Why is legitimate Existential Crisis confused with depression ?

[drstrangelov]

What are these "things" and of what ultimate meaning will they provide ? You don't think I've tried to enjoy new hobbies or exercise more ? I've tried everything - but it takes very little time while I'm doing them to realize I'm just doing them in order to not be bored. They are all just distractions and not an answer to why we exist.

It's literally open ended. The fact that you've failed to find any passion in your life isn't indicative of the distraction of others, it's a personality flaw in you.

Also, consider how foolish you sound stating that you can't commit to doing enjoying anything else until you've mastered the fundamental questions of human existence.

It's a form of denial. By focusing on "existence" you're competing in a game with no metric of success or failure. In reality, you'll never get any insight into anything outside of your own ego if you don't commit yourself to something outside of yourself. If you suck at bowling, you suck at bowling, navel gazing isn't an excuse.

 

[HomeRun916]

Tl;dr

But it's easy to get things confused, or your on drugs like you usually are.

 

[Tee Dee Pee]

What's with all the lion avatars nowadays? Can't I do me?

 

[Plutoburn]

As an Agnostic who also does not believe in an afterlife, I actually believe the lack of anything else after death gives me motivation to live this only one to the fullest of my ability.

 

[Kick Strickland]

get somebody pregnant

 

[45ACP]

sorry about all this, but since you are convinced that you are correct, i got nothing for you. you sound depressed btw

lost

But seriously TS, if you're bored why don't you just find something new to do? Seems like a simple solution to me.

I have first hand experience. I was feeling kind of like you for a while. The things I used to love to do I'd lost passion for. So I just started trying new things. I started volunteering, taught myself guitar, started a band, and have completely fallen in love with BJJ and muay thai and you know what? I don't really get depressed much anymore.

Also, although these new activities take up a lot of my time, the passion I had for some of my old hobbies has returned.

I think the purpose of life is to enjoy it. There are so many things you could be doing, but it sounds like you've decided you'd rather just waste your life away while complaining about it.

You seem really angry too. Go cuddle a puppy or something.

 

[ShadBo]

Spoiler

If you believe this is it and like most who do you spend you entire life on the internet mostly posting and reading meaningless tripe, work the nine to five grind, whining about petty stuff in life, IMO you're as pathetic, stupid and a waste of space as whoever you think are the dumbest fundamentalist churchgoers.

WTF? So this it and you spend your days on sherdog, spend your days talking to some other regular person about your problems? Um there's grand canyons, amazing mountains and islands, jungles, communes, villages in Africa you can help, jungles, sky diving, all kinds of beautiful landscapes, different types of people, animals to see and meet and so many varied experience out there.

Yet all these whiny internet atheist clowns do none of that shit. They listen to college professors on what they're supposed to be and what life is .They post meaningless stuff on the internet, fucking people whose lives are video games and the next hot release, they laugh at someone else spaghetti monster idea and have less happiness and meaning then the most judgmental ingorant believer in God.

Can someone explain to me why all that is not more pathetic, stupid and sad? There's nothing besides this? Why the F do you have some shit job, look at your internet activities and post. I bet most of these don't even go outside for a walk and haven't even explored the town or city they will spend the most of their lives in. Dude this is it, right? How is that not ten time more retarded then the folks that listen to the shady televangelist and get something out of it?

Or you could be like this guy, and be mad for god.

 

[n...not crazy]

I've been in/out of of therapy for a several years. At face value, I have a very good life; good job, lovely girlfriend, great family, great up bringing, and good friends. I'm 36 years old.

But around the age of 25, I began feeling exhaustion with life - in that I started asking myself, Is this it ? Work, sex, meet with buddies, hang out with girlfriend, rinse and repeat ? I began looking into the religions, and frankly, they're all 100% BS so please don't bother by telling me Try Jesus.

I don't believe in God or an afterlife - this is it. I have a few more decades on this planet and I'm bored out of my mind. I used to drink - a lot. But even that has lost its appeal. Television shows that I watched with earnest in my youth seem boring. TV really does suck these days - no heart or plot. Once in a rare while I'll find a movie that I can really get lost in without looking at my smart phone every three mins such as Sideways or The Big Lewbowski.

