Hortensia de los Santos
Author, Researcher, Theorist
From Personal Loss to Global Doom: The Inner Roots of Apocalyptic Thinking
There is a long and fascinating history of apocalyptic predictions and mass psychosis tied to “end of the world” beliefs. Some of these were religious, others astrological, and some linked to plagues, comets, or political upheaval.
The world is ending.
This phrase has echoed across centuries, from prophets in ancient temples to influencers on social media. Whether it's through fire or flood, plague or AI, nuclear war or magnetic reversal, the idea that humanity stands on the edge of final collapse persists. We prepare for it, fear it, preach it, and in some cases, even welcome it.
But perhaps this obsession with the end is not just about prophecy, science, or politics. Perhaps it is rooted in something far more intimate. What if the apocalyptic imagination is born, not from observation of the skies, but from the unhealed wounds of the heart?
This paper explores the psychological link between personal trauma—especially the loss of a child—and apocalyptic belief systems. Drawing from psychoanalysis, trauma studies, and cultural narratives, we will examine how profound grief can become a lens through which the entire world is reinterpreted. For those who have endured soul-shattering loss, the world may have already ended. And in projecting that devastation outward, the apocalypse becomes not just a myth or prophecy—but a mirror.
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The Book of Revelation (1st century AD)
A vision of the apocalypse given to John of Patmos—includes symbols of the Beast, the Four Horsemen, the Mark of the Beast, and the final battle at Armageddon. It has fueled thousands of apocalyptic movements across centuries. Considered a literal or symbolic roadmap to the end times by many. -
The Montanist Movement (2nd century)
Montanus (Phrygia, modern Turkey declared the imminent return of Christ and the descent of the New Jerusalem in their lifetime. Followers abandoned worldly goods and retreated into the wilderness, awaiting the end. -
Year 1000 AD Panic
At the end of the first millennium many thought the millennium since Christ’s birth would usher in Judgment Day. There are reports of penitence, abandonment of property, apocalyptic preaching—especially in Western Europe. -
The Black Death and End Times (14th century)
As a reaction to the Plague (1347–1351); as many believed the plague was divine punishment and heralded the apocalypse. As a reaction there was the Flagellant movement across Europe, when people whipped themselves to atone for sin. -
Martin Luther and the Reformation (16th century):
Luther saw the Pope as the Antichrist and believed he was living in the last days. He stated: “The last day is at the door.”. As a result, apocalyptic fear spread widely among Protestant reformers. -
Great Fire of London & Comet of 1666:
when a great comet was visible in 1664-1665, and there was the Great Fire of London, many thought it marked the End. -
William Miller & the Great Disappointment (1844):
William Miller, an American preacher, predicted Christ would return on October 22, 1844, in his lectures and Signs of Times. His followers sold everything, donned white robes, climbed hills. When nothing happened, mass depression and re-interpretation followed (gave rise to Adventism). Jehovah’s Witnesses – Multiple Failed End Dates:
1914, 1918, 1925, 1975 claimed to be the time of Armageddon or Christ’s invisible reign.1910 – Halley’s Comet Panic:
Scientists said Earth would pass through the comet’s tail, which contained cyanogen gas. The Press headlines were: "The End of the World Approaches!"World Wars as Signs of the Apocalypse (1914–1945)
Many Christian sects and individuals believed WWI and especially WWII were fulfillments of Revelation. Hitler as Antichrist; Atomic bomb as fire from the sky.1960s–70s – Cold War & Nuclear Apocalypse
During those years there was mass public fear of global destruction. Duck-and-cover drills in schools. Fallout shelters. Movies like Dr. Strangelove, books like On the Beach reinforced the sense of looming doom.Heaven’s Gate Cult – 1997
Earth was about to be “recycled,” and salvation was only possible by leaving the body and boarding a spaceship behind the Hale-Bopp comet. 39 members committed mass suicide in California. As a Psychosis element there was isolation, charismatic leadership, and delusional belief in salvation via alien escape.Y2K – Year 2000 Bug (1999–2000)
