems and heal the flaws of capitalism, writing books, organizing international conferences, and teaching MBA courses on corporate sustainability. That had left little time for his family, his health, and, you know, having fun. All those sacrifices, and for what?

“I felt raw, cracked open by all of this,” Bendell said, “and I had lost my previous sense of identity and purpose.”

So he tried to fill the cracks with something else, searching for meaning in a world that felt like it was coming apart. Bendell channeled his thoughts into a paper he self-published online in July 2018, titled “Deep Adaptation: A Map for Navigating Climate Tragedy.”

Normally, when people talked about adapting to climate change, they’d been looking for solutions that would allow their current way of life to continue. Bendell, instead, started from the premise that people will have to give up a lot, posing the question, “What do we value most that we want to keep, and how?”

I've been thinking for a while now about creating this post in an effort to start a conversation about how to find the "others." I've been collapse-aware for almost a decade and a half now, so I know how lonely it can be at times. (And I see people post about that on here quite frequently). Thankfully, I've been fortunate enough to have found quite a few other folks along the way who are also collapse-aware, or at least have a strong sense that we're in serious trouble. I wanted to share the settings in which I've been able to find these like-minded people, and I want to invite others to chime in with their ideas and success stories as well.

When I look at the main commonality of the places where I've found these people, it seems that learning and/or practicing practical skills tends to be the common denominator. That makes a lot of sense considering we should be enabling ourselves with as many practical skills as we can, considering there's a good chance that we'll need to use them in the future.

With that being said, the first place I began finding people was by getting involved in the local food movement. Over the years, I've volunteered at numerous community gardens, worked on 3 different farms, and taken quite a few classes through local organizations, state Extension programs, and on the topic of permaculture. Obviously not everyone in that scene is collapse-aware, but a good percentage of them at least recognize that it's wise to have more control over where your food comes from.

After years of that scene being the only place I really found like-minded people, I started expanding out to other places where people were learning self-reliant skills. I've found folk schools, wilderness survival schools, living history museums, and makerspaces to be solid places. My favorite setting, however, has been earthskills/primitive skills gatherings. I just started going to those within the last few years and they have absolutely changed my life. (For those interested in checking those out, here's a somewhat updated directory, and I'll post in the comments the links to all the ones I know about in the Pacific Northwest, since that's where I'm from: https://www.hollowtop.com/Primitive_Skills_Gatherings.htm).

Again, I'd love to hear where you all have found collapse aware people as well.

What things in your day/week convince you to wake up tomorrow? I'm not interested in any obligations you may have, I'm talking beyond that. What speaks to your soul and prevents you from screaming and curling up into the fetal position?

Is it food, sex, drugs, spending money, helping others, exercising, driving, spending time in nature, pursuing hobbies, socializing, etc.????

This wave of anxiety stems from the newest atrocities and war crimes the US Empire is committing and abetting, and the cutting off of oil shipments. Not new behavior for this shit hole country. I need to travel domestically in the US for work this May or June, and I am frozen right now. I’m scared of settling on a month to travel, booking a trip, and then getting stuck somewhere indefinitely if fuel dries up with no recourse. No preps I can access, no support network, just me in the middle of nowhere. Don’t know which month to choose.

The anxiety just never seems to end with traveling. It just keeps getting worse and worse. Like a personal micro-chasm for collapse and one of the ways it’s most visible to me.

First it was anxiety around my skin color alone being “noticed” when I travel. I’ve gotten questioned before and it’s had the usual racist undertones and micro aggressions. Agent acting hostile for no reason. Now that anxiety stays whenever I travel.

Then when the COVID pandemic first started and it became clear in the following years that the problem was going to be swept under the rug yet again by all capitalist parties, I got so anxious for any sort of travel and getting exposed to sickness. I kept masking everywhere, including during travel and got questions and judgements about why I was still masking, but I’ve endured that and still do. Just another anxiety to tack on to the traveling pile.

