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Depressed about animal cruelty

Anna1212
Anna1212

I've been depressed about animal cruelty, about the horrors of the factory farms/slaughterhouses.  I won't go into details here but it very very very bad. It makes me so sad and is actually one the things that depresses me the most in my life.  If I thought all animals were free to live out their natural lives in nature I would feel such incredible joy and relief.  


I was vegetarian for about 10 years  and then i slipped and started eating meat again for another 10 years or so.  I've been transistioning off meat and am now starting veganism.  That doesn't seem like enough to me though because it's kind of like a drop in the bucket.  So, I am going to try to contact some of the animal welfare places like Farm Sanctuary and see how i can get more involved. 


i am very sad and frustrated because i want it to stop now, right away.  it's a holocaust and needs to be fought.  that's how i feel.  there's no difference between a cat or a dog or a cow or a pig or a chicken etc.  they are all sentient beings who are aware and intelligent and feel pain and fear.  how can we ignore what is going on?  


well it's partly because it's hidden.  all you see are the neat and tidy packages at the grocery store.  i feel like we need to get past this.  to think about what is behind that packaging and what is really going on.


does anyone else become depressed about this?  is anyone on here vegan?  is there a site on daily strength about this topic?   it's all very disturbing and i want to find some way to be productive and work towards correcting it.  


Scaredandafraid
Scaredandafraid
While i respect your feelings it shouldn't be a cause of depression. It's the cycle of life.i commend you on wanting to be vegan and have several friends that are but me personally i will never stop meat. I differ from a Asian cultures and won't eat dog or cat. But that is a cultural acceptance they choose. Even though i don't agree i would never let it alter my mindset and neither should you. It isn't anything you can control so why let it take over your emotions?
Anna1212
Anna1212
thank you for replying. I understand what you are saying and I appreciate it. but even if I can't control it I need to do something to try to help if only to keep from going crazy with grief about it. also, slavery was abolished. WW2 was won. I don't believe it's completely hopeless to make some kind of improvement. at the very least I think people should educate themselves about where their meat is coming from and what is involved in obtaining it. it's very cruel and terrifying and heartbreaking for the animals and human adults don't actually need meat in their diet to be healthy.
doggy123
doggy123
I used to be like that too...I was raised vegetarian, so I've always loved and been sensitive about animals. animal movies were my favorite, and I loved stuffed animals. so, living in a meat-centric world gets depressing. then I was vegan for 5 years as an adult. some classes where we dealt w/this topic also made me more vigilant, like you. but as I got older and own personal/life issues got worse, it wasn't as important. I'm still vegetarian, but I've also realized that there is cruelty w/in the animal world...lions will kill others cubs to reduce competition, for example. so to only focus on humans is inaccurate. sadly, most ppl are going to keep eating meat, and trying to change them doesn't usually work. the best thing to do is, be a good example. go vegan or veg. reducing meat and dairy - it doesn't have to be all or nothing. every bit helps. if you have friends/family, learn to cook some good vegan/veg food, so they can be like wow, this is good! if it makes them want to do meatless monday or whatever, then that's something! and, bc of population and global warming, it IS moving towards vegan/veg...ppl will be forced to eat less meat like beef, which takes up a lot of space. so, rest assured...just be a positive force and 'spread the gospel'...be the change.
shakyinside
shakyinside
And beware of YouTube. Watch one animal cruelty video and your feed will be flooded with it.
doggy123
doggy123
^I had to watch some in classes...it was traumatic. :'( I was already vegan, but just knowing that most, and were just going to keep eating meat...ugh.