51 posts shown.
I am simply wondering whether a clean break is necessary or if gradual change is the way to go. If you make a sudden cut, there is an expectation that you have established entirely new rules, and then it becomes your duty to stick to them without fail. On the other hand, gradual change involves working on yourself alongside those aforementioned ghosts of the past, slowly rising above them.
Which approach is superior?
I’ve been debating whether to post this under Psychology or Philosophy, but one specific quote—one I'm sure most of you know well—pushed me toward the latter.
"You cannot escape yourself."
Does that mean the whole concept of a "fresh start" is just empty rhetoric?
Look at the thousands of people who claim to have started over. Some quit their addictions, some switched careers entirely, others worked on controlling their temper, and so on.
Is it truly a new beginning? Or is it just an upgrade of the existing self? Whether we care to admit it or not, the past isn't erased; it follows you like a shadow.
Was it actually a 180-degree turn, or was it just a slow, incremental process of mastering oneself?
I never thought I’d actually get over my ex. 🙂
But honestly, he nearly cost me my life. 🙂
Now, whenever people try to be nice by bringing him up, I just shut down completely.
Harold Anderson3 said:Just thought I’d bump this thread back up to the top.
I’ve been stuck in this sort of heavy lethargy lately—feeling pretty depressed, too—and honestly, it feels like even my 50 mg dose of Seroquel at night is just way too much for me right now. I think I’m going to drop down to 25 mg for a few days just to see if I can find a little spark of life again. I'm not dealing with any psychotic symptoms, but then again, there isn't much "life" left to speak of either. I’m sleeping about 12 hours a day, and even during those other 12 hours, I just feel completely exhausted. It's like being a dead man walking. I really don't think being a zombie is the point of treating schizophrenia with antipsychotics.
What antidepressants are you taking?
What’s the problem? Being alone, just being with myself. Learn to be your own best friend instead of looking for salvation in other people.
I have no idea what kind of psychosis I was under while being here. Top tier. 🙏
Yes, you are changing. 😉
frozengardener7?
maybe 👍
write to Nice.
I recently finished reading Samuel Huntington’s famous book, Clash of Civilizations—admittedly a bit late—and it really got me thinking. However, I feel everything I gathered was more vividly elaborated upon in the documentary "All Being White in Barking," which essentially visualizes everything dear Sam set out to carry out himself.
Do you think multiculturalism is actually successful in the West? Can different civilizations truly coexist? In theory, this all sounds beautiful and, above all, humane (and that is my stance—HUMANELY speaking—so please don't hit me with any racist elaborations), but does it actually hold up in practice?
In one segment of an interview, an American couple visits a Black family and brings over a bottle of alcohol (a gift basket, the wife says, though she feels it looks a bit too fancy) but the family doesn't drink. Still, in an effort to be good hosts, the family serves them some traditional meat dish (mind you, these are Americans who can eat almost anything) and they are visibly revolted, barely able to swallow it. In another part of the same program, an American man (whose daughter suffered violence at the hands of a Black man) points to a Black woman in traditional African clothing and remarks, "See, this is integration. They are in the West, yet they dress like they're back in their homeland..." It is somewhat paradoxical, especially regarding people from Islamic states fleeing a country that stands in opposition to the West, only to attempt to recreate their own distinct nations within Western states. And indeed, as depicted in the documentary, the shops and markets bear an irresistible resemblance to immigrant enclaves, and I must admit, Huntington's clash of civilizations is clearly visible there. Particularly interesting is the end of the documentary when an Albanian family is asked if they would like a Black man as a son-in-law for their daughter, and they say, "Yes, of course, we have no issue with other races." But then they are asked if they would want a Mexican as a son-in-law. Naturally, there is just a blank stare into the camera followed by a slight side-eye. What can I say? I am witnessing not just an external conflict, but an internal one as well. And we know that, for instance, Anglo-Saxon countries aren't particularly fond of Slavic ones, etc.
Returning to Huntington. The West—once fractured by kingdoms, then by ideologies—seems like a complicated concept, yet it remains unified by its influence on the rest of the world (the West versus everyone else). However, when it comes to Western equality and freedom, the matter is deeply paradoxical. Not only do we fail to see unifying liberal factors amidst the fractures, but according to certain data, the idea that "freedom = the West" is viewed as a total fallacy by the global citizen.