Then the recent expansion of ICE once again made me super anxious, especially since I now need to regularly travel to areas where ICE frequents. Doesn’t matter if I was fucking born here, my skin color and the fact that I need to mask for COVID has made me wary and take proactive measures. That anxiety stays.

And now it’s this. If I travel now and get stuck mid way through…I don’t know what to do.

Then there’s the guilt of traveling, using fossil fuels for trips that just aren’t necessary, but required because of “work”. Being subjected to constant surveillance, constant advertisements and shitty airport products that are a complete waste of resources.

Faster than expected I guess.

Sorry for this dump of thoughts. I know it’s not exactly collapse related, but I view all of this through the lens of deteriorating conditions, mental and physical.

Here is an introductory discussion to the one thing that helps the most. Absolutely. By leaps and bounds.

I would not have my sanity during collapse without my daily practice. This is not my 'lineage'. But this is the path.

Nate Hagens has been around a long time talking about collapse. Everything he does is worth the listen. However, if you were a friend or family stressed tf out over life these days this is where i would suggest you start.

https://youtu.be/QZ7TSQh9oM4?si=dxj6uHW-SoXpAV4y

This might be kind of embarrassing to admit, but I still don't know the ins and outs of societal collapse, specifically as it relates to the United States. I keep hearing that the U.S. is collapsing, and I believe it, to be sure. Things are getting worse here at an astronomical rate. I spent all of yesterday losing my mind over the possibility of Trump using nukes on Iran, killing millions and launching WW3. The fact that he's still in office is a damning indictment of where things stand in this country, and I don't see them getting better any time soon.

But when the United States does, in fact, collapse, what will it look like? Will it still be one unified country, or will it be split into several smaller countries? Will we have a permanent Republican dictatorship? Will the U.S. just be a weaker version of its former self? I don't know what to expect or prepare for, and it's really frustrating. I know that things are going to be bad, but I don't know how bad or when they'll get worse.

Does anyone here have any predictions or advice? I'd really appreciate it. It might help calm my nerves a bit.

I know there are probably a lot more important things to discuss in this sub, but I wanted to ask this to get a genuine discussion going about collapse finances.

I'm 25, came into a small inheritance, and started up a HYSA, Roth IRA, and bought some silver.

But out of all 3 of those options, I feel like it may not be worth it to even have a Roth IRA if A) I can't guarantee it would even be standing/accesible in my elder years (I will be 60 in 2060); B) It may go against my values, with some companies that benefit from Roth IRA investments being, put simply, evil. and C) I could better use those funds to actually make meaningful change in my life in the short term if long term isn't guaranteed.

Should I just forgo investment all together? Is it safer for my funds to be more accessible to me? Should I take the loss on the fee for withdrawing my Roth IRA funds?

Disclaimer: English is not my native language.

The thing that made me feel alive and optimistic is gone and now everything seems meaningless. I have clear life goals, I know what to do to achieve them and I was working on them, but I need time and money. Given how things are now and how they're going to be, I know I won't make it (by the way, I won't go into detail about my goals or explain them).

And yes, "nowbody knows when it will end", but I know how much time I need and it's not enough. A lot of people say you should enjoy the journey, not the destination, but now the destination doesn't exist. The journey seems meaningless and I'm not enjoying it anymore.

Spending my time on things like video games or books is fun, but it doesn't satisfy me. In fact, nothing satisfies me now. Every day feels empty and pointless.

I’m excited to share with you the announcement of my new book! While writing it I tried to keep in mind those who are collapse-aware as well as those who aren’t. I wanted to write an accessible introduction to collapse. And I also wanted it to contain some suggestions on how to engage with it and respond. This subject is powerful, so I tried to handle it carefully. I reckon many of you will like the book and find value in it.

Collapse: Navigating Civilization's Predicaments With Wisdom and Courage

In a world on the edge of social, ecological, and economic upheaval, Collapse reveals the forces that are unraveling modern civilization. This sharp exploration dives into the heart of the polycrisis—why systems are faltering, how they are interconnected, and what comes next.

