Is "realistically" synonymous with nihilism...?
Depressed People See the World More Realistically (2017)
231–240 of 304 posts
Re: Depressed People See the World More Realistically (2017)
#232Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is this akin to or different from dissociation and/or depersonalization? Because I don't want that coping mechanism, feeling and experiencing things is better.
I had a bout of depersonalization for a year and became a regular meditator much later. I didn't find that they were at all similar.
How did you overcome the depersonalization? I've had similar feelings since April. I'm an irregular meditator, probably 3-5 times a week.
I thought it was drinking and sleep deprivation, but cut out drinking completely and have been averaging 8-9 hours a night. this helps a little but I still feel very disconnected in a way I know I didn't always feel. I don't think it's permanent, but I really want to find a solution.
Re: Depressed People See the World More Realistically (2017)
#233This reminds me of this amazing TED Talk:
Do we see reality as it is? (Donald Hoffman, cognitive scientist) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYp5XuGYqqY
The intellectual bomb in the video is this:
Organisms that perceive only "fitness" drive to extinction all organisms that perceive reality as it is. (in model systems simulating environments and creatures navigating them)
My take: at every level, it would seem, perceiving true reality is not favoured. Nevermind cognitive biases, that's just one level. Literally the fabric of the universe: spacetime, matter, language, etc. It means nothing that it might feel comfortable or intuitive -- we should question it all.
Re: Depressed People See the World More Realistically (2017)
#234In other words: water is still wet. The world is a shitty place, deal with it.
Sure. It's also an amazing place. Focusing only on the negative aspect of the world is what causes a depressive mindset.
Also, water isn't wet. Water makes thing wet. Step up your quip game ;)
Re: Depressed People See the World More Realistically (2017)
#235The depressive episode I suffered and recovered from was not me thinking realistically. With the way the world is at the minute, if you're not angry then you haven't been paying attention. But anger and realism are not the same as clinical, psychological, physically unexplained depression.
Re: Depressed People See the World More Realistically (2017)
#236This reminds me of this amazing TED Talk: Do we see reality as it is? (Donald Hoffman, cognitive scientist) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYp5XuGYqqY The intellectual bomb in the video is this: Organisms that perceive only "fitness" drive to extinction all organisms that perceive reality as it is. (in model systems simulating environments and creatures navigating them) My take: at every level, it would seem, percei…
And Jordan Peterson turned this on its head by pretending that what is fitting is the truth :)
Re: Depressed People See the World More Realistically (2017)
#237Being "realistic" is often linked to depressive mindsets because it focuses on how things are, and lacks the imagination for how things can be.
A depressed mindset says, "There's no good food in the house", and focuses on this as a negative fact.
An imaginative mindset says, "No good food. Time to go grocery shopping".
The first is simply "realistic". The later is realistic, and imagines a solution to the realistic problem.
Re: Depressed People See the World More Realistically (2017)
#238> researchers presented both depressed and non-depressed participants with a button and a green light. They then asked the participants to figure out to what degree their responses (pushing the button) controlled that light. Depressed participants were much better at judging the degree of their control, while participants who weren't depressed tended to assume that they had more control over the light than they actua…
Your assessment resonates with me (someone who has depressive and hypomanic episodes). I've always conceptualized hypomania as having a much higher rate of false positives (in such a way that e.g. every attractive woman in sight seems to be heavily flirting with me), but false positives cut in both directions: when depressed, I will e.g. notice and lament minor aches (as representative of an enduring state of physical pain) in excess of what "balanced me" would.
You have given me new perspective on my wobbly biases. Thanks a lot!
Re: Depressed People See the World More Realistically (2017)
#239Take a moment and consider this quote by the late Amos Tversky about his view on pessimism: "When you are a pessimist and the bad thing happens, you live it twice,' Amos liked to say. 'Once when you worry about it, and the second time when it happens." This is a rational explanation for why anyone ought not succumb to pessimism.
Tversky was big on measuring things, and I wonder if he ever measured this theory. Measuring happiness is difficult, but I don't necessarily buy the idea presented here that it's simply a matter of totting up the number of negative events.
I have arrived at what I consider a rational level of pessimism about some things. When they occur, it bothers me, but not for very long. I shrug and don't dwell because for me, it was just what I expected. Sometimes good things happen, and I can't quantify that those outcomes are "better" for being unexpected, but I wonder if Tversky would.
Re: Depressed People See the World More Realistically (2017)
#240Earlier quoted context omitted.
I recommend the following book under a few caveats the first one being no one without their highschool diploma or G.E.D. (General Education Diploma) should read it. The Underachiever's Manifesto: The Guide to Accomplishing Little and Feeling Great (Funny Self-Help Book, Guide to Lowering Stress and Dealing with Perfectionism) https://amzn.to/2pvYI6b It will surely pierce a lot of people's beliefs.
> the first one being no one without their highschool diploma or G.E.D. (General Education Diploma) should read it. Could you unpack this for me?
I suppose parent poster means that people who haven’t finished high school may take it too much at face value, and not take education seriously.