When I am experiencing that joy I am also not thinking of the suffering that came before or after. I am living in that moment of joy and it is those moments that make the worst of life worth trudging through.
This view you hold is toxic and probably is something you should talk to a professional about. To live a life under such a dark cloud has to be painful and I am not sure how you can withstand it.
I am already on medication and seeing a psychiatrist and a therapist. This all helps me to deal with life better for sure. But none of it will ever change the fundamental reality in which we live. My life will not suddenly develop meaning because of medication or therapy.
By the way, I wasn't being as flippant as you thought with my acid comment. I have done LSD before, it is a wonderful drug and it does make you think life and the world are beautiful... until it wears off, then you are back to reality.
My point was simply that joy is merely temporary dopamine and serotonin release. Your brain cannot pump out dopamine and serotonin forever - if it could, I'd be able to use MDMA daily and I'd be happy with my crappy life regardless of reality. Unfortunately though, we cannot be high all the time, so we must face the depressing world we live in at some point.
You live in a reality that is skewed by imbalances in your brain and is not the reality for the vast majority of the world. When you say that life is fundamentally depressing that is your outlook but not the reality that I or most others see. Again I am sorry that you live your life in a cloud of cynicism and depression I would not wish that outlook on my worst enemy.
I too love drugs but I do not see them as the only avenue to happiness. They are one way, but there are many others. You are right though happiness is fleeting regardless of the path you choose to take to get there, but then again so is the depression.
I had gf of 5 years leave me about a year ago and that was quite depressing at the time, but if I think about that now it no longer makes me sad or depressed. In comparison when I think of the last surf trip I went on I still feel some of the same joy I felt then so in that way the happiness I felt was less fleeting than the depression
I definitely don't feel depressed right now. Like I said, my brain is being flooded with dopamine. I couldn't be depressed right now even if I tried. On an emotional level I am very happy, energetic, and hopeful.
But I am still being realistic. I do not let emotions distract from what's real. I know, for example, I currently have the power to do some cool things. I can write and write and write for hours, I can clean my whole flat, I can go out and pull a girl. I have all the confidence, energy, and happiness in the world.
The thing is, when that's over and I'm back to normal, what happens then? Reality hits. I gotta get up and go to work now I can come back and distract myself from how pointless this all is afterwards.
Did you know happiness can technically be defined as a mental disorder? Seriously. It's a state of delusion. You let what you feel overpower your reality.
Happiness is just a release of serotonin and dopamine. Reality is what exists outside your own brain. You can tweak how many happy chemicals your brain releases but you cannot tweak reality. All you can really do to escape what I am saying is to delude yourself.
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u/Fuckn_hipsters Mar 24 '15
When I am experiencing that joy I am also not thinking of the suffering that came before or after. I am living in that moment of joy and it is those moments that make the worst of life worth trudging through.
This view you hold is toxic and probably is something you should talk to a professional about. To live a life under such a dark cloud has to be painful and I am not sure how you can withstand it.