Posts by Chris Perez

Do philosophical questions cause you psychological distress?

swifttrucker13 said:I guess my problem is that I just can't stop obsessing over it—I need answers, period. Right now, the depersonalization is hitting me the hardest because I feel like a complete stranger to myself, and these questions are just making everything ten times worse. Along with the free will stuff, I've got all these other questions looping in my head like "Who am I?" and "Why do I even have these thoughts?" and stuff like that. I finally made an appointment with a psychiatrist so we'll see what they say, but honestly, I don't even know how to begin explaining the absolute chaos happening inside my head right now. xd

I don't think philosophy is really my thing, and honestly, I don't get half of it—especially when science starts getting dragged into philosophical debates. If I can ask, what's your take on free will? I'm guessing you're a determinist?

I've got a job and I'm working way too much, but I just have zero motivation, and it's so hard to just live in the moment with all these questions constantly looping in my head...

Determinism only makes sense if you're playing a movie of your life in reverse.

Anyway, take a look at this:
Genesis, Chapter 3

(specifically: Genesis 3:17)

swifttrucker13 said:

I can't believe I even have to say this out loud—it’s like everyone just stopped thinking, you know? Like, we're all just drifting through life without a single thought behind our eyes... it's exhausting. I was reading about the whole concept of depersonalization the other day—which, by the way, is a terrifying rabbit hole once you start digging—and it just hit me how much of our modern existence feels like that. Just... disconnected. Everything is so fast, so hollow... it’s like we’re all just ghosts in a machine that doesn't even care if we're functioning or not. And don't even get me started on the origin of all this madness! It didn't just happen overnight, but man, it feels like it did. We’ve traded actual substance for this weird, shallow imitation of reality... and honestly? It makes me want to scream sometimes. Just... ugh. kaže:
So what? 🙂

Honestly, I’m struggling to wrap my head around this... and I’m terrified that once I swallow it, I’ll never be able to look at the world the same way again. My motivation? Completely shot. I just don't find joy in the things I used to love anymore—everything feels kind of hollow now. Man, I wish I could just shrug my shoulders and accept the nonexistence of free will as easily as you do. xD

But at the same time, I just can't bring myself to accept it—I mean, I’m constantly stuck in a loop of Googling, desperately hunting for some shred of proof that free will actually exists. Because honestly, if it’s all such a lie and we really don't have any control, then why on earth have people been duking it out over this for centuries? If it were that obvious, the debate would be dead and buried by now! I don't even know what to think anymore... my head is spinning, I'm just totally lost in it all, and frankly, I'm terrified I might actually lose my mind over this... :/

mistybison I can't even begin to explain this... honestly, I'm just sitting here staring at my screen wondering how we even got to this point. It’s like—well, you know that feeling when everything just feels slightly off? Like a glitch in the matrix? Anyway, what Chris Perez was saying earlier—and I don't mean to get bogged down in his specifics because he's always going off on those long-winded tangents—but he hit on something really irritating about how much depersonalization we deal with every single day now. It’s everywhere! You turn on the news, you look at your phone, you walk down the street in Chicago or wherever... it's all just noise. And don't even get me started on the whole origin of this mess. It didn't just happen overnight, it's been building up for years, like a slow leak in a basement that eventually floods your entire life while you're busy watching Netflix or whatever... it's exhausting, truly. Just... ugh.
We’ve all been conditioned to look at the body and the mind like they’re two totally different things—like they exist in separate zip codes or something. It’s easy enough to wrap our heads around the fact that our bodies just... do their thing automatically. You don't sit there consciously deciding when to beat your heart or how to digest your lunch, right? It just happens. But man, it is so incredibly hard to swallow the idea that our actual thoughts are being cooked up by our brains—that they are fundamentally physical processes. We aren't even in the driver's seat half the time when it comes to how a thought actually forms... it's wild. Honestly, just sitting here thinking about it makes me feel a little helpless, if I'm being real. Because, look—when everything is running smoothly and the brain is firing on all cylinders, we get this massive illusion of control. We tell ourselves we’re picking what to think about and how to feel, and that sense of mastery makes us feel so much safer in our own skin... even if it's mostly just a trick of the light. 🙂

So, basically, I've come to the conclusion that my brain just isn't firing on all cylinders... like, at all. It’s just not operating at peak performance anymore—total system failure, honestly. 😁

Free will doesn't exist. It's just an optional absurdity.

But at the same time, I don't want to accept that.

I am constantly Googling to find some kind of answer. Proof. People argue for free will. Why would humanity debate this for centuries if the lack of it wasn't obvious?

I don't even know anymore. I think. Regarding all of that.

Proof is a mathematical concept because mathematics is an exact science.
Try searching Google from that perspective.

Descartes: "I think, therefore I am."

I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed right now. I am afraid. I’m about to lose my mind. :/
I am afraid. I won't be able to look at the world the same way again.

Do you get the keyword?

I’ve lost my motivation. I don't enjoy things like I used to.

You need a serious wake-up call if you ever want to get your head straight and actually find some work.
To stay ahead of any trolls, NHF.

Your statement falls squarely into nihilism. You just need to balance it out with some hedonism.
Look up basic human needs. Then, consider the extreme examples.

ps
I neatly dissected and sorted through your post. 🙂

swifttrucker13 said:I’m not on any meds right now, but I did book an appointment with a psychiatrist, so we'll see what they have to say.

It feels like my entire perception of reality has shifted—because, let's face it, thoughts are basically just chemical reactions firing away in the brain, and I have zero control over them. It makes me feel like some kind of biological robot... it’s actually pretty terrifying to think about how thoughts are formed and how they work—which is exactly what dragged me into this depersonalization thing.

I actually stumbled into nihilism while I was digging into the free will stuff, so I know a bit about it. But I’ve been thinking along those lines for a while now, so the idea that life lacks inherent meaning doesn't really rattle me that much. What *does* mess with my head is the fact that all my decisions are just the byproduct of chemical reactions in my brain that I can't influence... but hey, I guess I'll try to look on the bright side, whatever that means. xD

So what? 🙂

OP,
Lately, my life philosophy has shifted toward nihilism.
I suggest you look into it.
Whether you accept it or not is up to you.
I sleep much better now that I don't have a single care or thought left.
Why?
Do you ask why not just death instead?
- Because even death is meaningless.

Nihilism. It is a concept often misunderstood. Some see it as despair, but that is an error. It is simply the recognition that inherent meaning does not exist. Once you accept this, you are free. There is nothing to fear because there is nothing to lose. Pure clarity follows.
Hedonism. It is a straightforward pursuit. Seek pleasure. Avoid pain. Simple enough.

Bagism, Shagism, Dragism, Madism, Ragism, Tagism This-ism.
Tagism This-ism, Shagism, Dragism, Madism, Ragism. It's all just different versions of the same thing.