On r/collapse, people are ‘kept abreast of the latest doom’. Its moderators say it’s not for everyone

‘This is the idea of catabolic collapse: that what we’re living through is a series of crises … It’s not going to be a sudden event.’ Composite: The Guardian/Getty Images

The threat of nuclear war, genocide in Gaza, ChatGPT reducing human cognitive ability, another summer of record heat. Every day brings a torrent of unimaginable horror. It used to be weeks between disasters, now we’re lucky to get hours.

For many, the only sane solution is to stop reading the news altogether – advice often shared by therapists, self-help books and even newspaper articles.