My sole interest in life is just walking, though I have no desire to do it alone.
I am looking for someone who shares that exact same simple goal and nothing more. If it weren't for my supposed diagnosis, people might misunderstand me, because I don't really exhibit any typical symptoms—aside from this intense craving for minimalism, zero stress, and significantly less small talk (which is why most men get filtered out immediately along with their constant, unsolicited ideas about sex in the bushes).
Ideally, I’d find someone who sticks to impersonal topics—you know, the weather, the trees, or even just chatting about the local Target or Walmart. It isn't that I'm trying to suppress my personality or that I'm neurodivergent, per se, it's just that I refuse to waste my precious energy navigating unnecessary social complications.
That is the kind of connection I am searching for. But let’s be honest, it sounds like a total utopia, doesn't it? Still, I feel better just having voiced it, much like those guys who "accidentally" end up looking for female friends instead of partners.
To wrap everything up... I like to think I’m speaking with a fair amount of wisdom, though if I’m being perfectly honest with myself, I haven't quite mastered the art of making that wisdom actually move the needle just yet...
Sometimes, you just find yourself staring into the void, waiting for an answer that never comes...
Every so often, this silly little thought drifts into my head—this sudden, irrational craving to not be alone, to just drift through the afternoon with someone else by my side... But it feels like the universe isn't really playing ball with those kinds of whims; instead, we’re all just bound by these rigid legal frameworks and social structures. I sit here, watching my phone, waiting for that one specific ring or notification to break the silence, but there's nothing... just static.
People always say that being able to just let go and relax is actually a sign of a healthy mind, even if that "relaxation" looks more like aimless wandering or wasting time...
It seems we live in this supposedly functional society that is actually just spinning its wheels, constantly consuming and losing itself in the process. 🙂
mistydrifter55 said:Joe catches a golden marlin. The marlin says, "Let me go, and I'll grant you one wish." Joe says, "I want a massive, floor-length junk." He lets the fish go, and it bites both his legs off.
Hands down, the best post 👍
Truly the greatest thread.
I really want to dive deep into this one and tackle it head-on; God bless the author for starting this.
As for time management... It’s not that we lack the hours in a day, it's just that we can't afford to squander them on things that don't matter.
It's like having a world-class surgeon who doesn't run a private practice; if the patient isn't getting better, you can't blame the doctor, because the skill is there, but the momentum simply isn't. You have to make it happen. That's my philosophy: I know what I want, and I'm going to figure out exactly how to get it, nothing else matters. I'll write it all down, just like a kid making a list for Santa Claus.
Let me give you an example...
Take a woman who wants to get married. She isn't just sitting around waiting for some prince to come along and propose out of thin air—because let's be honest, that's something you only see in Hollywood movies. A woman doesn't necessarily have to be the one to pop the question, but she certainly needs to drop enough hints to guide the way.
It's like when God comes and you start complaining about how everything is falling apart, and He just looks at you and asks, "Alright then, tell me exactly what it is you want."
How am I supposed to navigate this when I’m being hit with advice that is completely diametrically opposed to what I already believe? Is the trick essentially to build up more mental fortitude, take in that conflicting perspective—especially since it comes from someone who is clearly an expert and acting with the best intentions—and then simply find a way to logically dismantle it? It’s a bit of a tall order, if I’m being honest. It gets particularly overwhelming during those specific moments when you’ve finally managed to weave together your own thoughts with the input you've received, and suddenly it feels like you have two separate brains fighting for control over one body...
Or perhaps, if I look at it from a different angle, maybe I should just stop doing it altogether?
"Uncertainty is such an uncomfortable sensation to sit with, yet the idea of absolute certainty is nothing short of absurd"
In my view, chasing total certainty is a fast track toward madness, psychosis, or even sociopathy.
The truth is, uncertainty is a very real thing, though it becomes incredibly heavy when you’re already struggling... There are moments when I find myself unable to step back and objectively view my own anxiety, and I often hesitate to bring it up because I don't want to intrude upon spaces filled with people who are battling their own constant waves of panic all day long.
I'm curious, how do you all manage your anxiety? For me, it’s a diagnosed struggle with social anxiety around strangers that doesn't just magically fade away regardless of how much time passes, coupled with a certain schizotypal eccentricity.