Computers would crash, planes fall from sky, nukes launch, financial collapse. People reacted with Panic buying, doomsday prepping, parties themed around "The End". Nothing happened, but governments spent billions in preparation.2012 Mayan Calendar Doomsday On December 21, 2012
This was a misinterpretation of the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar. Supposed planetary alignment, solar storms, or “Nibiru” collision. Preppers went all in. Russian citizens hoarded essentials. French village of Bugarach expected a UFO rescue.COVID-19 Pandemic – 2020 Onward
Many saw this as the beginning of the biblical End Times. Some believed it was divine punishment, thought it was a global reset or NWO. People started hoarding (toilet paper, guns), QAnon and conspiracy theories surged, mental health crises increased globally. Surge in interest in Revelation, plagues, and “mark of the beast” via vaccines or digital IDs.Climate Apocalypse
– Ongoing Some say humanity has only a decade left to prevent total collapse. "Extinction Rebellion" and "Last Generation" movements echo apocalyptic language. Eco-anxiety especially among youth, some choosing not to have children. Apocalyptic literature and movies like Don’t Look Up mirror these fears.AI and Technological Doomsday (2020s)
Rise of AGI (artificial general intelligence) could destroy humanity. Thinkers like Elon Musk, Stephen Hawking warned of existential risk. Public anxiety, calls for regulation, sci-fi fears becoming mainstream.
Core Ideas from Suspicious Observers / Space Weather News
Magnetic Pole Drift & Weakening Field
The magnetic north pole is moving rapidly (currently toward Siberia), and the Earth's magnetic field has been weakening at an accelerating pace. He suggests we’re in the early stages of a magnetic excursion or full reversal, which historically correlates with extinction-level events.Micronova / Solar Killshot
Davidson believes the sun goes through a “micronova” cycle (small-scale solar outburst) every 12,000 years or so.This, he argues, could strip away Earth’s protection and cause mass devastation, fires, or even crustal displacement.Disruption of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC)
Similar to what’s been echoed in mainstream science: melting Greenland ice could halt the Atlantic current. He suggests this would cause a flash freeze or "ice age" event in the Northern Hemisphere.Earthquake and Climate Links to Solar Activity
He tracks solar flares, sunspots, coronal holes, and cosmic rays, arguing they correlate strongly with large earthquakes and climate changes.12,000-Year Catastrophe Cycle
This is the backbone of his theory: evidence from ice cores, ancient texts, magnetic striping, and ocean sediments suggesting Earth goes through cataclysmic upheaval every 12,000 years, and we’re due.- Davidson’s work is fascinating, especially because he does base it on real data. He’s not just spinning fantasy—he watches solar flares and magnetic anomalies more closely than most. However, his long-term catastrophic interpretations—like crustal shift or micronova—go way beyond what current peer-reviewed science accepts.
- That said, his followers aren’t crazy to be paying attention. The mainstream is slow and conservative, and history is full of sudden shifts (like the Younger Dryas cold snap). So he’s filling a vacuum where academic risk modeling is sometimes overly safe.
Why does the human psyche seem almost wired to imagine or fear the end of the world?
- Death Anxiety Projected Outward: Freud and Ernest Becker (author of The Denial of Death) argued that humans repress their fear of individual death by projecting it onto external symbols—nations, religions, or the world itself. So, when someone can’t cope with personal mortality, they often externalize it as fear of the world’s mortality. “If I’m going to die, maybe everything will.”
- Archetypes & The Collective Unconscious (Jung) Jung believed that humans share a collective unconscious made up of mythic patterns or “archetypes.”One of these is the Apocalypse Archetype—a deep-seated psychological blueprint for destruction, rebirth, and transformation. It shows up in dreams, religions, and even pop culture (zombie plagues, alien invasions, AI rebellions, etc.) Because the psyche craves renewal, and apocalyptic visions offer total purging and reset.
- Evolutionary Survival Mechanism Primitive humans who feared danger—storms, eclipses, fire, predators—survived.So we evolved to be hyper-vigilant toward catastrophic signals, even false ones. This makes us prone to pattern recognition, doomsaying, and magical thinking, especially under stress.
