It does sound like you’re getting hammered harder than usual.

For your possible amusement. In the early 70s Jim Carroll, writer/poet/rocker, tells the story of a conversation he had with poet, Allen Ginsberg:
______________________________________________

After heating some tea and playing Allen The Who’s new L.P., I show him a new poem of mine the in the recent issue of “Poetry Mag.” He keeps mumbling things like, “You’ve got some great lines here, some really great haikus within the overall work, but what are you going to write when they throw us in the concentration camps?”

–Jim Carroll, “The Downtown Diaries: 1971-1973”
______________________________________________

‘Twas ever thus.

The movie, “The Basketball Diaries,” shows Leonard DiCaprio playing Jim Carroll in his teen years.

What a sad way to live. I guess what bothers me is to see it happening to 4 really good friends; one was my best friend since 5th grade…60 years. OK, we may have disagreed on politics in the past but it didn’t affect the relationship. Now it’s like they went into Mordor and aren’t coming out.

I was a progressive activist and I lived in a state of panic much of the time. I too sought therapy for depression (though I wouldn’t take the damn pills).

I agree we are now seeing a big inflection of panic among the woke. However, I say this is standard operating procedure on the left.

What I find interesting is that they are not Taking It to the Streets. They seem to know the turnout would be discouraging. Which is part of the sadness and madness.

Shrieking online is about all they have.

For me one of the best things about turning conservative was that the Emergency Alert Siren in my head finally quieted down.

I remember mass formation from the Covid days. I think that maybe that is happening with a large segment of Democrat voters.

“Trump signs executive order at Mar-a-Lago expanding IVF access”

Looks like the left-leaning crowd is now going to have to oppose expanding IVF access. But! . . . will the IVF issue be critical enough for them to take to the streets?

However, “mass formation” specifically gained attention through the work of Matthias Desmet, a professor of psychology at Ghent University, who popularized the term during discussions about societal responses to events like the COVID-19 pandemic. Here’s how Desmet describes “mass formation”:
Characteristics of Mass Formation:

Lack of Social Bonding – Society becomes increasingly atomized, where individuals feel disconnected from each other.
Sense of Meaninglessness – People experience a lack of purpose or significance in their lives.
Free-Floating Anxiety – Anxiety that isn’t tied to a specific cause but pervades the population.
Free-Floating Aggression – Similarly, aggression or frustration without a clear target.

When these conditions are met, a narrative or focal point can emerge that channels this anxiety and aggression, leading to:
Mass Formation Psychosis – A state where a significant portion of the population intensely focuses on a particular narrative or issue, often leading to conformity, fanaticism, and sometimes irrational behavior. This can manifest as:

Blind adherence to the narrative without critical questioning.

Demonization of out-groups or individuals who do not conform to the narrative.

Loss of individual autonomy as people merge their identity with the collective.

Resistance to counter-narratives or facts that challenge the collective belief.

Examples:
Historical: The rise of totalitarian regimes where mass formation was used to unify and control populations through propaganda and fear.
Contemporary: Discussions around public health measures, political movements, or social media-driven trends where groups rally around a cause, sometimes with exclusionary or extremist behaviors.

I’m hearing a recurring theme on podcasts from health care providers of a significant sense of anxiety/depression/almost hopelessness from the left since President Trump was elected. We see it as irrational– but the grip of the narrative created by the legacy media of Trump as Hitler has created a near hysteria that their lives are in physical danger.

In this country, there are counter factuals available to break “the spell”, but since the narrative exists that the narratives on the right are disinformation/lies conservative sources are dismissed completely.