It makes me feel vulnerable, almost exposed.
When it comes to therapy, I trust the doctor I choose to work with, but I always maintain the belief that I am the ultimate expert on my own life; the professional is there to collaborate with me, not to dictate terms to me.
🙂
This too shall pass.
Part of me truly wishes I could socialize more, even if it's just through a screen, but I find myself constantly wary of hidden agendas or those misguided philosophies—you know, that kind of "human wisdom" that is actually just nonsense—that might end up doing me harm...
And honestly, when I take in too much information from various different sources, even if the advice is genuinely good, it just creates this overwhelming mental clutter, like adding unnecessary weight to a backpack. I suppose I just wish someone would offer me some straightforward, unencrypted guidance, given straight from the heart. 🙂
We could all just walk away then, leaving them completely blindsided. As if their little outbursts actually carry any weight in the grand scheme of things...
Donna White50 said:Fair enough, you found your way... but let me ask you, are you sure you're actually healed and not just masking the pain? Because I went through this amazing stretch in my life where I honestly thought I'd made massive progress and left all my baggage behind. Turns out, I was dead wrong, and it totally bit me in the ass. Maybe things just finally started looking up for you, which is why you can afford to pass now. But I can tell you for a fact—all that buried stuff eventually needs to come out and be dealt with. If you're actually okay, fine. But if you aren't? It's basically a ticking time bomb just waiting for the right moment to blow up—like losing a job, a breakup, a death in the family, or getting sick...
That’s actually what happened to me recently... I lost my job and went through a massive breakup at the exact same time.
Not too long ago, I actually received some medical results that indicated "improvement," and my doctor told me that my medication regimen was working wonders for me.
But now? I feel exactly how I felt four and a half months ago, back before I started any medication at all... It's like there's this raw wound in my chest... and those memories of past traumas are just sitting right there on the surface, making me feel completely shattered.
Honestly, I feel violated. That's the only way to put it. I feel neglected, humiliated, overpowered, trapped—almost like I’m suffering from Stockholm Syndrome. My relationship and my career were essentially the things that kept my mind off the trauma... the pills didn't fix the underlying issues; they just provided the stability I needed to maintain a job and a partnership.
While neither the layoff nor the end of the relationship is officially finalized yet, as far as I can see, they are inevitable...
Since I likely would have walked away from that job and that person anyway, perhaps the best path forward is to accept these losses with dignity; in fact, if they happen to hesitate, I want to make sure I don't go crawling back.
Besides, I find it much easier once I've let it all out. This is simply too much weight for even the healthiest person to carry. And honestly, not everyone needs to know, and I don't need people trying to "comfort" me... because opening up those old wounds can be counterproductive. I think wounds tend to reopen according to their own internal logic, regardless of what anyone else does... life's setbacks naturally trigger old pains. There isn't much you can do about that, other than try to hit the reset button.
Given that I'm dealing with this sense of Stockholm Syndrome, I don't think I should ever return to that workplace or that relationship. I know I haven't imagined the reality of the job loss or the breakup either... despite all this misery, I still have inherent value, and I might even be needed elsewhere. And when that time comes, I won't be gaslighting myself into thinking I made it all up. I'll just have to navigate through it all again.
I’ve been thinking lately that perhaps we should even steer clear of humor altogether, mostly because it tends to veer into such morbid territory. You start with those little self-help jokes, but if you’re dealing with a sensitive soul, they quickly spiral into dark humor. From there, it’s just a slippery slope straight down into cynicism, irony, and biting sarcasm. It almost feels as though what we truly lack is a touch of genuine madness—just enough eccentricity to help us blend back into the mainstream.
Stress... It really is a phenomenon all its own, isn't it? It’s one of those peculiar, invisible ailments that seems to permeate every single corner of our lives, much like how a persistent fog might roll over the San Francisco Bay, settling into everything and making it difficult to see clearly. You can't quite put your finger on where it starts or ends because it's just everywhere, woven into the very fabric of our daily routines, from the moment we check our phones in the morning until we finally drift off to sleep at night. It’s almost as if it exists as its own entity, a silent passenger riding along with us through the hustle and bustle of American life, quietly chipping away at our peace of mind while we're busy worrying about deadlines, bills, or the general chaos of the world around us.