I've been diagnosed as having mild depression/anxiety/OCD and I have taken the meds. But they ultimately don't work because all they do is suppress my emotions. Inside, the haunting reality of the meaningless of life keeps striking me in the face and I feel as lost, confused, bored, and frustrated as ever.

I keep telling the doctors the same thing: I'M NOT DEPRESSED. I'M UTTERLY BORED WITH LIFE ! They keep telling me the latter is a false conclusion of the former, but I just don't buy it.

I don't value needing a big car, or house. I enjoy my job but after a while it's all routine. I feel all I'm doing is just wasting my time until I am no longer. That's what we all do. And if you're going to tell me Go volunteer or do charity, THAT'S NOT REAL MEANING. That's, again, something I'm just doing because I ultimately have no idea why I exist, why the Universe exists, or why there is not nothing.

And there it is: WHY IS THERE NOT NOTHING ? Why is there anything ? Until this question can be answered, how I can possibly be asked to care about anything else ?

Alright listen. First of all you should not speculate on the value of things that you haven't done. Many couch-folk think climbing mountains is meaningless. But when you get up there, it sparks emotions and chemicals in your body that make you feel things you haven't previously felt. When you volunteer and make that kid smile, it sparks something. You cannot just speculate on the effect these things will have. There is a whole world out there, and the fact is that most of us don't experience much of it.

What you're doing is commenting on a blowjob's lack of biological utility, without ever having gotten one.

Second... Why is there not nothing? Idk man. Do you really think that's within our power to know? If you don't think so, then you need to give that shit up. If you do think so, then go for it. Figure it out.

You have an idle mind. It's the devil's workshop. I don't believe in the devil but this is a good quote. Humans are happier when they do things and affect the world, not just sit and think about it. Yeah that's just my opinion, but I've been through what you're going through. You just have to do a bunch of shit. You think you can just ponder shit and understand it. You can't.

 

[Coffee79]

It's literally open ended. The fact that you've failed to find any passion in your life isn't indicative of the distraction of others, it's a personality flaw in you.

Also, consider how foolish you sound stating that you can't commit to doing enjoying anything else until you've mastered the fundamental questions of human existence.

It's a form of denial. By focusing on "existence" you're competing in a game with no metric of success or failure. In reality, you'll never get any insight into anything outside of your own ego if you don't commit yourself to something outside of yourself. If you suck at bowling, you suck at bowling, navel gazing isn't an excuse.

OK, then how do I stop having those thoughts in my head whenever I try something new that says you're just wasting your time on this - ?

I don't want to be like this. I want to be like when I was younger and life felt awesome and new and meaningful. You get older and cynical - at least I did. But I would never choose to feel this way - it's not a choice for me. It's just my nature to keep realizing the meaningless of life as paramount to any activity I do in between. If I could, I wouldn't read so much into this life and just live it. I simply have been unable to, try as I might.

 

[orangecuse]

Or you could be like this guy, and be mad for god.

I laughed my ass off with a smile on my face while posting that.

I posed a question many times why couldn't you at least answer that simple question while quoting me? Is that not at least as stupid and pathetic as ignorant religious people?

I guess I'm kind of mad at how basic and predicable a response I knew I would get. I don't expect much of response other than that and most unhappy bitter people who I described will completely dodge my posts.

 

[Phlog]

I've been in/out of of therapy for a several years. At face value, I have a very good life; good job, lovely girlfriend, great family, great up bringing, and good friends. I'm 36 years old.

But around the age of 25, I began feeling exhaustion with life - in that I started asking myself, Is this it ? Work, sex, meet with buddies, hang out with girlfriend, rinse and repeat ? I began looking into the religions, and frankly, they're all 100% BS so please don't bother by telling me Try Jesus.

I don't believe in God or an afterlife - this is it. I have a few more decades on this planet and I'm bored out of my mind. I used to drink - a lot. But even that has lost its appeal. Television shows that I watched with earnest in my youth seem boring. TV really does suck these days - no heart or plot. Once in a rare while I'll find a movie that I can really get lost in without looking at my smart phone every three mins such as Sideways or The Big Lewbowski.