- The Lure of Control in Chaos Believing you know the end is coming gives you psychological control over an uncontrollable world. People who predict the end often feel empowered, “in the know,” or chosen. Mass movements offer a sense of belonging, purpose, and even moral superiority: “We are the righteous survivors.”
- Guilt, Judgment, and Destruction. In religious minds, apocalyptic thinking is tied to guilt and judgment. The world is ending because it’s evil—and maybe we’re to blame. This taps into a kind of moral masochism, where destruction feels like a deserved punishment. It’s cleansing, even redemptive.
- Escapism from a Disappointing Present If life is hard, society is corrupt, or systems are breaking down, imagining an end is a way to escape it all. It promises a fresh start or at least a release from responsibility.For many, it's easier to fantasize about total collapse than to work through personal or social trauma.
- Media Amplification & Trauma Feedback Loops Modern media, from movies to social platforms, reinforces fear narratives. Climate change, AI, pandemics—all real, but often framed in apocalyptic terms.Constant exposure keeps people in a fight-or-flight loop, which enhances apocalyptic ideation.
Conclusion:
Humans fear the end because it taps into deep biological, psychological, and spiritual instincts—some ancient, some modern. It gives shape to our personal fears, offers narrative meaning to chaos, and sometimes even serves as a spiritual hope: that death isn’t the end, but a transformation.-
Personal Apocalypse = Global Apocalypse
In the case of individual loss—especially of a child—the pain can push someone toward apocalyptic thinking - Losing a child is often described as a kind of death of the world for the parent. Time splits into before and after the event. The inner devastation feels so total, so senseless, that projecting it outward as the end of everything becomes a way to make internal suffering match the external world. This can be unconscious: “The world can’t just go on after something like this.”
- In many cultures, especially for men, identity is tied to being a protector or guide. The death of a child, especially if sudden or preventable, can result in unbearable guilt or shame—a failure of purpose. Apocalyptic thinking then becomes a defense mechanism: if the world itself is broken or doomed, the failure is no longer personal—it’s systemic.
- Desire for Justice or Cosmic Reckoning Grief often gives rise to the search for meaning, and in some cases, revenge or justice—even if spiritual. If a child dies, and there's no justice in this life, then some turn to a vision of a purifying judgment—an end to corruption, pain, or even humanity. that sense, apocalyptic visions offer moral closure: “If the world is evil enough to take my child, maybe it deserves to end.”
- Deep trauma can dissociate a person from the normal world—make it seem unreal, fragile, fake. Once that break occurs, the mind is more open to nonlinear, mythic, or extreme interpretations of reality—like prophecy, collapse, or salvation. Apocalyptic thinking becomes a container for trauma that otherwise can’t be processed.
- Reuniting Through Catastrophe or Salvation. For the religious or spiritually inclined, the End Times may be seen not just as destruction—but reunion: a chance to see the lost child again, or escape the pain. Some even fantasize about dying in a cosmic event to avoid the slow ache of grief. There’s also a hope buried inside the doom: “Maybe we’ll be together again after this ends.”
- There is Psychological Control in Chaos. After losing a child, the world feels random and cruel. Apocalyptic thinking often organizes that chaos into a narrative: a reason, a cycle, a fate.. It gives some sense of control—even if only by “knowing” what’s coming next.
- Profound loss—especially of a child—can fracture a person’s sense of time, reality, and hope. Apocalyptic worldviews serve as a mirror for their grief, a balm for their powerlessness, and a container for unspeakable pain.
Conclusion
The apocalypse may not be coming, but for someone in grief, it already did. Understanding this root can foster more empathy and better mental health approaches.Reframing loss not as world-ending, but as world-altering.
The apocalypse is not always a vision of the future. For many, it is a reflection of the past—especially the moment when someone they loved more than life was lost. In the wake of such loss, the world as they knew it is gone, and all that remains is a shattered timeline and a fractured self. To imagine the end of the world is, for them, simply to tell the truth.
By understanding apocalyptic belief through the lens of grief, trauma, and psychological projection, we move beyond judgment or mockery. We begin to see these beliefs not as delusions, but as coping strategies, as desperate metaphors, and sometimes, as sacred rituals for survival.