Live data from Hacker News

R U OK?

ruok.org.au

71–80 of 214 posts

Re: R U OK?

#71

No. I don't think I am depressed. I just don't want life. I was given a life without my consent, atleast give me option to exit without pain. People have children for selfish reasons, their life has no meaning, bored, what will they do in life, so have children, life becomes less painful. Now those children will have to do the same, it's a cycle. There is no meaning to be honest. People talks nice things but ultimate…

I can relate to feeling that way but this clearly is depression. I have felt like this more or less my whole life so that’s my reality but after talking to quite a few people I have learned that many of them don’t feel that way. They enjoy life and for them it has deep meaning.

Re: R U OK?

#72

No. I don't think I am depressed. I just don't want life. I was given a life without my consent, atleast give me option to exit without pain. People have children for selfish reasons, their life has no meaning, bored, what will they do in life, so have children, life becomes less painful. Now those children will have to do the same, it's a cycle. There is no meaning to be honest. People talks nice things but ultimate…

You're right you don't sound depressed.

You however, sound very very negative.

Re: R U OK?

#73
post #69

No. I don't think I am depressed. I just don't want life. I was given a life without my consent, atleast give me option to exit without pain. People have children for selfish reasons, their life has no meaning, bored, what will they do in life, so have children, life becomes less painful. Now those children will have to do the same, it's a cycle. There is no meaning to be honest. People talks nice things but ultimate…

There are several options to exit without pain. I found one on the internet, and have prepared it. It was inexpensive and the components are not particularly suspicious. It's ready to go when I am. Somehow that makes me appreciate life more. Being able to leave at will makes staying sweeter. I can let go of much of the stress by knowing that it is voluntary and temporary, which lets me focus on the simple pleasures.…

I strongly suggest you throw those supplies in the trash. You can re obtain them if really needed. As it is, you are one bad day from taking an action that (based on populato statistical evidence) you will most likely immediately regret but cannot undo.

Re: R U OK?

#74

Not okay. It's a worrying time being a Chinese person. On the one hand, I don't support CCP (hence the throw away); I find the dictatorship very troubling. Furthermore, the growing patriotism and nationalism makes me anxious about the next generation of Chinese. On the other hand, many people outside tend to treat Chinese people and CCP as a whole, and denounce and dismiss everything we do. More and more people sugge…

The world is a strange place right now and I often wonder if the people of generations past felt equally out of place in the various turmoils of their time. Disinformation, willful ignorance and mass manipulation by anyone that can control the discourse of online communities is taking over the web that I grew up using and loved. I fear all countries are slowly trying to become more isolationist at the expense of the…

> The world is a strange place right now and I often wonder if the people of generations past felt equally out of place in the various turmoils of their time.

I think they did.. Not going too far back, I've heard tales from within the music sphere about much of the wanton drink/drug/smoke/sex culture and its general tie to the persistent feeling that the world was on the brink of nuclear war and collapse, and the lack of any feeling of control or ability to navigate it. Sadly, some didn't survive that, but they didn't presume they would anyway—just figured that something else would get them first.

Some grew older and maybe more wise and calm. Others grew older and more cynical and some of those are responsible or at least benefiting from our current set of turmoils.

Re: R U OK?

#75
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's probably more easily understood in Australia where there's press and some corporate efforts to publicise it. Gives people an excuse to check in on friends who either need support or just want to vent to someone who understands. The founder was prompted by the suicide of his father and then his own mental health battles.

Exactly, R U OK day is now a pretty big thing here, and I would say almost everyone now knows what the day is about. It's got pretty good buy in by the general public which is nice. Someone on the Melbourne subreddit even baked R U OK cookies and was giving them away to strangers passing by their house. Hopefully made someone's day better.

I don't know, it seems like yet another superficial gimmick taking the place of real relationships. Giving out cookies on the street isn't getting to know someone and helping with their troubles.

Re: R U OK?

#76

No. I don't think I am depressed. I just don't want life. I was given a life without my consent, atleast give me option to exit without pain. People have children for selfish reasons, their life has no meaning, bored, what will they do in life, so have children, life becomes less painful. Now those children will have to do the same, it's a cycle. There is no meaning to be honest. People talks nice things but ultimate…

Meaning is a human concept. Life has no meaning unless you define it yourself. For some people, having children and becoming part of something bigger, a family, is what gives meaning to their lives. Belonging and being part of a group, whether it's family or something else, is almost a universal need for humans, and therefore, a common requisite for meaningfulness in one's life.

While I feel similarly to you sometimes, and I will never have children because I can't accept the risk of them suffering as much as I did, and there are already lots of kids in orphanages who can't be unborn so I'd rather try to help them instead, there's a ton of people who is happy to be alive and believes their kids will be too. And in many cases they are right, so I guess we should try to not project meaningless into other people's lives.

So, try to define meaningfulness for your own life. If the world we live in is a problem, you don't need to change it completely, sometimes finding a small corner suitable for you just works. If there are other problems deeper within yourself, therapists can be helpful. They might not change your life, but they are likely to change at least something in the way you see your life. If there's no meaning in your life, you might as well get creative and try to invent it. Might even be more interesting than your day job.

Re: R U OK?

#77
post #50

This reminds me of an interesting difference in language semantics when I moved from the UK to the Bay area. In the UK it's normal to say "alright?" as if to say hello. I found people would respond "why wouldn't I be?" or something along those lines as if they looked like they weren't OK. It interests me as I find in the UK we are less likely to talk about feelings than in the US.

Can you explain what you mean?

Re: R U OK?

#78
post #23

on a side note, "R U OK" is a meme in China, originally taken from a clip of Xiaomi's president LeiJun public English speach. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRU-fwS6aAU

Funny how four letters can take one in so many tangential directions. For some of us old farts, it's also a memorable KMFDM song from 1999: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEC1qpfLY1E

Re: R U OK?

#79

Single dad - with two boys who delight and terrorise in equal measure. Working in an industry in constant flux, trying to make the right moves and play to my skills. Knowing all along that I am not the best at what I do by a long mile. I've had two years that have often felt horrendous, and that's putting it lightly. I am approaching 40, and have taken a turn for the worse in terms of lock down weight... Weirdly coro…

> Knowing all along that I am not the best at what I do by a long mile

Being aware of this gives you a leg up on a lot of people. The fact of the matter is almost nobody is the best at something. Which is totally fine!

Don't discount the things you are good at. Most projects do not require the best. You deliver value without being an overconfident know-it-all.

Re: R U OK?

#80

No. Because tech blogs and forums like HN/Blind constantly make me feel I'm getting underpaid.

If it's any consolation, I'm from Northern California and moved to Europe. After a few years my wife and I thought "let's go back to California" so I could try a startup. After a year we went back to the EU because ultimately we realized there was no way we wanted to have a family in America. In the EU, even people who don't work in tech can have real vacations (most people in the US can't, really) and access healthc…

>During recent elections, I didn't go to bed fearing that the country wouldn't be a democracy in the morning (helps we're not in Poland or Hungary)

As a Pole, man that comment hurt me

Post reply on HN