Environment & Energy
In reply to the discussion: Are We Heading Toward Extinction? [View all]The_jackalope
(1,660 posts)"futurethinking" refers to planning that has as its core assumption the continued existence of a future that will have much the same form as we we imagine it today.
That assumption is threatened when we start talking seriously about the collapse of civilization or the extinction of the human species. Without that assumption, all our plans for the future are impossible to realize. And that, in turn causes a lot of anxiety for some people, because it requires letting go of our expectations for the future.
That anxiety about what will or will not be, or "pre-traumatic stress disorder" can be effectively reduced by the sort of mindfulness espoused by Buddhism. Mindfulness is the concentration on the situation as it is, as reported through our senses. I practice it, so yes I agree with her.