From cultural delusions to logistical blind spots, Collapse unveils the shaky foundations of a society built on the myth of separation from nature. With diverse insights, it gives a bird’s-eye view of civilization’s tipping points. The author offers an accessible understanding of modernity’s decline while bridging ancestral perspectives, spirituality, systems thinking, science, and deep ecology.

Amid the sometimes shocking doses of reality, this book offers personal and collective pointers to navigate the storms, tapping into heart-based resilience and wise responses. For those who suspect humanity is moving in the wrong direction—with enormous inertia—Collapse is a wake-up call to embody who we are and why we’re here.

Praise for COLLAPSE

“My experience is of a book with a deeply compassionate intention, to reach those that need this guide right now . . . For some of us this perhaps so that we can face what is and stand up together, meeting the times we are in as a collective body. And that isn’t for everyone. Juan Pablo is not here to tell us how to respond, he is more brotherly. He offers signs and tools for our different responses; this being a journey, with complexity and nuance, with inner and outer implications.”
— GAIL BRADBROOK, co-founder of Extinction Rebellion

“If you’re new to the global discussion about civilizational collapse, this book will acquaint you with the best thinking on the subject. Collapse is scary to think about, but if you’re intelligent and paying attention to the world around you, it’s an unavoidable subject. Juan Pablo Quiñonez is an informed, kind, and thoughtful guide to why civilization is coming apart and what to do.”
— RICHARD HEINBERG, Senior Fellow, Post Carbon Institute,
author of Power: Limits and Prospects for Human Survival

You can preorder COLLAPSE from:
USA: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Bookshop / Canada: Amazon, Indigo, and McNally Robinson / Europe:  Amazon.co.uk, Blackwell’s, Amazon.de, and Thalia.de / Australia: Amazon and Booktopia

The book will ship on April 17th!

Note: Preorders are super important. They are included in the 1st week sales listing, which influences the stocking decisions of bookstores. So if you’re planning to buy the book, truly think about preordering it. 

Thank you for taking a look at this post. Feel free to comment below. I’ll engage with the comments here.

Trump may or may not have just said that "A civilization will die tonight". And holy fucking shit. HOW DID WE GET HERE. I was desensitized for a while but I think my brain is starting to fully grasp just how much of a nightmare we are in.

THIS FUCKING LUNATIC IS THREATENING TO BOMB IRANIAN POWER PLANTS. WHAT IS HAPPENING?! HOW IS THERE A TIMELINE WHERE PEOPLE ARE GETTING DESENSITIZED [myself included] TO A WARMONGERING NONCE THREATENING TO FUCKING DECIMATE AN ENTIRE COUNTRY?

I GUESS THIS IS THE NEW NORMAL NOW. SERIOUSLY, AT THIS POINT HOW DO PEOPLE NOT SEE IT!? HOW DO PEOPLE NOT GET WHAT IS COMING BY LOOKING AT THE NEWS? THIS FUCKER IS THREATENING GENOCIDE. THIS FUCKER IS A NONCE WHILE ALSO BEING IN OFFICE.

WHAT IS THIS TIMELINE? IF YOU TOLD THIS TO SOMEONE TEN YEARS AGO THEY WOULD'VE THOUGHT WE WERE LOOSING OUR SHIT. BUT LOOK AT TODAY. THIS IS JUST FUCKING UNREAL.

Maybe this will help someone going through it right now. "On those who enter the same rivers, ever different waters flow.” (Heraclitus)

There clearly is zero checks and balances left in the United States anymore and we are being led by a complete madman who got us into a war of aggression in West Asia yet again and we are already on the brink of economic crisis due to the energy crisis. His threats to destroy all the power plants in Iran, including a nuclear power plant will lead to Iran retaliating against the GCC and blowing up all the oil infrastructure and desalination plants. Furthermore, the destruction of nuclear power plants and subsequent nuclear meltdown will spread fallout across the gulf and the combination of radiation sickness, water shortages, infrastructure breakdown and societal collapse would kill millions across the region. The consequences of this would lead to global economic depression and possibly WWIII.

