The world is a terrible place...isn't it?

@AlgebraicFury I love your point on change of focus, reading different spiritual perspectives taught me to think of yourself as part of a whole, be community minded, get involved. I think I was born a positive thinker as yes definitely wired differently to my negative parents. I've struggles most of my life to remain optimistic and positive, but I've experienced far more negative experiences. Diet is another important area, I read a book detailing strange symptoms, which some could be perceived as mental illnesses, these symptoms were described and so were the minerals lacking in the body that cause them, they described in detail strange personality traits and what to eat to rid yourself of them. How if your already lacking your body is unable to pass on nutrition to your children, and how you deplete yourself by continuing to have children without replenishing yourself. Your right life is absurd where would we be without humour?

@AlgebraicFuryalgebraicfury yes I agree that some people are more positive - but that doesn't mean they are realistic or accept the reality of what life is. I am just trying to get through this life. I like to believe there might be something better at the end of it all or else just nothingness and peace. I'm hoping to find some medication to 'get me through' this existence, so I can be kind of like a zombie and be a robot. We live in a strange world where no one is willing to help us end it all kindly and compassionately (perhaps with a little red pill). Imagine if you get it all wrong and then end up permanently disabled or in a worse position. for me, it seems to be all about just 'getting through it' and keeping up appearances. I have had a child who is grown up now and I do understand the part about living for your children but I've found that I just end up resenting them for keeping me here when I really don't want to be here. It's good you like helping others and I'm sorry that I don't feel that way. There is a very old man down the road from me who lives alone who I visit sometimes because I feel sorry for him, but I don't enjoy the visits. I do it to be nice to him, like we raise kids to help them, but I don't enjoy it at all.

@girl99. Bipolar disorder has given me a view on reality that 'normal' people don't seem to have. I've experienced highs where any experience would be viewed as fine, no matter how horrific they may normally seem. I've also experienced lows where any experience would be viewed as horrible, no matter how great they may normally seem. Consequently, for me, it was possible to have diametrically opposed feelings (generally at different times) for a particular experience. What this means for me is that I now don't believe in a reality, so to speak, since I believe that our minds create much of the experience. I agree that positive people may not understand or accept the reality of life, however I feel that this also applies to negative people.

In truth, I am just trying to get through life as well. My medication is totally responsible for keeping me here, because without it I could not hold on. I don't like existence and I would prefer that it was all over, and I seem to have felt that most of my life. I believe that once our body has died then that is the end of us. I don't believe in an afterlife.

When I was very unwell I resented my kids for keeping me here, and I used to feel the same way towards my parents. I wished that I was completely alone so that I could just take my leave. Sometimes I do still have that feeling, but it passes now.

If you don't like helping people then you don't need to apologise for it. I generally don't like people as I find them very selfish, and I don't tend to want to help the general person. There is a very small percentage of the population, however, who are unselfish and very caring and giving towards others. It is for these people that I like to contribute something helpful. I don't help them directly, but I contribute in a way that doesn't exclude them. This gives me some sense of purpose, but doesn't have to be enjoyable.

This is a very interesting topic for which I could keep on writing. More to come.

May I ask what your PhD is in?

@Sissy88. I have a little experience with Buddhism, and it teaches that all life is interconnected, that nothing exists in isolation. This seems true to me, but a big part of me doesn't like it. I find most people so selfish that I have a hard time liking them and wanting to feel any sort of connection. It's not that I think that I'm better, as I include myself within the same group. I think it's generally humanity that I have a problem with. In my experience, however, there is a small proportion of humanity consisting of unselfish and caring people. These are really the people whom I want to give something to, though in the process I give much more broadly. This is my way of finding purpose in life, and it has helped to take the focus off myself.

Humour really helps me manage my wellbeing, though of course there are many times when it is impossible to feel any humour. I enjoy comedy, but seeing the absurdity in life really helps me for some reason. Perhaps it helps to make some situations and experiences seem a little less serious.

Sorry just want to rant about this:

I am also VERY fed up with the words 'mentally ill' or 'mental illness'. I read an article that over half of the world has some sort of 'mental illness' - whether it be anxiety, depression, PTSD etc. etc.

It's so ridiculous that supposedly half the world is mentally ill. I don't believe that to be true. People just all think differently. Based on their experiences. Calling people mentally ill or saying someone has a mental illness is not at all helpful - it implies they have something wrong, so people treat them differently. Their views are then discarded or they are looked down upon as not being normal. I think the first and BIGGEST mistake our health system makes is calling people mentally ill. Just because people don't think the same as you do or they really HATE life doesn't mean they are mentally ill.

Oh yes and can someone please tell me where all of the 'mentally well' people are.

What a joke (not in a funny way; in a ridiculous absurd way)

Thank you for letting me rant about this. Someone really needs to stop the worldwide systemic abuse and lesser treatment of people that is done under the guise of 'mental illness'.

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@jamesle2015 wrote:

May I ask what your PhD is in?

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@jamesle2015. Mathematics. I have found in the past that shifting my thoughts from reality to the abstract world of mathematics has helped me cope with less than desirable moods. Perhaps this could be a new form of psychological therapy. 🤔

@girl99. I can appreciate your views on labels such as 'mental illness'. Society is extremely judgmental with regard to those labelled as 'mentally ill'. I was forced to resign from my job a few years ago because of my hospitalisation in an adult mental health unit I think that part of the problem is that people have almost no capacity to see the world from the perspective of another person. There is a recent psychological study that supports this, and it was discussed within the context of politicians claiming to understand the struggles of a 'typical' family.

My GP has described my mood stabiliser as keeping my moods 'socially acceptable'. I can appreciate my GP's perspective, but I must admit that I found that description a little offensive. I did have an urge to keep my 'socially unacceptable' moods.

I agree, the claim that half of the people in the world have a mental illness is ridiculous. If that is truly the case then why not claim it is the other half who have the mental illness? It is somewhat arbitrary. As I understand it, pharmaceutical companies are creating new 'mental illnesses' in order to sell more drugs, because the discovery of new drugs is really difficult and expensive and they need to keep making a nice profit for their shareholders. This is why antidepressants are being used to treat an increasingly broadening range of 'conditions'.

This may be extremely contentious to say, but I think the mentally well people tend to be the psychiatrists. Their job requires them to be highly normative, so mental wellness is a prerequisite. That's not to say that now and again a person who is mentally unwell is able to make their way into that position.

Mathematics....please explain to me how to calculate the wait times in a car park...

Is it true if you wait for 5 or 6 minutes someone will leave and you will get a space?

I have problem with 'bad memories' e.g. previous workplaces or bad experiences with customers over past

few years...

I wish I can delete all 'bad memories'.....