My question to you: Can cultures adapt to coexistence and give rise to a new, better, or more humane race, or is it the opposite? Furthermore, how do you believe the clash of civilizations manifests in theory versus how it manifests in practice? I hope this discussion doesn't veer in the wrong direction; I find these topics particularly fascinating, and they are subjects that must be discussed.
Can someone finally change my username to Tekkie?
Sandra Murphy33 said:That wasn't actually a quote from Sartre.
It was something Saganova wrote in one of her novels 😎
I’ve disgraced myself. 🍿
What about the relationship between meaning and the subconscious? To elaborate slightly: over the last few years, I have been obsessively reading Jung. While it occasionally feels like he trivializes meaning to its absolute limit, on the other hand—within my own circles of thought regarding dreams, which I frequently analyze in semi-conscious states—there isn't just symbolism present. There are meaningful patterns, inherently linked to external, conscious reality.
Dreams don't just offer deep-seated meaning (to put it poetically); they can genuinely predict conscious behavior (based on my experience, even future events). Can we then conclude there is a colossal pattern linking all conscious and unconscious events? Or perhaps that we are part of a larger consciousness? I am unsure. I have become somewhat entangled in Jungian concepts, and it conflicts with my studies on the Camusian peripheries of the absurd. Logic still dictates that the absurd is "stronger," yet even Camus himself notes that we don't negate the absurd by stating "the world is absurd," because that is a truthful statement and therefore cannot be absurd. Thoughts?
Elizabeth Flores5 said:I hear you.
It’s certainly no easy feat to open up and be vulnerable in front of a group like that.
But did you actually attend this specific one, or are you just considering it?
The price tag isn't exactly small, either—it's being run by a private practitioner, so... it’s one of those things that simultaneously attracts me and pushes me away.
My advice is simple: just try it. 🙂
I've done everything—psychodrama, art therapy, meditation—you name it. 🕺
Every single iteration of group psychotherapy I’ve ever experienced was an absolute disaster. I can't recall a time when I felt such intense discomfort and repulsion. While everyone else seemed to surrender to the process and reap the benefits of these workshops, I walked away with nothing.
That saying reminds me of Sartre. And I certainly wouldn't call it a compliment.
Here is the proof that the world simply doesn't care. I’ll be dead in a few days, and frankly, nobody gives a damn. 😁
Wow! I am genuinely proud to see how much this discussion has evolved.
Kudos to everyone involved! 🎉
🍿
Make my time on this forum worthwhile before I finally walk away for good! 🧐
Sandra Murphy33 said:Indifference can be sweet, but more often than not, it’s bitter.
In reality, nothing is truly indifferent—not the world, and certainly not us.
When the world feels indifferent toward us, I’d argue it's simply reflecting our own sense of being lost within it.
Why lost?
It is my view that there is something within us—something that drives us day after day and pushes back against the coldness of the universe. Or rather, the fact remains that we construct the cosmos based on the reality that we possess a drive to assign meaning to both things and people, rather than harboring indifference.
That does not mean the external world isn't indifferent toward us. This brings me back to Camus, who lay under the stars and simply surrendered to the absurd, recognizing the friction between a cold reality and an internal fire.
Let me clarify further why the phenomenon indifference world can be both sweet and bitter, as noted. Why can we not accept the fact that "bad luck" isn't obligated to guide our lives? Why can we not forget how deeply our own nature is intertwined with this indifference? Why is it so difficult to grasp that the very act of us creating meaning—even while the coldness is present—is enough to keep us moving forward on our path.
Carol Barrett2 said:🙂
I just want everyone here to get back on their feet, find some stability, and honestly, just heal up—be okay again. I’m planning to pull the trigger on the legal proceedings regarding my rights to receive benefits, but we've hit a bit of a snag with the paperwork from the DMV—it's just stalled us for a second. But hey, we’ll get that moving soon enough. My sister is going to help me navigate the whole mess.
Hopefully, we can make it happen.
Lithium will stabilize me. 🍿