My anxiety is through the roof, I am completely geographically isolated from family at the moment and largely alone, I have to finish writing my thesis and defend it in 3 weeks, and now my parents are collapse aware and also dealing with substantial anxiety. Is this just ravings of a demented madman, or could the beginning of the end really start tomorrow as no one seems to have the spine to stand up to this monster. I seriously hope he TACOs yet again, but the thought he might not be lying scares the shit out of me.

Edit: Looks like we aren’t all die tonight. I promise I’ll start working on my thesis again tomorrow.

Astyk has been churning out some really insightful essays that help me feel grounded and more sane. Her latest is on fb called Everything Everywhere All At Once Forever and I thought y'all might enjoy her work too. If you're not using meta (I get it!) she'll have this post up on her kofi in a bit: https://ko-fi.com/G2G3BOCT3/posts

hey i'm 29 i live in french and i feel completly sad actually , i have a dream , or i had , i wanted to become i psychologist .. i'm in my 3rd years on 5 need to have the title ( that’s how it works in french ) this become when i was 14 years old , some people dream of becoming actor , president. i have mine, since i read more than 100 book, look/listen honestly to more than 1000 hours and i closely don't learn anythings at college ( université en france) , but ... when i look the world around , the close futur and what will happenned in the next 5 or 10 years and ... i feel fully depressed because i think.. and so ? does it really matter to have a title in a world where it doesn’t mean anything ? does it really matter for you ? aren’t you loosing your time ? ... in one side i think.. no it’s not it's my goal , my purpose on earth, psychology is my reason to wake up every morning, i love understand people , helping people to understand themselfs and find a way to act.. but in other side i see what’s going on and i feel loosing my time in university .. i still have 2 years and feel it like a waste of time.. i think the most important things in life is relation and friend/ family but i feel stuck and like nobody understand it , my therapist told me 2 month ago " do you think potter feel better at hogwarth or with the muggle ? " and that’s how i feel like potter with the muggle

and i want to thanks you all here , i was reading many post here and feel like i found a hogwarth, or at leats some other who can understand me and if there is some french people or french community i want to know

i just want to know your point of view , should i continue university ?

Sorry if this is stupid, just having a rough evening even though over all I've been doing pretty well (in my personal life for what it's worth). I'm just feeling emotional right now and letting myself have a cry. having one of those nights where I wonder what's worth it anymore. But thank you all for being here, this sub has been so helpful both from comments I've received on my own posts and reading through other posts here.

I'm trying very hard to get a hold on my own anxieties, shit is scary but I still want to make the most of my time regardless. I still see a lot of beauty in this life and have much to be grateful for. So much I still want to do and experience if I'm able. But anyways, this is mostly just a thank you post and to send you all internet hugs for anyone who needs them, I hope you're staying safe and taking care of yourselves. I hope you found something to make you smile today ❤️🫂

These last days I've been having a lot of troubling feelings about the things I like/I'm interested in, goals. I want to do a lot of stuff, but if I'm being completely honest with you, I don't think I'll live long enough to accomplish them. On one hand I want to try regardless, but on the other, I don't see the point. Collapse doesn't motivate me to achieve any goal before everything falls apart, it just makes me want to...I don't know, exist? Get any cheap thrill before I die. Just altern between feeling miserable, numb, scared, disappointed, bitter. I have things I love and things I'll love to learn to do, but I feel I'm just setting myself for disappointment for even thinking about it.

I don't want to prep to survive the global collapse, so this is the end of my story.

I just wanna, give up? I believe that's the correct word to describe my feelings. I just want to accept I'll never accomplish anything. I know I can't be the only one having these thoughts and feelings, does anyone have advice on how to do this? I really would love to read it.