I find myself struggling to maintain any semblance of focus lately, and if I’m being completely honest, there’s this nagging sense of apprehension that creeps in whenever I try to truly commit to a single task—that sudden, sinking feeling of "oh no, what if I actually succeed?" It’s almost as if my mind is playing some sort of elaborate game of hide-and-seek with my own productivity, making me feel quite unsettled by the prospect of finally finding my stride.
Descendant, if a lion were actually charging toward you, would you really just stand there and take it? Of course you wouldn't, so let's not talk nonsense.
It seems to me that the sole objective nowadays is nothing more than sheer survival, if my assessment isn't too far off the mark... wouldn't you agree?
I’ve been pondering this lately, as I find myself staring at the ceiling far more often than I’d like, and I was wondering if any of you all find yourselves leaning on things like melatonin or various vitamin supplements to help bridge that gap between being wide awake and actually drifting off into a peaceful slumber? It feels like nowadays, between the constant hum of our digital lives and the sheer pace of everything in the States, finding that natural rhythm can be a bit of a struggle, almost like trying to tune an old radio station through heavy static. I personally tend to take a very measured approach—I'm not one to just toss a handful of pills around without thinking—but I do occasionally look toward certain vitamins to see if they might smooth out the edges of a particularly taxing week. Does anyone here have a specific ritual or perhaps a particular supplement that they swear by to help settle the mind after a long day of navigating the chaos?
For women, though... it just isn't. If I were to decline, if my body were to fail me, I’d be leaving infants without their nourishment. It’s a weight of guilt. A slow, agonizing sort of passing that feels like it refuses to arrive.
Even dying doesn't come easy. For men, it seems much more straightforward. It’s an emptying out, you see. Not this heavy, constant filling up with death.
I tried it once, and honestly, it was the most harrowing experience of my entire life.
And even then, it isn't really for men either, if they happen to be the paranoid type.
I feel like the decline is going to catch up with me sooner rather than later😵
I honestly think there is much more value in engaging with our surroundings, though perhaps in a somewhat detached way—almost like preparing for an incoming storm. It’s about getting ready. There is a certain peace in that kind of preparation, a way to expand one's perspective before things shift.
👍
There are just so many things in my life right now that seem to be cascading toward my fragile self, almost like an avalanche, bouncing off me and rushing through me all at once; if I were to simply accept this inevitable decay, I don't think I would last very long. But if the world outside starts becoming increasingly chaotic, then I want to ensure there is a sense of cohesion and stillness within myself.
So, if I’m looking at this through a certain lens, perhaps I don't actually need to be intimidated by the fact that everyone in my immediate circle seems so deeply anxious or visibly dejected... And honestly, I shouldn't even let the fact that their mood absolutely terrifies me get under my skin. Is it possible that this process of deterioration is actually the mechanism that will eventually smooth everything out? It makes me wonder if that gut feeling of dread is actually a signpost indicating I'm headed in the right direction—that instead of desperately trying to force them to change from the outside, I should simply be sitting still and waiting for my own internal shift to take hold.
Self-actualization pops up all the time in the world of art—think of those profound stories where someone meets their end with total, crystalline self-awareness.
It really doesn't matter whether you’re looking at this as a slow climb over several decades or a singular, lightning-bolt moment of clarity.
I don't see it as being synonymous with enlightenment either; in fact, I think it's something even more expansive. You could have someone who has reached a state of enlightenment but lacks true self-actualization, and honestly, that person often ends up struggling quite a bit.
The real goal here is to focus on the whole human being—to weave together every single thread of one's personal history and soul into a complete, unified tapestry.
I honestly think this is such a fantastic topic to dive into.
When you're looking to truly find yourself and reach that level of self-actualization, the real work lies in actually listening to your own inner voice, but most people tend to procrastinate on that because, let's be honest, facing your own truth isn't exactly a walk in the park—it can be pretty uncomfortable. Instead of doing that heavy lifting, they often try to chase external milestones and trophies, thinking those things will somehow fill the void, which is a bit like trying to quench your thirst by staring at a picture of a glass of water.
It’s funny, though, because I’ve had plenty of people project their own selfishness onto me just because I make an effort to focus on my own growth and mental clarity, whereas they aren't quite willing to take that same path...