Introduction
Some individuals anticipate the end of the world for various reasons. One camp sees the end of the world as the beginning of a new and better age, while the other sees it as the end of their difficulties. And then there are those who hope the end of the world would provide them a fresh start to put things right.
In this article, we share a perspective from another blogger, the rest will now be in his voice.
Lost to the void of ideas & madness
I once had an online fascination with a certain dude. He was labeled a conspiracy theorist and a maniac for his beliefs that the end of the world was imminent. He had collected extensive evidence for the Peak Oil hypothesis and planned out the events leading up to the apocalypse. He was convinced to his core that it was his duty to serve as a voice of caution.
In 2014, when he took his own life, it left me with a significant mental health question.
Learning the specifics of his beliefs is crucial.
The Big Oil Machine – Peak Oil Theory
Since oil is a nonrenewable resource, as soon as global production reaches its maximum, it will begin to decline rapidly. Therefore, there will be an immediate and catastrophic breakdown in the production of plastics, medications, fertilizers, and another 6,000 things ranging from detergents to lifejackets, all of which rely on crude oil. The end of oil use in electricity generation is nigh. Overpopulation will cause civilization to quickly return to levels consistent with the “carrying capacity of the planet” before the industrial revolution.
The Peak Oil proponent made a powerful argument when he said that prior to the discovery of fossil fuels, the world’s population had stayed at a steady one billion. At this time, there are 7.98 billion people in the world. He predicted that 6.98 billion people would be “surplus to requirement” when Peak Oil forces deindustrialization. They would be abandoned to perish in the “die-off,” or mass starvation and cold.
According to this guy, the end of the world would start in 2040 when we finally ran out of oil. In one video, he appeared in tears while issuing a warning.
When we first met back in 2013, I was moved by his sincerity and found his dread and warning persuasive.
His suicide in 2014 followed.
It wasn’t that “the end was imminent” or that “no one would listen” that ultimately drove him to take his own life; rather, it was the paradoxical discovery of massive new oil reserves and credible new methods of obtaining oil and gas around 2014. (fracking, oil shale). The forecasted peak in oil output was originally predicted for 2014, but scientists have since pushed it back a hundred years to 2100.
After realizing that the end of the world wouldn’t happen in his lifetime, he shot himself in the head and left his dog where a neighbor could find it.
Something mysterious is going on here. You’d think he’d be happy for the people of the world that they got a break.
This mystery may have a solution in a previously delayed apocalypse in history.
To rely on the end of the world
It raises an intriguing psychological mystery: why would some people get so preoccupied with the concept of the Apocalypse that, when it fails to materialize, they fall into a deep depression?
I think they share the idea that a single narrative can give a person’s life a great sense of meaning, direction, and hope. Even if that narrative concludes in certain death for the believer, their life is given immense value.
One may say that in this context, people have a psychological reliance on the doomsday story. Paradoxically, in a world fraught with unpredictability and strife, faith in a predetermined and purposeful “end to all life” may seem like a more consoling choice than living a life devoid of any overarching narrative, a life of meaningless fragments that is itself a “huge disappointment.”
Why this post?
Apocalyptic fears are widespread in modern culture, and with good reason. Many people worry that the world will end soon because of things like nuclear war, climate change, or a new pandemic. But we should be wary of relying too much on such stories to guide our actions and give direction to our lives.
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