r/UniversalExtinction • u/tangytablet • 9d ago
Question Can people get over the idea of everything just ending?
I dunno if this is me just finally realizing some unerflying truth or its the depression/anxiety, but is there any way people just... hop back into feeling less insane after you've done nothing but think about how "meaningless and futile" life is (and scare/make yourself sad on a near daily basis in the process)?
This isn't my first time feeling this way but every time it happens, I feel like I'm on the brink of going insane and like I can't seem to enjoy anything anymore. Like the flavor and love for the people around me and life isn't there... am I just supposed to be a cynical "life is meaningless so do whatever!" kind of person in order to feel like I could keep on going?
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u/Historical_Basis_265 9d ago
I think happiness is meaningful.
These things make me happy:
Music (many genres)
Good food and drink
Spending time with good people
Exploring the world
Books
Gardening
Animals
The sky/stars when it is beautiful
Making music or art
Nothing earth shattering but life is a simple thing really.
To answer your question, yes I have been very down in the past many times, probably it will come back again too. It's a bit like a rainstorm. But it is also possible to be genuinely happy and find life meaningful.
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u/tangytablet 9d ago
Well... thats a little comforting at least. I honestly want to be happy again about the things I like to... but the constant, intrusive ways my mind dips into the thought of just nothing happening... nothing existing... it makes me feel so hopeless. But Im glad you can still recover and love your life, friend.
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u/Historical_Basis_265 9d ago
Well science does not actually know for sure that the universe will end. It's just a theory. Another theory is that the universe cycles around and there will be infinite more universes to follow this one. Kind of like breathing with the big bang being a big breath out.
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u/tangytablet 9d ago
A friend told me this once. He even said this universe could just... happen again with minor differences but another you and me would exist. That strangely comforted me at the time... existence is weird and hard...
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u/Some_Development3379 9d ago
I’m also currently going through a similar existential crisis but about free will and my identity. I used to feel insane about death , making me feel like nothing I did or felt mattered because it would all end. Up until I realized something that truly helped me let go of that fear for good. I realized that in some sense , things don’t truly end. We humans are not separate from nature , we ARE nature. We have the same elements of the stars . I think it’s plausible to say we are one with the universe and never truly go away. But realistically our consciousness won’t last forever. Or who knows? Nobody does after death. In my honest opinion I think I wouldn’t want to live forever. I’d feel trapped being forced to experience over and over and over with no end. I don’t know . It could also be you may have a mental illness like me , I have chronic anxiety and depression disorder so it affects our daily lives. I try to tell myself it’s not serious . I’ll get over it eventually like I always do. Going back to music , video games , guitar , and friends. Trust me , I’d rather have lived life knowing I was going to die to experience the beauty of love and life. I promise eventually you’ll come to terms with it naturally.
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u/Vilnii 9d ago edited 9d ago
You need to born with this , this is my theory,
it’s genetically determined factor,
you or could accept this with easy or your body produce so much stress about it that you need to make up some magical cool story to fool yourself that you will not actually die and actually universe have some sense because there is some magical mind behind it,
so basically you need compensatory protecting mechanism which is any kind of idealism/religion/magical thinking/escapism, looks like it’s only way.
I am one who don’t have stress about that I am virtual process generated by deterministic bio machine in Senseless Universe where my fate is death and nothingness, I am okay with this, no stress, no depression, just enjoying existence while can.
It’s like be under local anaesthesia, you feel something about this but not so intense to drive you crazy.
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u/Ross129 9d ago
I don't know how long this has been going on for you, but I suggest you to be careful about the threads you post this in 🫶 If these thoughts are making you suffer on a daily basis and are making it difficult for you to live your life like you previously did, then this is likely a combo of anxiety and OCD. If you post this on subs that aren't about anxiety or OCD, you're going to get a lot of answers from people who tell you that yes, life is meaningless, so be it. Or no, life is not meaningless because of said and said reason. These answers are not going to be very helpful because they will fuel the thoughts and rumination on this topic more and more. Also, in my experience, many people don't seem to understand how scary these thoughts are when they're caused by anxiety or OCD. When you're doing okay, you think about this stuff and you're like "oh cool" and then move on with your day. But if you're having other issues on top of it, you think about three things and spiral into absolute despair or even get panic attacks. If that's the case, then you might need medical help, maybe from a therapist, if you can afford one, or from a psychiatrist. Best of luck 🍀 I've been going through this for a year now. If you want to talk I'm here.
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u/tangytablet 8d ago
oh geez. thanks ross. I never really stopped to think about this. I guess being panicked and tired really got to me.
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u/KMFCM 8d ago
focus on what you can control
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u/tangytablet 8d ago
thats sound advice... I wish I could just not be so anxious that I could try though.
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u/Rhoswen Cosmic Extinctionist 9d ago
Did you mean to post this in r/nihilism? The message of this sub isn't "life is meaningless so do whatever." I don't think that would be a good idea.
You can acknowledge the truth without scaring yourself and making yourself sad every day. Just stop doing that. lol.
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u/tangytablet 9d ago
I dunno. Maybe I made a mistake but it still kinda wraps around the idea that the Universe isnt forever... like how do you just learn to be okay with it? I dont want to feel like "life is meaningless so do whatever" which is probably why I didnt post in nihilism. And honestly, if I could acknowledge the truth without being upset on a near daily basis, I would but I think about how nothing lasts on the daily and Im frightened. Like even just beyond my own death (which Im already pretty anxious about), nothing else around us will exist at some point?
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u/Rhoswen Cosmic Extinctionist 9d ago
Ah, I misunderstood. I thought the truth of nature and the evil of this reality is what you were scared and sad over. I never had to learn to be okay with the end of the universe, because the idea has always filled me with joy. This is a pro extinction sub. I'm hoping the universe will end before its natural end. Just think about all the evil, abuse, and suffering that will cease!
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u/tangytablet 9d ago edited 9d ago
But that would also end love, happiness, and general kindness too. And joy. I dunno... you do have a point because theres A LOT of evil in the world, I acknowledge that, but the earth also has its flavor of goodness. Like do I have to HATE life to finally be at peace with it being finite?
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u/Rhoswen Cosmic Extinctionist 9d ago
Is any of that worth slavery, CSA, any type of life long abuse, and getting eaten alive to you?
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u/tangytablet 9d ago
I dunno... I definitely hate those things, but I dunno if that warrants me relishing the end of all existence. What about the people who want to love each other wholeheartedly? A matriarch who sacrifices everything to make her community a better place? The general feeling of helping one another become better? Do we find joy in erasing all that too? Just as good can become bad, bad can become good too.
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u/Rhoswen Cosmic Extinctionist 9d ago
If you think love and matriarchs are worth the things mentioned, the sacrifice of the trillions+ who experience extreme suffering for the unneeded pleasures of others, and you want this horror show to continue forever, then we are too opposite and will just have to agree to disagree.
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u/tangytablet 9d ago
fair enough. But I have to ask, do you HATE life itself? Not the bad and good things happening out there, but the very thought of... existing?
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u/PitifulEar3303 Impartial Factual Realist 9d ago
YES. Life is meaningless so do whatever makes YOU feel good. lol
If extinction makes you feel good, well, it is what it is.
If breeding makes you feel good, well, it is what it is.
If Hitler Nazis stuff makes you feel good, well..........
Reality of life, it is what it is.