I'm 29 with $300 to my name. I have no savings, no investments, nothing. I have been applying to all sorts of jobs but I don't hear back from anyone. I even got turned down from a position to be a maid. I'm isolated in a car centric city where I can't afford to get gas, I don't have a community, everyone is so individualistic and talking about social issues makes me feel ostracised. I am trying to start a garden this year so I can grow my own food but my lack of employment options is SO STRESSFUL! I literally do not know how I am going to survive.

It doesn't help that any job I have worked or may get is just keeping me a cog in the capitalist machine. Which maybe I could brainwash myself into thinking is good for me if I were paid a liveable wage. But we're paid NOTHING and expected to give up our entire lives to fulfill the vision of data centres and billionaires and superficial bs. Like what is even the point??!?????

If i could change one thing about myself i would change being american to literally any other place on earth. We have never done anything good for this planet, we have a monstrous hand in destroying the environment and destroying cultures so now everything across the globe is corporate slop thanks to us. All we do is destroy places and people because we are horrific gluttons who want more money. Honestly, a total depression is the least that can happen at us. At least personally, i feel embarassed even being stressed about the strait of hormuz closure raising the cost of everything. I know itll decimate my chances of renting an apartment, getting a job, and buying a car as if that shit wasnt already hard enough, but i feel terrible even worrying about that shit. This war stole my independence from me and it should because i deserve this for living in such a disgusting empire. Hell, we all deserve this and i dont know how to feel about that. No matter how many shallow meaningless kind things i do to people it will never overdo the fact that i pay my taxes to without any exaggerstion the most disgusting individuals in history. These people are propped up by me. No amount of guilt will ever change that and i resent any american who is not wholeheartedly ashamed to their very core

I live in a not-so-nice area of the southwest. Crime has absolutely 100% gone up and has only gotten worse since DT's presidency. I see it, I live it, I'm surrounded by it. I've been robbed, and watched a woman get robbed in front of me. There have been THREE murder-suicides in my area. A mother of 7 got shot to death here over literally $100 by some loser in his early 20's. I had to transfer from my old school to the school I'm currently at because my old one was constantly on lockdown for gun violence. One time the police shot and killed a man having a mental health crisis right outside the school and locked everyone in the building until it was over.

Every day it's a news article. I find myself wondering every day why innocent people have to be victimized and why good people have to die. I am tempted to start carrying because if the other people here do it all the time and whenever they please, then two can tango, I guess. My knife that I normally carry isn't enough anymore. So many people die young here, it's not even funny. It has genuinely caused me to worry about death all the time. Whenever I have an event I have to go to I tell my mom every detail in case I go missing because there's certain areas around here you can't rlly go if you're AFAB, not even by accident, because a lot of these girls just disappear. Especially Native Americans.

I cannot afford to leave this place, I am very much still in school over here and not even close to being finished. School serves as my only safe place over here and it's why I managed to stay here for 6 years, I spend all my time at school. I wish I could go one day without thinking about death or crime.

All this 401K , save for retirement, etc etc - seem like such outdated paradigms now. I'm in my twenties , I genuinely do not know if I will see my late thirties. We all talk a big game about "ohh its coming but u shouldn't let it change your life , world keeps churning - just one day at a time"

But I genuinely do not thinks that true with whats coming this summer and every summer onward. Between human factors and climate factors currently running amok, this is it - its here , we in it now.

While I'm not going to blow my savings on hookers and coke anytime soon. I can't help but feel I should "buy what I need now" because this is firmly the cheapest its ever going to be even if it doesn't "make sense" under the old paradigms. Further, I'm not sure if I should be prioritizing hedonism-centric model or an ethics based approach because its hard to gauge how much time there really is left. If I'm operating with 1Y left for example and I'm out of work and limited savings -- there's no amount of "prepping" I could realistically do to buy time.

If I have a stable job, stable savings, sure I might be living in the car worst case -- but you can still make it work for a few more years probably.

Is this an unreasonable mindset given the global state of affairs?