Yeah, that was a bit of humor directed at the OP. I’ve contributed to that thread in the past, but I’ve stopped as part of my no Trump policy for this year.
The Italian Marxist suggested “pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will,” and given his time on Mussolini’s prisons, well, gosh. But these days I say “optimism of the intellect and the will,” and look for silver linings. As an oldster, I feel duty-bound to offer hope to the next generations.
I used to be an extremely optimistic person. At the moment I focus on simply maintaining my peace of mind and I achieve this by keeping busy.
I spend time with my family. Despite the inherent daily little frictions, my happiness stems from my family members’ happiness.
I prepare 50% of my daily food take, with the other half being prepared by my wife. This includes shopping. It is a time-consuming activity, but we enjoy following a healthy diet. I derive a strange feeling of satisfaction from the whole process.
I exercise. Outdoors. Reducing screen time is not enough. Spending long time outside enhances my inner peace and happiness.
I plan things on a regular basis. Things related to my work, my family, home improvement, etc. There are short term and long term goals, minor plans and major plans, personal ambitions and family objectives. Long time ago I stopped being idealistic. I don’t have dreams, only plans. I approach them pragmatically and every little or big success makes me feel I am constantly improving. This is a sentiment I have nurtured (i.e. fueled through what I perceive as achievements) all my life: right now I am better than I have ever been before.
I hear you, OP!
In the last few years, Stoicism has become very persuasive to me - as a reminder that “we don’t control and cannot rely on external events, only ourselves and our responses.”
Several of the replies you’ve gotten in this thread express ideas handed down to us from the Stoics.
The Stoics had a lot on the ball. The popular conception of them is off-base. Thanks for that link. 
I used to read the news obsessively and worry about things constantly.
Trump’s election changed that for me. I glance at the headlines but don’t look at the details. It just was too upsetting.
The world goes on without my active monitoring. I have my own things to worry about now.
I’m much less stressed.
This. I won’t see the worst of it either (I’ll see probably more than you, since IIRC you’re a bit older than me), but my son would be 93 when the 22nd century begins, so if something doesn’t kill him first, he will see it get a hell of a lot further along than you or I would.
Like you undoubtedly feel about your children and grandchildren, I want him to be able to live his life in a fundamentally hospitable world. I don’t want to go to my grave knowing that I and my generation have failed him on this score.
Well I … oh.
For me, what’s depressing is not just Trumpism and its fanatics, and all the depressing anger in the news. What’s tipped me over the edge is the scope of climate change, deforestation, etc. and the likelihood that the world as we know it is already well down the road to physical destruction. I’m basically a nihilist now. The earth is going to come to an end someday, so why not now? I try to be a responsible person and I take action in the remote possibility that my actions will make a difference, but I basically just see the social and physical world as self-destructing, so I have to make peace with that.
For me it’s the knowledge that my lifelong commitment to nihilism was well founded.
I don’t have children or grandchildren. Or nieces/nephews, for that matter (I’m an only child). I used to be sad about this-- now I’m kind of glad.
Me too, not having children was the right call.
On dealing with others, stepping away from the crazy, now matter how long I’ve known them. And when I meet new crazy, I make it clear I’m not interested.
On dealing with myself, learning to make an effort to avoid negative thinking. It’s especially important in the morning in those first minutes/hours after waking up.
When some people get upset over something, they can’t stop dwelling on the indignation. They might call it “doing the slow burn,” but I’d say they’re just fanning their own flames. Anyone who considers themselves an adult should have more control over their own thoughts.
At this point, where I believe we are past the point of return, I take cold comfort in having been right. When hurricanes and tornados ravage red state America, at least I can say to myself “we tried to tell you.” I think at this point, that’s all we have.
Sanity may be overrated but it’s better than going stark raving bonkers, which ain’t funny.
Compartmentalization helps maintain my mental bubble. I do not watch TV or news vids. I do not observe political events. I read headline aggregators online and then proceed to sites of written and musical arts. I definitely don’t argue politics because no attitudes will change. Tiddlywinks are more rewarding.
I read of a fellow who only reads newspapers when they’re a decade old so he has some perspective on which reports are relevant. UFOs and crop circles haven’t made headlines lately. Did the coverup work?
I click on a news aggregator every morning, to see if today is the day they dropped the big one, sort of half-hoping it is. Most days I scrollll through the headlines without clicking on any for more pointless details. Journalism is now so bad, the details I want are in the last paragraph, if there at all.
I keep my sanity by refusing to Hate or Fear, the two things the media spends the most effort coercing me to feel.
Yup. My late mother used to say this. She wasn’t necessarily a fount of great wisdom, but she was right about that.
In a similar vein:
“The Good Ole Days weren’t always good,
And tomorrow ain’t as bad as it seems…”
- Billy Joel
Me three. For a while I was sorta concerned that I’d missed out. Now I’m kind of glad.
If we can just make it another ~35 years or so before the world comes to an end…
Troubled times? What troubled times? It’s just more of the same. The next regime will be idiots, too.
If denialism is working for you to run out the clock, who am I to argue?