I've been diagnosed as having mild depression/anxiety/OCD and I have taken the meds. But they ultimately don't work because all they do is suppress my emotions. Inside, the haunting reality of the meaningless of life keeps striking me in the face and I feel as lost, confused, bored, and frustrated as ever.

I keep telling the doctors the same thing: I'M NOT DEPRESSED. I'M UTTERLY BORED WITH LIFE ! They keep telling me the latter is a false conclusion of the former, but I just don't buy it.

I don't value needing a big car, or house. I enjoy my job but after a while it's all routine. I feel all I'm doing is just wasting my time until I am no longer. That's what we all do. And if you're going to tell me Go volunteer or do charity, THAT'S NOT REAL MEANING. That's, again, something I'm just doing because I ultimately have no idea why I exist, why the Universe exists, or why there is not nothing.

And there it is: WHY IS THERE NOT NOTHING ? Why is there anything ? Until this question can be answered, how I can possibly be asked to care about anything else ?

Do you even lift?

 

[ShadBo]

I laughed my ass off with a smile on my face while posting that.

I posed a question many times why couldn't you at least answer that simple question while quoting me? Is that not at least as stupid and pathetic as ignorant religious people?

I guess I'm kind of mad at how basic and predicable a response I knew I would get. I don't expect much of response other than that and most unhappy bitter people who I described will completely dodge my posts.

Aside from the TS, your post is the most unhappy and bitter post in this thread.

That towering jesus based rage is flowing through you.

 

[drstrangelov]

OK, then how do I stop having those thoughts in my head whenever I try something new that says you're just wasting your time on this - ?

I don't want to be like this. I want to be like when I was younger and life felt awesome and new and meaningful. You get older and cynical - at least I did. But I would never choose to feel this way - it's not a choice for me. It's just my nature to keep realizing the meaningless of life as paramount to any activity I do in between. If I could, I wouldn't read so much into this life and just live it. I simply have been unable to, try as I might.

Stop feeling sorry for yourself, for starters. Create an honest assessment of what makes you happy, or what you'd like to accomplish, short and long term, and why. Dont be afraid of failure, relish in it for what it teaches you. When you start to doubt why you're doing something, focus instead on how you're doing it. Narrow your scope instead of broadening it, if you approach something with a clear endgame, you'll get that satisfying cause and effect relationship that helps put order to your universe.

 

[billiam]

Because without meaning, it's all pointless. The worst part is, it's not like I'm holding onto hope that life has a meaning. I've accepted existence/life is meaningless. I'm just trying to somehow try and get through this life being happy knowing that everything I'm doing is without meaning.

 

[RevXwise]

You might want to read up on anhedonia OP.

You shouldn't look at depression as being sad or crying a lot. Think of it more in the sense of a tongue depressant: your life and emotions in general become depressed downward. People get this confused the same with depressant drugs. They aren't depressants because they make you sad, they're depressants because they depress your central nervous system.

 

[kenetics]

But how many meds do I need to take before the question of Why does the Universe Exist ? gets answered ? You guys sound like my shrink who keeps harping on the idea that my depression is causing me to lose interest in this life. But how is this proven so ? How many more times do I need to have sex, or go drinking, or watch a tv show, or do whatever the hell it is that I've done a thousands plus times before it stops getting repetitive ?

Sex, I will concede is still the great escape for me. But that seems so damn shallow and empty - it's like a drug and once I'm done, the boredom and meaningless of life resumes its barrage on my senses.

Try bjj. I started 20 yrs ago and I'm still learning and loving the concepts of it.

 

[lapollarecords]

make a list of people who dislike you, and who you dislike.

 

[sickc0d3r]

What's the difference between being depressed and being bored with life? Semantics?

Trying doing what the rest of us do... find fun things to do and then work hard so you can do those things. It's not that complicated.

 

[Torrid]

Meh, you're boring.

Boring people are bored. Shocker.

Read, 'Time of Need: Forms of Imagination in the Twentieth Century', by William Barrett to start you out. You probably won't though.

 

[orangecuse]

Aside from the TS, your post is the most unhappy and bitter post in this thread.

That towering jesus based rage is flowing through you.

I'm not some Jesus follower and I have no religious affiliation. What's the next basic, predictable response?